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Power GM, Sanderson E, Pagoni P, Fraser A, Morris T, Prince C, Frayling TM, Heron J, Richardson TG, Richmond R, Tyrrell J, Warrington N, Davey Smith G, Howe LD, Tilling KM. Methodological approaches, challenges, and opportunities in the application of Mendelian randomisation to lifecourse epidemiology: A systematic literature review. Eur J Epidemiol 2024; 39:501-520. [PMID: 37938447 PMCID: PMC7616129 DOI: 10.1007/s10654-023-01032-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2023] [Accepted: 07/21/2023] [Indexed: 11/09/2023]
Abstract
Diseases diagnosed in adulthood may have antecedents throughout (including prenatal) life. Gaining a better understanding of how exposures at different stages in the lifecourse influence health outcomes is key to elucidating the potential benefits of disease prevention strategies. Mendelian randomisation (MR) is increasingly used to estimate causal effects of exposures across the lifecourse on later life outcomes. This systematic literature review explores MR methods used to perform lifecourse investigations and reviews previous work that has utilised MR to elucidate the effects of factors acting at different stages of the lifecourse. We conducted searches in PubMed, Embase, Medline and MedRXiv databases. Thirteen methodological studies were identified. Four studies focused on the impact of time-varying exposures in the interpretation of "standard" MR techniques, five presented methods for repeat measures of the same exposure, and four described methodological approaches to handling multigenerational exposures. A further 127 studies presented the results of an applied research question. Over half of these estimated effects in a single generation and were largely confined to the exploration of questions regarding body composition. The remaining mostly estimated maternal effects. There is a growing body of research focused on the development and application of MR methods to address lifecourse research questions. The underlying assumptions require careful consideration and the interpretation of results rely on select conditions. Whilst we do not advocate for a particular strategy, we encourage practitioners to make informed decisions on how to approach a research question in this field with a solid understanding of the limitations present and how these may be affected by the research question, modelling approach, instrument selection, and data availability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grace M Power
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK.
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Oakfield House, Oakfield Grove, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK.
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
| | - Eleanor Sanderson
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Oakfield House, Oakfield Grove, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
| | - Panagiota Pagoni
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Oakfield House, Oakfield Grove, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
| | - Abigail Fraser
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Oakfield House, Oakfield Grove, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
| | - Tim Morris
- Centre for Longitudinal Studies, Social Research Institute, University College London, London, UK
| | - Claire Prince
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Oakfield House, Oakfield Grove, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
| | - Timothy M Frayling
- Genetics of Complex Traits, College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Jon Heron
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Oakfield House, Oakfield Grove, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
| | - Tom G Richardson
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Oakfield House, Oakfield Grove, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
| | - Rebecca Richmond
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Oakfield House, Oakfield Grove, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
| | - Jessica Tyrrell
- Genetics of Complex Traits, College of Medicine and Health, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
| | - Nicole Warrington
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- Frazer Institute, University of Queensland, Woolloongabba, Queensland, Australia
| | - George Davey Smith
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Oakfield House, Oakfield Grove, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
- Institute for Molecular Bioscience, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
- NIHR Bristol Biomedical Research Centre Bristol, University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | - Laura D Howe
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Oakfield House, Oakfield Grove, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
| | - Kate M Tilling
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Oakfield House, Oakfield Grove, Bristol, BS8 2BN, UK
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Shorey-Kendrick LE, McEvoy CT, Milner K, Harris J, Brownsberger J, Tepper RS, Park B, Gao L, Vu A, Morris CD, Spindel ER. Improvements in lung function following vitamin C supplementation to pregnant smokers are associated with buccal DNA methylation at 5 years of age. Clin Epigenetics 2024; 16:35. [PMID: 38413986 PMCID: PMC10900729 DOI: 10.1186/s13148-024-01644-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2023] [Accepted: 02/12/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND We previously reported in the "Vitamin C to Decrease the Effects of Smoking in Pregnancy on Infant Lung Function" randomized clinical trial (RCT) that vitamin C (500 mg/day) supplementation to pregnant smokers is associated with improved respiratory outcomes that persist through 5 years of age. The objective of this study was to assess whether buccal cell DNA methylation (DNAm), as a surrogate for airway epithelium, is associated with vitamin C supplementation, improved lung function, and decreased occurrence of wheeze. METHODS We conducted epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) using Infinium MethylationEPIC arrays and buccal DNAm from 158 subjects (80 placebo; 78 vitamin C) with pulmonary function testing (PFT) performed at the 5-year visit. EWAS were performed on (1) vitamin C treatment, (2) forced expiratory flow between 25 and 75% of expired volume (FEF25-75), and (3) offspring wheeze. Models were adjusted for sex, race, study site, gestational age at randomization (≤ OR > 18 weeks), proportion of epithelial cells, and latent covariates in addition to child length at PFT in EWAS for FEF25-75. We considered FDR p < 0.05 as genome-wide significant and nominal p < 0.001 as candidates for downstream analyses. Buccal DNAm measured in a subset of subjects at birth and near 1 year of age was used to determine whether DNAm signatures originated in utero, or emerged with age. RESULTS Vitamin C treatment was associated with 457 FDR significant (q < 0.05) differentially methylated CpGs (DMCs; 236 hypermethylated; 221 hypomethylated) and 53 differentially methylated regions (DMRs; 26 hyper; 27 hypo) at 5 years of age. FEF25-75 was associated with one FDR significant DMC (cg05814800), 1,468 candidate DMCs (p < 0.001), and 44 DMRs. Current wheeze was associated with 0 FDR-DMCs, 782 candidate DMCs, and 19 DMRs (p < 0.001). In 365/457 vitamin C FDR significant DMCs at 5 years of age, there was no significant interaction between time and treatment. CONCLUSIONS Vitamin C supplementation to pregnant smokers is associated with buccal DNA methylation in offspring at 5 years of age, and most methylation signatures appear to be persistent from the prenatal period. Buccal methylation at 5 years was also associated with current lung function and occurrence of wheeze, and these functionally associated loci are enriched for vitamin C associated loci. Clinical trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01723696 and NCT03203603.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lyndsey E Shorey-Kendrick
- Division of Neuroscience, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health and Science University, Beaverton, OR, 97006, USA.
| | - Cindy T McEvoy
- Department of Pediatrics, Pape Pediatric Research Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Kristin Milner
- Department of Pediatrics, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Julia Harris
- Department of Pediatrics, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Julie Brownsberger
- Department of Pediatrics, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Robert S Tepper
- Department of Pediatrics, Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Byung Park
- Biostatistics Shared Resources, Knight Cancer Institute, Bioinformatics and Biostatistics Core, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland State University School of Public Health, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Lina Gao
- Biostatistics Shared Resources, Knight Cancer Institute, Bioinformatics and Biostatistics Core, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland State University School of Public Health, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Annette Vu
- Oregon Clinical & Translational Research Institute, Oregon Health and Science; Department of Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Cynthia D Morris
- Oregon Clinical & Translational Research Institute, Oregon Health and Science; Department of Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Eliot R Spindel
- Division of Neuroscience, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health and Science University, Beaverton, OR, 97006, USA
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Li S, Cao C, Watson D, Yang L, Kharbanda EO. Maternal smoking during pregnancy links to childhood blood pressure through birth weight and body mass index: NHANES 1999-2018. J Hum Hypertens 2024; 38:134-139. [PMID: 37773293 DOI: 10.1038/s41371-023-00865-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2023] [Revised: 05/22/2023] [Accepted: 06/21/2023] [Indexed: 10/01/2023]
Abstract
Maternal smoking during pregnancy (MSDP) is associated with lower birth weight, childhood obesity, and elevated blood pressure (BP) in offspring. We aimed to examine whether birth weight and body mass index (BMI) mediate the effect of MSDP on BP in children. The study included 14,713 children aged 8 to 15 years from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys from 1999 to 2018. General third-variable models were used to examine the mediating effects of birth weight and BMI on the association of MSDP with BP. A total of 1928 (13.1%) children were exposed to MSDP. MSDP was associated with reduced birth weight (p < 0.001), increased BMI (p < 0.001), and elevated systolic BP (p = 0.005). MSDP was not associated with systolic BP after adjustment for birth weight and BMI z-score (p = 0.875), with 95.0% of the effect of MSDP on BP mediated by birth weight (39.1%) and BMI (55.9%). In conclusion, lower birth weight and increased obesity measures mediate the adverse effects of MSDP on BP in children. These findings provide novel mechanistic insight into the adverse effect of MSDP on BP in children and have implications for preventing hypertension in later life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shengxu Li
- Children's Minnesota Research Institute, Children's Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
| | - Chao Cao
- Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Dave Watson
- Children's Minnesota Research Institute, Children's Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA
| | - Lin Yang
- Department of Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention Research, Cancer Research & Analytics, Cancer Care Alberta, Alberta Health Services, Calgary, AB, Canada
- Departments of Oncology and Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
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Bakulski KM, Blostein F, London SJ. Linking Prenatal Environmental Exposures to Lifetime Health with Epigenome-Wide Association Studies: State-of-the-Science Review and Future Recommendations. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES 2023; 131:126001. [PMID: 38048101 PMCID: PMC10695268 DOI: 10.1289/ehp12956] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2023] [Revised: 10/06/2023] [Accepted: 10/16/2023] [Indexed: 12/05/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The prenatal environment influences lifetime health; epigenetic mechanisms likely predominate. In 2016, the first international consortium paper on cigarette smoking during pregnancy and offspring DNA methylation identified extensive, reproducible exposure signals. This finding raised expectations for epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) of other exposures. OBJECTIVE We review the current state-of-the-science for DNA methylation associations across prenatal exposures in humans and provide future recommendations. METHODS We reviewed 134 prenatal environmental EWAS of DNA methylation in newborns, focusing on 51 epidemiological studies with meta-analysis or replication testing. Exposures spanned cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, air pollution, dietary factors, psychosocial stress, metals, other chemicals, and other exogenous factors. Of the reproducible DNA methylation signatures, we examined implementation as exposure biomarkers. RESULTS Only 19 (14%) of these prenatal EWAS were conducted in cohorts of 1,000 or more individuals, reflecting the still early stage of the field. To date, the largest perinatal EWAS sample size was 6,685 participants. For comparison, the most recent genome-wide association study for birth weight included more than 300,000 individuals. Replication, at some level, was successful with exposures to cigarette smoking, folate, dietary glycemic index, particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter < 10 μ m and < 2.5 μ m , nitrogen dioxide, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, electronic waste, PFAS, and DDT. Reproducible effects of a more limited set of prenatal exposures (smoking, folate) enabled robust methylation biomarker creation. DISCUSSION Current evidence demonstrates the scientific premise for reproducible DNA methylation exposure signatures. Better powered EWAS could identify signatures across many exposures and enable comprehensive biomarker development. Whether methylation biomarkers of exposures themselves cause health effects remains unclear. We expect that larger EWAS with enhanced coverage of epigenome and exposome, along with improved single-cell technologies and evolving methods for integrative multi-omics analyses and causal inference, will expand mechanistic understanding of causal links between environmental exposures, the epigenome, and health outcomes throughout the life course. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP12956.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Freida Blostein
- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
- Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Stephanie J. London
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
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Johnson RK, Ireton AJ, Carry PM, Vanderlinden LA, Dong F, Romero A, Johnson DR, Ghosh D, Yang F, Frohnert B, Yang IV, Kechris K, Rewers M, Norris JM. DNA Methylation Near DLGAP2 May Mediate the Relationship between Family History of Type 1 Diabetes and Type 1 Diabetes Risk. Pediatr Diabetes 2023; 2023:5367637. [PMID: 38765731 PMCID: PMC11100224 DOI: 10.1155/2023/5367637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Given the differential risk of type 1 diabetes (T1D) in offspring of affected fathers versus affected mothers and our observation that T1D cases have differential DNA methylation near the imprinted DLGAP2 gene compared to controls, we examined whether methylation near DLGAP2 mediates the association between T1D family history and T1D risk. In a nested case-control study of 87 T1D cases and 87 controls from the Diabetes Autoimmunity Study in the Young, we conducted causal mediation analyses at 12 DLGAP2 region CpGs to decompose the effect of family history on T1D risk into indirect and direct effects. These effects were estimated from two regression models adjusted for the human leukocyte antigen DR3/4 genotype: a linear regression of family history on methylation (mediator model) and a logistic regression of family history and methylation on T1D (outcome model). For 8 of the 12 CpGs, we identified a significant interaction between T1D family history and methylation on T1D risk. Accounting for this interaction, we found that the increased risk of T1D for children with affected mothers compared to those with no family history was mediated through differences in methylation at two CpGs (cg27351978, cg00565786) in the DLGAP2 region, as demonstrated by a significant pure natural indirect effect (odds ratio (OR) = 1.98, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.06-3.71) and nonsignificant total natural direct effect (OR = 1.65, 95% CI: 0.16-16.62) (for cg00565786). In contrast, the increased risk of T1D for children with an affected father or sibling was not explained by DNA methylation changes at these CpGs. Results were similar for cg27351978 and robust in sensitivity analyses. Lastly, we found that DNA methylation in the DLGAP2 region was associated (P<0:05) with gene expression of nearby protein-coding genes DLGAP2, ARHGEF10, ZNF596, and ERICH1. Results indicate that the maternal protective effect conferred through exposure to T1D in utero may operate through changes to DNA methylation that have functional downstream consequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Randi K. Johnson
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
- Department of Epidemiology, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Amanda J. Ireton
- Department of Epidemiology, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Patrick M. Carry
- Department of Epidemiology, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
- Colorado Program for Musculoskeletal Research, Department of Orthopedics, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Lauren A. Vanderlinden
- Department of Epidemiology, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Fran Dong
- Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Alex Romero
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - David R. Johnson
- Department of Epidemiology, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Debashis Ghosh
- Department of Biostatistics and Informatics, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Fan Yang
- Department of Biostatistics and Informatics, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Brigitte Frohnert
- Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Ivana V. Yang
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Katerina Kechris
- Department of Biostatistics and Informatics, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Marian Rewers
- Barbara Davis Center for Diabetes, School of Medicine, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
| | - Jill M. Norris
- Department of Epidemiology, Colorado School of Public Health, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, USA
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Jumentier B, Barrot CC, Estavoyer M, Tost J, Heude B, François O, Lepeule J. High-Dimensional Mediation Analysis: A New Method Applied to Maternal Smoking, Placental DNA Methylation, and Birth Outcomes. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES 2023; 131:47011. [PMID: 37058433 PMCID: PMC10104171 DOI: 10.1289/ehp11559] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2022] [Revised: 02/22/2023] [Accepted: 02/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/19/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND High-dimensional mediation analysis is an extension of unidimensional mediation analysis that includes multiple mediators, and increasingly it is being used to evaluate the indirect omics-layer effects of environmental exposures on health outcomes. Analyses involving high-dimensional mediators raise several statistical issues. Although many methods have recently been developed, no consensus has been reached about the optimal combination of approaches to high-dimensional mediation analyses. OBJECTIVES We developed and validated a method for high-dimensional mediation analysis (HDMAX2) and applied it to evaluate the causal role of placental DNA methylation in the pathway between exposure to maternal smoking (MS) during pregnancy and gestational age (GA) and birth weight of the baby at birth. METHODS HDMAX2 combines latent factor regression models for epigenome-wide association studies with max2 tests for mediation and considers CpGs and aggregated mediator regions (AMRs). HDMAX2 was carefully evaluated using simulated data and compared to state-of-the-art multidimensional epigenetic mediation methods. Then, HDMAX2 was applied to data from 470 women of the Etude des Déterminants pré et postnatals du développement de la santé de l'Enfant (EDEN) cohort. RESULTS HDMAX2 demonstrated increased power in comparison with state-of-the-art multidimensional mediation methods and identified several AMRs not identified in previous mediation analyses of exposure to MS on birth weight and GA. The results provided evidence for a polygenic architecture of the mediation pathway with a posterior estimate of the overall indirect effect of CpGs and AMRs equal to 44.5g lower birth weight representing 32.1% of the total effect [standard deviation (SD)=60.7g]. HDMAX2 also identified AMRs having simultaneous effects both on GA and on birth weight. Among the top hits of both GA and birth weight analyses, regions located in COASY, BLCAP, and ESRP2 also mediated the relationship between GA and birth weight, suggesting reverse causality in the relationship between GA and the methylome. DISCUSSION HDMAX2 outperformed existing approaches and revealed an unsuspected complexity of the potential causal relationships between exposure to MS and birth weight at the epigenome-wide level. HDMAX2 is applicable to a wide range of tissues and omic layers. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP11559.
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Affiliation(s)
- Basile Jumentier
- Université Grenoble-Alpes, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Grenoble INP, TIMC CNRS UMR 5525, Grenoble, France
| | - Claire-Cécile Barrot
- Université Grenoble-Alpes, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Grenoble INP, TIMC CNRS UMR 5525, Grenoble, France
| | - Maxime Estavoyer
- Université Grenoble-Alpes, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Grenoble INP, TIMC CNRS UMR 5525, Grenoble, France
| | - Jorg Tost
- Laboratory for Epigenetics and Environment, Centre National de Recherche en Genomique Humaine, CEA – Institut de Biologie François Jacob, University Paris Saclay, Evry, France
| | - Barbara Heude
- Université Paris Cité et Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, Inserm, INRAE, Centre de Recherche en Épidémiologie et StatistiqueS (CRESS), F-75004 Paris, France
| | - Olivier François
- Université Grenoble-Alpes, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Grenoble INP, TIMC CNRS UMR 5525, Grenoble, France
- Inria Grenoble – Rhône-Alpes Inovallée, Montbonnot, France
| | - Johanna Lepeule
- Université Grenoble-Alpes, Inserm, CNRS, Team of Environmental Epidemiology Applied to Development and Respiratory Health, Institute for Advanced Biosciences, Grenoble, France
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McCabe CF, Goodrich JM, Bakulski KM, Domino SE, Jones TR, Colacino J, Dolinoy DC, Padmanabhan V. Probing prenatal bisphenol exposures and tissue-specific DNA methylation responses in cord blood, cord tissue, and placenta. Reprod Toxicol 2023; 115:74-84. [PMID: 36473650 PMCID: PMC9851062 DOI: 10.1016/j.reprotox.2022.11.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2022] [Revised: 11/15/2022] [Accepted: 11/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The early-gestational fetal epigenome establishes the landscape for fetal development and is susceptible to disruption via environmental stressors including chemical exposures. Research has explored how cell- and tissue-type-specific epigenomic signatures contribute to human disease, but how the epigenome in each tissue comparatively responds to environmental exposures is largely unknown. This pilot study compared DNA methylation in four previously identified genes across matched cord blood (CB), cord tissue (CT), and placental (PL) samples from 28 mother-infant pairs in tthe Michigan Mother Infant Pairs study; evaluated association between prenatal exposure to bisphenols (BPA, BPF, and BPS) and DNA methylation (DNAm) by tissue type; compared epigenome-wide DNAm of CB and PL; and explored associations between prenatal bisphenol exposures and epigenome-wide DNAm in PL. Bisphenol concentrations were quantified in first-trimester maternal urine. DNAm was assessed at four genes via pyrosequencing in three tissues; epigenome-wide DNAm analysis via Infinium MethylationEPIC array was completed on CB and PL. Candidate gene analysis revealed tissue-specific differences across all genes. In adjusted linear regression, BPA and BPF were associated with DNAm across candidate genes in PL but not CB and CT. Epigenome-wide comparison of matched CB and PL DNAm revealed tissue-specific differences at most CpG sites and modest associations between maternal first-trimester bisphenol exposures and PL but not CB DNAm. These data endorse inclusion of a variety of tissues in prenatal exposure studies. Overlapping and divergent responses in CB, CT, and PL demonstrate their utility in combination to capture a fuller picture of the epigenetic effect of developmental exposures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carolyn F McCabe
- Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Jaclyn M Goodrich
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Kelly M Bakulski
- Department of Epidemiology, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Steven E Domino
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Tamara R Jones
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Justin Colacino
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Dana C Dolinoy
- Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Vasantha Padmanabhan
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Department of Pediatrics, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA; Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
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Gil GP, Ananina G, Maschietto M, Lima SCS, da Silva Costa SM, Baptista LDC, Ito MT, Costa FF, Costa ML, de Melo MB. Epigenetic analysis in placentas from sickle cell disease patients reveals a hypermethylation profile. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0274762. [PMID: 36129958 PMCID: PMC9491616 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0274762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2021] [Accepted: 09/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Pregnancy in Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) women is associated to increased risk of clinical and obstetrical complications. Placentas from SCD pregnancies can present increased abnormal findings, which may lead to placental insufficiency, favoring adverse perinatal outcome. These placental abnormalities are well known and reported, however little is known about the molecular mechanisms, such as epigenetics. Thus, our aim was to evaluate the DNA methylation profile in placentas from women with SCD (HbSS and HbSC genotypes), compared to uncomplicated controls (HbAA). We included in this study 11 pregnant women with HbSS, 11 with HbSC and 21 with HbAA genotypes. Illumina Methylation EPIC BeadChip was used to assess the whole placental DNA methylation. Pyrosequencing was used for array data validation and qRT-PCR was applied for gene expression analysis. Our results showed high frequency of hypermethylated CpGs sites in HbSS and HbSC groups with 73.5% and 76.2% respectively, when compared with the control group. Differentially methylated regions (DMRs) also showed an increased hypermethylation status for the HbSS (89%) and HbSC (86%) groups, when compared with the control group methylation data. DMRs were selected for methylation validation (4 DMRs-HbSS and 3 DMRs the HbSC groups) and after analyses three were validated in the HbSS group, and none in the HbSC group. The gene expression analysis showed differential expression for the PTGFR (-2.97-fold) and GPR56 (3.0-fold) genes in the HbSS group, and for the SPOCK1 (-2.40-fold) and ADCY4 (1.80-fold) genes in the HbSC group. Taken together, these data strongly suggest that SCD (HbSS and HbSC genotypes) can alter placental DNA methylation and lead to gene expression changes. These changes possibly contribute to abnormal placental development and could impact in the clinical course, especially for the fetus, possibly leading to increased risk of abortion, fetal growth restriction (FGR), stillbirth, small for gestational age newborns and prematurity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gislene Pereira Gil
- Center for Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering (CBMEG), University of Campinas-UNICAMP, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Galina Ananina
- Center for Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering (CBMEG), University of Campinas-UNICAMP, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | | | - Sueli Matilde da Silva Costa
- Center for Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering (CBMEG), University of Campinas-UNICAMP, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Leticia de Carvalho Baptista
- Center for Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering (CBMEG), University of Campinas-UNICAMP, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Mirta Tomie Ito
- Center for Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering (CBMEG), University of Campinas-UNICAMP, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | - Maria Laura Costa
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Campinas, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Mônica Barbosa de Melo
- Center for Molecular Biology and Genetic Engineering (CBMEG), University of Campinas-UNICAMP, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil
- * E-mail:
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9
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Cosin-Tomas M, Cilleros-Portet A, Aguilar-Lacasaña S, Fernandez-Jimenez N, Bustamante M. Prenatal Maternal Smoke, DNA Methylation, and Multi-omics of Tissues and Child Health. Curr Environ Health Rep 2022; 9:502-512. [PMID: 35670920 PMCID: PMC9363403 DOI: 10.1007/s40572-022-00361-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW Maternal tobacco smoking during pregnancy is of public health concern, and understanding the biological mechanisms can help to promote smoking cessation campaigns. This non-systematic review focuses on the effects of maternal smoking during pregnancy on offspring's epigenome, consistent in chemical modifications of the genome that regulate gene expression. RECENT FINDINGS Recent meta-analyses of epigenome-wide association studies have shown that maternal smoking during pregnancy is consistently associated with offspring's DNA methylation changes, both in the placenta and blood. These studies indicate that effects on blood DNA methylation can persist for years, and that the longer the duration of the exposure and the higher the dose, the larger the effects. Hence, DNA methylation scores have been developed to estimate past exposure to maternal smoking during pregnancy as biomarkers. There is robust evidence for DNA methylation alterations associated with maternal smoking during pregnancy; however, the role of sex, ethnicity, and genetic background needs further exploration. Moreover, there are no conclusive studies about exposure to low doses or during the preconception period. Similarly, studies on tissues other than the placenta and blood are scarce, and cell-type specificity within tissues needs further investigation. In addition, biological interpretation of DNA methylation findings requires multi-omics data, poorly available in epidemiological settings. Finally, although several mediation analyses link DNA methylation changes with health outcomes, they do not allow causal inference. For this, a combination of data from multiple study designs will be essential in the future to better address this topic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Cosin-Tomas
- ISGlobal, Institute for Global Health, Barcelona, Spain. .,Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain. .,CIBER Epidemiología Y Salud Pública, Madrid, Spain.
| | - Ariadna Cilleros-Portet
- Department of Genetics, Physical Anthropology and Animal Physiology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and Biocruces-Bizkaia Health Research Institute, Basque Country, Spain
| | - Sofía Aguilar-Lacasaña
- ISGlobal, Institute for Global Health, Barcelona, Spain.,Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain.,CIBER Epidemiología Y Salud Pública, Madrid, Spain
| | - Nora Fernandez-Jimenez
- Department of Genetics, Physical Anthropology and Animal Physiology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and Biocruces-Bizkaia Health Research Institute, Basque Country, Spain
| | - Mariona Bustamante
- ISGlobal, Institute for Global Health, Barcelona, Spain.,Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain.,CIBER Epidemiología Y Salud Pública, Madrid, Spain
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10
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Lapehn S, Paquette AG. The Placental Epigenome as a Molecular Link Between Prenatal Exposures and Fetal Health Outcomes Through the DOHaD Hypothesis. Curr Environ Health Rep 2022; 9:490-501. [PMID: 35488174 PMCID: PMC9363315 DOI: 10.1007/s40572-022-00354-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/08/2022] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Purpose of Review The developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) hypothesis posits that the perinatal environment can impact fetal and later life health. The placenta is uniquely situated to assess prenatal exposures in the context of DOHaD because it is an essential ephemeral fetal organ that manages the transport of oxygen, nutrients, waste, and endocrine signals between the mother and fetus. The purpose of this review is to summarize recent studies that evaluated the DOHaD hypothesis in human placentas using epigenomics, including DNA methylation and transcriptomic studies of mRNA, lncRNA, and microRNAs. Recent Findings Between 2016 and 2021, 28 articles evaluated associations between prenatal exposures and placental epigenomics across broad exposure categories including maternal smoking, psychosocial stressors, chemicals, air pollution, and metals. Sixteen of these studies connected exposures to health outcome such as birth weight, fetal growth, or infant neurobehavior through mediation analysis, identification of shared associations between exposure and outcome, or network analysis. These aspects of infant and childhood health serve as a foundation for future studies that aim to use placental epigenetics to understand relationships between the prenatal environment and perinatal complications (such as preterm birth or fetal growth restriction) or later life childhood health. Summary Placental DNA methylation and RNA expression have been linked to numerous prenatal exposures, such as PM2.5 air pollution, metals, and maternal smoking, as well as infant and childhood health outcomes, including fetal growth and birth weight. Placental epigenomics provides a unique opportunity to expand the DOHaD premise, particularly if research applies novel methodologies such as multi-omics analysis, sequencing of non-coding RNAs, mixtures analysis, and assessment of health outcomes beyond early childhood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samantha Lapehn
- Center for Developmental Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Seattle Children's Research Institute, 1900 9th Avenue, Seattle, WA, 98101, USA
| | - Alison G Paquette
- Center for Developmental Biology and Regenerative Medicine, Seattle Children's Research Institute, 1900 9th Avenue, Seattle, WA, 98101, USA. .,Department of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
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11
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Jumentier B, Caye K, Heude B, Lepeule J, François O. Sparse latent factor regression models for genome-wide and epigenome-wide association studies. Stat Appl Genet Mol Biol 2022; 21:sagmb-2021-0035. [PMID: 35245419 DOI: 10.1515/sagmb-2021-0035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2021] [Accepted: 02/06/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Association of phenotypes or exposures with genomic and epigenomic data faces important statistical challenges. One of these challenges is to account for variation due to unobserved confounding factors, such as individual ancestry or cell-type composition in tissues. This issue can be addressed with penalized latent factor regression models, where penalties are introduced to cope with high dimension in the data. If a relatively small proportion of genomic or epigenomic markers correlate with the variable of interest, sparsity penalties may help to capture the relevant associations, but the improvement over non-sparse approaches has not been fully evaluated yet. Here, we present least-squares algorithms that jointly estimate effect sizes and confounding factors in sparse latent factor regression models. In simulated data, sparse latent factor regression models generally achieved higher statistical performance than other sparse methods, including the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator and a Bayesian sparse linear mixed model. In generative model simulations, statistical performance was slightly lower (while being comparable) to non-sparse methods, but in simulations based on empirical data, sparse latent factor regression models were more robust to departure from the model than the non-sparse approaches. We applied sparse latent factor regression models to a genome-wide association study of a flowering trait for the plant Arabidopsis thaliana and to an epigenome-wide association study of smoking status in pregnant women. For both applications, sparse latent factor regression models facilitated the estimation of non-null effect sizes while overcoming multiple testing issues. The results were not only consistent with previous discoveries, but they also pinpointed new genes with functional annotations relevant to each application.
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Affiliation(s)
- Basile Jumentier
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Grenoble INP, TIMC-IMAG CNRS UMR 5525, Université Grenoble-Alpes, Grenoble, 38000, France.,Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Institute for Advanced Biosciences, INSERM U 1209, CNRS UMR 5309, Université Grenoble-Alpes, Grenoble, 38000, France
| | - Kevin Caye
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Grenoble INP, TIMC-IMAG CNRS UMR 5525, Université Grenoble-Alpes, Grenoble, 38000, France
| | - Barbara Heude
- Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Centre of Research in Epidemiology and Statistics, INSERM UMR 1153, Université de Paris, F75004 Paris, France
| | - Johanna Lepeule
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Institute for Advanced Biosciences, INSERM U 1209, CNRS UMR 5309, Université Grenoble-Alpes, Grenoble, 38000, France
| | - Olivier François
- Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Grenoble INP, TIMC-IMAG CNRS UMR 5525, Université Grenoble-Alpes, Grenoble, 38000, France.,Inria Grenoble, Equipe Statify, Laboratoire Jean Kuntzmann, Rhône-Alpes Inovallée 655 Avenue de l'Europe - CS 90051, Montbonnot, 38334, France
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12
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McKennan C, Nicolae D. Estimating and accounting for unobserved covariates in high-dimensional correlated data. J Am Stat Assoc 2022; 117:225-236. [PMID: 35615339 PMCID: PMC9126075 DOI: 10.1080/01621459.2020.1769635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Many high dimensional and high-throughput biological datasets have complex sample correlation structures, which include longitudinal and multiple tissue data, as well as data with multiple treatment conditions or related individuals. These data, as well as nearly all high-throughput 'omic' data, are influenced by technical and biological factors unknown to the researcher, which, if unaccounted for, can severely obfuscate estimation of and inference on the effects of interest. We therefore developed CBCV and CorrConf: provably accurate and computationally efficient methods to choose the number of and estimate latent confounding factors present in high dimensional data with correlated or nonexchangeable residuals. We demonstrate each method's superior performance compared to other state of the art methods by analyzing simulated multi-tissue gene expression data and identifying sex-associated DNA methylation sites in a real, longitudinal twin study.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Dan Nicolae
- Department of Statistics, University of Chicago
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13
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Silva AI, Camelo A, Madureira J, Reis AT, Machado AP, Teixeira JP, Costa C. Urinary cotinine assessment of maternal smoking and environmental tobacco smoke exposure status and its associations with perinatal outcomes: a cross-sectional birth study. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2022; 203:111827. [PMID: 34363802 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2021.111827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2021] [Revised: 07/28/2021] [Accepted: 07/31/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Tobacco consumption and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure remains an important public health concern. Pregnant women require particular attention as active and passive smoking during pregnancy are associated with multiple adverse perinatal outcomes. This study aimed to biochemically validate self-reported smoking and ETS exposure status among pregnant women, to more precisely ascertain its association with adverse perinatal outcomes. Data refers to 595 pregnant women who sought prenatal care in a public hospital in Porto, Portugal. A standard questionnaire on smoking and ETS-related variables was completed. Urinary cotinine (UC) concentrations were assessed by solid-phase competitive ELISA, in maternal urine samples collected on the day of delivery. The results showed that the optimal UC cut-off value to distinguish smokers from non-smokers and within non-smokers those who were exposed to ETS from those non-exposed in the third trimester of pregnancy was 74.1 ng/mL (sensitivity and specificity of 96.7% and 98.0%, respectively) and 1.6 ng/mL (sensitivity of 66.2% and specificity of 75.7%, respectively). The agreement between maternal self-reported and UC-based smoking status was very good (κ=0.919, p<0.001), but much lower for ETS exposure (κ=0.386, p<0.001). Maternal active smoking in the third trimester of pregnancy was associated with a significant decrease in birth weight, length and head circumference of 157.66 g (95% CI: -245.81, -69.52; p<0.001), 0.78 cm (95% CI: -1.22, -0.34; p=0.001) and 0.39 cm (95% CI: -0.70, -0.07; p=0.016), respectively. Maternal ETS exposure in the third trimester of pregnancy was associated with a non-significant increase in birth weight of 38.37 g (95% CI: -28.91, 105.64; p=0.263). Furthermore, maternal smoking cessation was associated with the increase of approximately 172 g in birth weight (95% CI: 50.00, 293.19). As such, there is an urgent need for increased public health awareness campaigns to encourage smoking cessation during pregnancy, in order to improve perinatal outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Inês Silva
- Environmental Health Department, National Institute of Health, Rua Alexandre Herculano 321, 4000-055, Porto, Portugal; EPIUnit, Institute of Public Health, University of Porto, Rua das Taipas 135, 4050-600, Porto, Portugal; Laboratory for Integrative and Translational Research in Population Health (ITR), Rua das Taipas 135, 4050-600, Porto, Portugal; ICBAS - Institute of Biomedical Sciences Abel Salazar, University of Porto, Rua de Jorge Viterbo Ferreira 228, 4050-313, Porto, Portugal
| | - Alexandra Camelo
- Environmental Health Department, National Institute of Health, Rua Alexandre Herculano 321, 4000-055, Porto, Portugal; EPIUnit, Institute of Public Health, University of Porto, Rua das Taipas 135, 4050-600, Porto, Portugal; Laboratory for Integrative and Translational Research in Population Health (ITR), Rua das Taipas 135, 4050-600, Porto, Portugal
| | - Joana Madureira
- Environmental Health Department, National Institute of Health, Rua Alexandre Herculano 321, 4000-055, Porto, Portugal; EPIUnit, Institute of Public Health, University of Porto, Rua das Taipas 135, 4050-600, Porto, Portugal; Laboratory for Integrative and Translational Research in Population Health (ITR), Rua das Taipas 135, 4050-600, Porto, Portugal.
| | - Ana Teresa Reis
- Environmental Health Department, National Institute of Health, Rua Alexandre Herculano 321, 4000-055, Porto, Portugal; EPIUnit, Institute of Public Health, University of Porto, Rua das Taipas 135, 4050-600, Porto, Portugal; Laboratory for Integrative and Translational Research in Population Health (ITR), Rua das Taipas 135, 4050-600, Porto, Portugal
| | - Ana Paula Machado
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Centro Hospitalar de São João, Alameda Prof. Hernâni Monteiro, 4200-319, Porto, Portugal
| | - João Paulo Teixeira
- Environmental Health Department, National Institute of Health, Rua Alexandre Herculano 321, 4000-055, Porto, Portugal; EPIUnit, Institute of Public Health, University of Porto, Rua das Taipas 135, 4050-600, Porto, Portugal; Laboratory for Integrative and Translational Research in Population Health (ITR), Rua das Taipas 135, 4050-600, Porto, Portugal
| | - Carla Costa
- Environmental Health Department, National Institute of Health, Rua Alexandre Herculano 321, 4000-055, Porto, Portugal; EPIUnit, Institute of Public Health, University of Porto, Rua das Taipas 135, 4050-600, Porto, Portugal; Laboratory for Integrative and Translational Research in Population Health (ITR), Rua das Taipas 135, 4050-600, Porto, Portugal
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14
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Li C, Cao M, Zhou X. Role of epigenetics in parturition and preterm birth. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2021; 97:851-873. [PMID: 34939297 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2021] [Revised: 11/29/2021] [Accepted: 12/02/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Preterm birth occurs worldwide and is associated with high morbidity, mortality, and economic cost. Although several risk factors associated with parturition and preterm birth have been identified, mechanisms underlying this syndrome remain unclear, thereby limiting the implementation of interventions for prevention and management. Known triggers of preterm birth include conditions related to inflammatory and immunological pathways, as well as genetics and maternal history. Importantly, epigenetics, which is the study of heritable phenotypic changes that occur without alterations in the DNA sequence, may play a role in linking social and environmental risk factors for preterm birth. Epigenetic approaches to the study of preterm birth, including analyses of the effects of microRNAs, long non-coding RNAs, DNA methylation, and histone modification, have contributed to an improved understanding of the molecular bases of both term and preterm birth. Additionally, epigenetic modifications have been linked to factors already associated with preterm birth, including obesity and smoking. The prevention and management of preterm birth remains a challenge worldwide. Although epigenetic analysis provides valuable insights into the causes and risk factors associated with this syndrome, further studies are necessary to determine whether epigenetic approaches can be used routinely for the diagnosis, prevention, and management of preterm birth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunjin Li
- College of Animal Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, 130062, China
| | - Maosheng Cao
- College of Animal Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, 130062, China
| | - Xu Zhou
- College of Animal Sciences, Jilin University, Changchun, Jilin, 130062, China
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15
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Rahimi Mehdi Abad F, Khalili P, Jalali F, Pirsadeghi A, Esmaeili Nadimi A, Manshoori A, Jalali Z. Maternal opioid use is reflected on leukocyte telomere length of male newborns. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0261013. [PMID: 34919564 PMCID: PMC8682876 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0261013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2021] [Accepted: 11/22/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Opioid use accelerates normal aging in adults that raises a question on whether it may trans-generationally affect aging and aging biomarkers in the offspring of users as well? In the present research, we investigated the relative telomere length in umbilical cord blood of newborns born to opioid consuming mothers compared to normal controls. Telomere length shortening is a known biomarker of aging and aging related diseases. Its measure at birth or early in life is considered as a predictor of individual health in adulthood. Here, we performed a case-control study to investigate whether maternal opioid use affects newborns relative telomere length (RTL). 57 mother-newborn dyads were included in this study, 30 neonates with opioid using mothers (OM), and 27 with not-opioid using mothers (NOM)). RTL was measured in leukocyte cells genomic DNA using real-time PCR. The correlation of maternal opioid use with neonates telomer length was assessed using logistic regression analysis. The results displayed a significant association between odds ratio of long RTL and maternal opioid use when sensitivity analysis was performed by neonate sex; where the data indicates significantly increased odds ratio of long leukocyte RTL in association with maternal opioid use in male neonates only. Further work is necessary to assess this association in larger samples and test the potential underlying mechanisms for this observation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatemeh Rahimi Mehdi Abad
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran
| | - Parvin Khalili
- Social Determinants of Health Research Centre, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran
- Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Fatemeh Jalali
- Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran
- Non-Communicable Diseases Research Center, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran
| | - Ali Pirsadeghi
- Molecular Medicine Research Center, Research Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran
| | - Ali Esmaeili Nadimi
- Non-Communicable Diseases Research Center, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran
- Department of Cardiology, School of Medicine, Rafsanjani University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran
| | - Azita Manshoori
- Department of Gynecology, School of Medicine, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran
| | - Zahra Jalali
- Department of Clinical Biochemistry, School of Medicine, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran
- Non-Communicable Diseases Research Center, Rafsanjan University of Medical Sciences, Rafsanjan, Iran
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16
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Salas LA, Peres LC, Thayer ZM, Smith RWA, Guo Y, Chung W, Si J, Liang L. A transdisciplinary approach to understand the epigenetic basis of race/ethnicity health disparities. Epigenomics 2021; 13:1761-1770. [PMID: 33719520 PMCID: PMC8579937 DOI: 10.2217/epi-2020-0080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2020] [Accepted: 04/07/2020] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Health disparities correspond to differences in disease burden and mortality among socially defined population groups. Such disparities may emerge according to race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status and a variety of other social contexts, and are documented for a wide range of diseases. Here, we provide a transdisciplinary perspective on the contribution of epigenetics to the understanding of health disparities, with a special emphasis on disparities across socially defined racial/ethnic groups. Scientists in the fields of biological anthropology, bioinformatics and molecular epidemiology provide a summary of theoretical, statistical and practical considerations for conducting epigenetic health disparities research, and provide examples of successful applications from cancer research using this approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucas A Salas
- Department of Epidemiology, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, Lebanon, NH 03756, USA
| | - Lauren C Peres
- Department of Cancer Epidemiology, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Tampa, FL 33612, USA
| | - Zaneta M Thayer
- Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
| | - Rick WA Smith
- Department of Anthropology, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
- The William H. Neukom Institute for Computational Science, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
| | | | - Wonil Chung
- Department of Statistics & Actuarial Science, Soongsil University, Seoul, 06478, Korea
- Program in Genetic Epidemiology & Statistical Genetics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Jiahui Si
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Department of Biostatistics & Epidemiology, Peking University School of Public Health, Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Liming Liang
- Program in Genetic Epidemiology & Statistical Genetics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
- Department of Biostatistics, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA 02115, USA
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17
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Rosenfeld CS. Transcriptomics and Other Omics Approaches to Investigate Effects of Xenobiotics on the Placenta. Front Cell Dev Biol 2021; 9:723656. [PMID: 34631709 PMCID: PMC8497882 DOI: 10.3389/fcell.2021.723656] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2021] [Accepted: 08/31/2021] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The conceptus is most vulnerable to developmental perturbation during its early stages when the events that create functional organ systems are being launched. As the placenta is in direct contact with maternal tissues, it readily encounters any xenobiotics in her bloodstream. Besides serving as a conduit for solutes and waste, the placenta possesses a tightly regulated endocrine system that is, of itself, vulnerable to pharmaceutical agents, endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), and other environmental toxicants. To determine whether extrinsic factors affect placental function, transcriptomics and other omics approaches have become more widely used. In casting a wide net with such approaches, they have provided mechanistic insights into placental physiological and pathological responses and how placental responses may impact the fetus, especially the developing brain through the placenta-brain axis. This review will discuss how such omics technologies have been utilized to understand effects of EDCs, including the widely prevalent plasticizers bisphenol A (BPA), bisphenol S (BPS), and phthalates, other environmental toxicants, pharmaceutical agents, maternal smoking, and air pollution on placental gene expression, DNA methylation, and metabolomic profiles. It is also increasingly becoming clear that miRNA (miR) are important epigenetic regulators of placental function. Thus, the evidence to date that xenobiotics affect placental miR expression patterns will also be explored. Such omics approaches with mouse and human placenta will assuredly provide key biomarkers that may be used as barometers of exposure and can be targeted by early mitigation approaches to prevent later diseases, in particular neurobehavioral disorders, originating due to placental dysfunction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheryl S Rosenfeld
- Biomedical Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States.,MU Institute for Data Science and Informatics, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States.,Thompson Center for Autism and Neurobehavioral Disorders, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States.,Genetics Area Program, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, United States
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18
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Shorey-Kendrick LE, McEvoy CT, O'Sullivan SM, Milner K, Vuylsteke B, Tepper RS, Haas DM, Park B, Gao L, Vu A, Morris CD, Spindel ER. Impact of vitamin C supplementation on placental DNA methylation changes related to maternal smoking: association with gene expression and respiratory outcomes. Clin Epigenetics 2021; 13:177. [PMID: 34538263 PMCID: PMC8451157 DOI: 10.1186/s13148-021-01161-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2021] [Accepted: 08/28/2021] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Maternal smoking during pregnancy (MSDP) affects development of multiple organ systems including the placenta, lung, brain, and vasculature. In particular, children exposed to MSDP show lifelong deficits in pulmonary function and increased risk of asthma and wheeze. Our laboratory has previously shown that vitamin C supplementation during pregnancy prevents some of the adverse effects of MSDP on offspring respiratory outcomes. Epigenetic modifications, including DNA methylation (DNAm), are a likely link between in utero exposures and adverse health outcomes, and MSDP has previously been associated with DNAm changes in blood, placenta, and buccal epithelium. Analysis of placental DNAm may reveal critical targets of MSDP and vitamin C relevant to respiratory health outcomes. RESULTS DNAm was measured in placentas obtained from 72 smokers enrolled in the VCSIP RCT: NCT03203603 (37 supplemented with vitamin C, 35 with placebo) and 24 never-smokers for reference. Methylation at one CpG, cg20790161, reached Bonferroni significance and was hypomethylated in vitamin C supplemented smokers versus placebo. Analysis of spatially related CpGs identified 93 candidate differentially methylated regions (DMRs) between treatment groups, including loci known to be associated with lung function, oxidative stress, fetal development and growth, and angiogenesis. Overlap of nominally significant differentially methylated CpGs (DMCs) in never-smokers versus placebo with nominally significant DMCs in vitamin C versus placebo identified 9059 candidate "restored CpGs" for association with placental transcript expression and respiratory outcomes. Methylation at 274 restored candidate CpG sites was associated with expression of 259 genes (FDR < 0.05). We further identified candidate CpGs associated with infant lung function (34 CpGs) and composite wheeze (1 CpG) at 12 months of age (FDR < 0.05). Increased methylation in the DIP2C, APOH/PRKCA, and additional candidate gene regions was associated with improved lung function and decreased wheeze in offspring of vitamin C-treated smokers. CONCLUSIONS Vitamin C supplementation to pregnant smokers ameliorates changes associated with maternal smoking in placental DNA methylation and gene expression in pathways potentially linked to improved placental function and offspring respiratory health. Further work is necessary to validate candidate loci and elucidate the causal pathway between placental methylation changes and outcomes of offspring exposed to MSDP. Clinical trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01723696. Registered November 6, 2012. https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/record/NCT01723696 .
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Affiliation(s)
- Lyndsey E Shorey-Kendrick
- Division of Neuroscience, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health and Science University, 505 NW 185th Ave, Beaverton, OR, 97006, USA.
| | - Cindy T McEvoy
- Department of Pediatrics, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Shannon M O'Sullivan
- Division of Neuroscience, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health and Science University, 505 NW 185th Ave, Beaverton, OR, 97006, USA
| | - Kristin Milner
- Department of Pediatrics, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Brittany Vuylsteke
- Department of Pediatrics, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Robert S Tepper
- Department of Pediatrics, Herman B Wells Center for Pediatric Research, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - David M Haas
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Byung Park
- Biostatistics Shared Resources, Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA
- Bioinformatics and Biostatistics Core, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA
- School of Public Health, Oregon Health and Science University-Portland State University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Lina Gao
- Biostatistics Shared Resources, Knight Cancer Institute, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA
- Bioinformatics and Biostatistics Core, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Annette Vu
- Department of Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Cynthia D Morris
- Department of Medical Informatics and Clinical Epidemiology, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR, USA
- Oregon Clinical and Translational Research Institute, Oregon Health and Science, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Eliot R Spindel
- Division of Neuroscience, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health and Science University, 505 NW 185th Ave, Beaverton, OR, 97006, USA
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19
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Everson TM, Vives-Usano M, Seyve E, Cardenas A, Lacasaña M, Craig JM, Lesseur C, Baker ER, Fernandez-Jimenez N, Heude B, Perron P, Gónzalez-Alzaga B, Halliday J, Deyssenroth MA, Karagas MR, Íñiguez C, Bouchard L, Carmona-Sáez P, Loke YJ, Hao K, Belmonte T, Charles MA, Martorell-Marugán J, Muggli E, Chen J, Fernández MF, Tost J, Gómez-Martín A, London SJ, Sunyer J, Marsit CJ, Lepeule J, Hivert MF, Bustamante M. Placental DNA methylation signatures of maternal smoking during pregnancy and potential impacts on fetal growth. Nat Commun 2021; 12:5095. [PMID: 34429407 PMCID: PMC8384884 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-021-24558-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2019] [Accepted: 06/22/2021] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Maternal smoking during pregnancy (MSDP) contributes to poor birth outcomes, in part through disrupted placental functions, which may be reflected in the placental epigenome. Here we present a meta-analysis of the associations between MSDP and placental DNA methylation (DNAm) and between DNAm and birth outcomes within the Pregnancy And Childhood Epigenetics (PACE) consortium (N = 1700, 344 with MSDP). We identify 443 CpGs that are associated with MSDP, of which 142 associated with birth outcomes, 40 associated with gene expression, and 13 CpGs are associated with all three. Only two CpGs have consistent associations from a prior meta-analysis of cord blood DNAm, demonstrating substantial tissue-specific responses to MSDP. The placental MSDP-associated CpGs are enriched for environmental response genes, growth-factor signaling, and inflammation, which play important roles in placental function. We demonstrate links between placental DNAm, MSDP and poor birth outcomes, which may better inform the mechanisms through which MSDP impacts placental function and fetal growth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Todd M Everson
- Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
| | - Marta Vives-Usano
- Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
- CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
| | - Emie Seyve
- University Grenoble Alpes, Inserm, CNRS, IAB, Grenoble, France
| | - Andres Cardenas
- Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, MA, USA
- Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA, USA
| | - Marina Lacasaña
- CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
- Andalusian School of Public Health, Granada, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Biosantaria (ibs.GRANADA), Granada, Spain
| | - Jeffrey M Craig
- Epigenetics Group, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, VIC, Australia
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
- IMPACT - the Institute for Mental and Physical Health and Clinical Translation, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia
| | - Corina Lesseur
- Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Emily R Baker
- Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, Lebanon, NH, USA
| | - Nora Fernandez-Jimenez
- University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Leioa, Spain
- Biocruces-Bizkaia Health Research Institute, Barakaldo, Spain
- Public Health Division of Gipuzkoa, Basque Government, San Sebastian, Spain
| | - Barbara Heude
- Université de Paris, CRESS, INSERM, INRAE, Paris, France
| | - Patrice Perron
- Department of Medicine, University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada
| | - Beatriz Gónzalez-Alzaga
- Andalusian School of Public Health, Granada, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Biosantaria (ibs.GRANADA), Granada, Spain
| | - Jane Halliday
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
- Reproductive Epidemiology, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Maya A Deyssenroth
- Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Margaret R Karagas
- Department of Epidemiology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH, USA
| | - Carmen Íñiguez
- CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
- Department of Statistics and Computational Research, Universitat de València, València, Spain
- Epidemiology and Environmental Health Joint Research Unit, FISABIO-Universitat Jaume I-Universitat de València, València, Spain
| | - Luigi Bouchard
- Department of Biochemistry and Functional Genomics, University of Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, QC, Canada
| | - Pedro Carmona-Sáez
- Bioinformatics Unit, GENYO. Centre for Genomics and Oncological Research, Pfizer, University of Granada, Andalusian Regional Government, Granada, Spain
- Department of Statistics, Faculty of Sciences, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Yuk J Loke
- Epigenetics Group, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, VIC, Australia
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Ke Hao
- Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | | | | | - Jordi Martorell-Marugán
- Bioinformatics Unit, GENYO. Centre for Genomics and Oncological Research, Pfizer, University of Granada, Andalusian Regional Government, Granada, Spain
- Atrys Health S.A., Barcelona, Spain
| | - Evelyne Muggli
- Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Parkville, VIC, Australia
- Reproductive Epidemiology, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Parkville, VIC, Australia
| | - Jia Chen
- Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA
| | - Mariana F Fernández
- CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
- Instituto de Investigación Biosantaria (ibs.GRANADA), Granada, Spain
- Biomedical Research Centre (CIBM) and School of Medicine, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Jorg Tost
- Laboratory for Epigenetics and Environment, Centre National de Recherche en Génomique Humaine, CEA - Institut de Biologie François Jacob, Evry, France
| | - Antonio Gómez-Martín
- Genomics Unit, GENYO. Centre for Genomics and Oncological Research, Pfizer, University of Granada, Andalusian Regional Government, Granada, Spain
| | - Stephanie J London
- Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Durham, NC, USA
| | - Jordi Sunyer
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
- CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
- ISGlobal, Barcelona Institute for Global Health, Barcelona, Spain
- Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute (IMIM), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Carmen J Marsit
- Gangarosa Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
- Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public health at Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Johanna Lepeule
- University Grenoble Alpes, Inserm, CNRS, IAB, Grenoble, France
| | - Marie-France Hivert
- Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, MA, USA
- Diabetes Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Mariona Bustamante
- Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG), Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain.
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain.
- CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain.
- ISGlobal, Barcelona Institute for Global Health, Barcelona, Spain.
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20
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Fujii R, Sato S, Tsuboi Y, Cardenas A, Suzuki K. DNA methylation as a mediator of associations between the environment and chronic diseases: A scoping review on application of mediation analysis. Epigenetics 2021; 17:759-785. [PMID: 34384035 DOI: 10.1080/15592294.2021.1959736] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
DNA methylation (DNAm) is one of the most studied epigenetic modifications. DNAm has emerged as a key biological mechanism and biomarkers to test associations between environmental exposure and outcomes in epidemiological studies. Although previous studies have focused on associations between DNAm and either exposure/outcomes, it is useful to test for mediation of the association between exposure and outcome by DNAm. The purpose of this scoping review is to introduce the methodological essence of statistical mediation analysis and to examine emerging epidemiological research applying mediation analyses. We conducted this scoping review for published peer-reviewed journals on this topic using online databases (PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane, and CINAHL) ending in December 2020. We extracted a total of 219 articles by initial screening. After reviewing titles, abstracts, and full texts, a total of 69 articles were eligible for this review. The breakdown of studies assigned to each category was 13 for smoking (18.8%), 8 for dietary intake and famine (11.6%), 6 for other lifestyle factors (8.7%), 8 for clinical endpoints (11.6%), 22 for environmental chemical exposures (31.9%), 2 for socioeconomic status (SES) (2.9%), and 10 for genetic factors and race (14.5%). In this review, we provide an exposure-wide summary for the mediation analysis using DNAm levels. However, we found heterogenous methods and interpretations in mediation analysis with typical issues such as different cell compositions and tissue-specificity. Further accumulation of evidence with diverse exposures, populations and with rigorous methodology will be expected to provide further insight in the role of DNAm in disease susceptibility.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryosuke Fujii
- Department of Preventive Medical Sciences, Fujita Health University School of Medical Sciences, Toyoake, Japan
| | - Shuntaro Sato
- Clinical Research Center, Nagasaki University Hospital, Nagasaki, Japan
| | - Yoshiki Tsuboi
- Department of Preventive Medical Sciences, Fujita Health University School of Medical Sciences, Toyoake, Japan
| | - Andres Cardenas
- Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health and Center for Computational Biology, University of California, Berkeley, California, US
| | - Koji Suzuki
- Department of Preventive Medical Sciences, Fujita Health University School of Medical Sciences, Toyoake, Japan
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21
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Franzago M, Fraticelli F, Marchioni M, Di Nicola M, Di Sebastiano F, Liberati M, Stuppia L, Vitacolonna E. Fat mass and obesity-associated (FTO) gene epigenetic modifications in gestational diabetes: new insights and possible pathophysiological connections. Acta Diabetol 2021; 58:997-1007. [PMID: 33743080 PMCID: PMC8272710 DOI: 10.1007/s00592-020-01668-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2020] [Accepted: 12/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/16/2022]
Abstract
AIMS Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) can lead to short- and long-term complications for the child. Epigenetic alterations could contribute to explaining the metabolic disturbances associated with foetal programming. Although the role of the FTO gene remains unclear, it affects metabolic phenotypes probably mediated by epigenetic mechanisms. The aim of this study was to assess whether placental DNA epigenetic modifications at FTO promoter-associated cysteine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) sites are correlated with GDM. A secondary aim was to evaluate the association between the placental FTO DNA methylation and the maternal metabolic traits in women with and without GDM. METHODS Socio-demographic characteristics, clinical parameters at the third trimester of pregnancy, Mediterranean diet adherence, and physical activity were assessed in 33 GDM women and 27 controls. Clinical information about the newborns was registered at birth. The FTO rs9939609 (T > A) was genotyped. RESULTS No association between FTO DNA methylation and GDM was found. DNA methylation on the maternal side at the CpG1 was associated with maternal smoking in GDM (p = 0.034), and DNA methylation at the CpG3 was correlated with smoking or former smoking in controls (p = 0.023). A higher level of TGs was correlated with higher foetal placental DNA methylation at the CpG2 (p = 0.036) in GDM. An inverse association between HDL-C and maternal placental DNA methylation at the CpG3 in controls (p = 0.045) was found. An association between FTO rs9939609 and neonatal birthweight (p = 0.033) was detected. CONCLUSIONS In the awareness that the obesity pathophysiology is complex, the study adds a piece to this intricate mosaic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marica Franzago
- Department of Medicine and Aging, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, "G. D'Annunzio" University, Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini, 66100, Chieti, Italy
- Center for Advanced Studies and Technology (CAST), "G. D'Annunzio" University, Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Federica Fraticelli
- Department of Medicine and Aging, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, "G. D'Annunzio" University, Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini, 66100, Chieti, Italy
| | - Michele Marchioni
- Laboratory of Biostatistics, Department of Medical, Oral and Biotechnological Sciences, "G.D'Annunzio" University, Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Marta Di Nicola
- Laboratory of Biostatistics, Department of Medical, Oral and Biotechnological Sciences, "G.D'Annunzio" University, Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Francesca Di Sebastiano
- Department of Obstetric and Gynaecology, SS. Annunziata Hospital, "G. D'Annunzio" University, Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Marco Liberati
- Department of Medicine and Aging, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, "G. D'Annunzio" University, Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini, 66100, Chieti, Italy
| | - Liborio Stuppia
- Center for Advanced Studies and Technology (CAST), "G. D'Annunzio" University, Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
- Department of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, "G. D'Annunzio" University, Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Ester Vitacolonna
- Department of Medicine and Aging, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, "G. D'Annunzio" University, Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini, 66100, Chieti, Italy.
- Center for Advanced Studies and Technology (CAST), "G. D'Annunzio" University, Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy.
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22
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Epigenetic Alterations of Maternal Tobacco Smoking during Pregnancy: A Narrative Review. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 18:ijerph18105083. [PMID: 34064931 PMCID: PMC8151244 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph18105083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2021] [Revised: 04/29/2021] [Accepted: 05/04/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
In utero exposure to maternal tobacco smoking is the leading cause of birth complications in addition to being associated with later impairment in child’s development. Epigenetic alterations, such as DNA methylation (DNAm), miRNAs expression, and histone modifications, belong to possible underlying mechanisms linking maternal tobacco smoking during pregnancy and adverse birth outcomes and later child’s development. The aims of this review were to provide an update on (1) the main results of epidemiological studies on the impact of in utero exposure to maternal tobacco smoking on epigenetic mechanisms, and (2) the technical issues and methods used in such studies. In contrast with miRNA and histone modifications, DNAm has been the most extensively studied epigenetic mechanism with regard to in utero exposure to maternal tobacco smoking. Most studies relied on cord blood and children’s blood, but placenta is increasingly recognized as a powerful tool, especially for markers of pregnancy exposures. Some recent studies suggest reversibility in DNAm in certain genomic regions as well as memory of smoking exposure in DNAm in other regions, upon smoking cessation before or during pregnancy. Furthermore, reversibility could be more pronounced in miRNA expression compared to DNAm. Increasing evidence based on longitudinal data shows that maternal smoking-associated DNAm changes persist during childhood. In this review, we also discuss some issues related to cell heterogeneity as well as downstream statistical analyses used to relate maternal tobacco smoking during pregnancy and epigenetics. The epigenetic effects of maternal smoking during pregnancy have been among the most widely investigated in the epigenetic epidemiology field. However, there are still huge gaps to fill in, including on the impact on miRNA expression and histone modifications to get a better view of the whole epigenetic machinery. The consistency of maternal tobacco smoking effects across epigenetic marks and across tissues will also provide crucial information for future studies. Advancement in bioinformatic and biostatistics approaches is key to develop a comprehensive analysis of these biological systems.
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23
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Legoff L, D'Cruz SC, Bouchekhchoukha K, Monfort C, Jaulin C, Multigner L, Smagulova F. In utero exposure to chlordecone affects histone modifications and activates LINE-1 in cord blood. Life Sci Alliance 2021; 4:4/6/e202000944. [PMID: 33837044 PMCID: PMC8091598 DOI: 10.26508/lsa.202000944] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2020] [Revised: 03/26/2021] [Accepted: 03/29/2021] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
In utero exposure to chlordecone affects chromatin and leads to activation of retroelements. This study shows the changes induced by chlordecone in human umbilical cord blood and blood-derived cell line. Environmental factors can induce detrimental consequences into adulthood life. In this study, we examined the epigenetic effects induced by in utero chlordecone (CD) exposure on human male cord blood as well as in blood-derived Ke-37 cell line. Genome-wide analysis of histone H3K4me3 distribution revealed that genes related to chromosome segregation, chromatin organization, and cell cycle have altered occupancy in their promoters. The affected regions were enriched in ESR1, SP family, and IKZF1 binding motifs. We also observed a global reduction in H3K9me3, markedly in repeated sequences of the genome. Decrease in H3K9me3 after CD exposure correlates with decreased methylation in LINE-1 promoters and telomere length extension. These observations on human cord blood were assessed in the Ke-37 human cell line. H3K4me3 and the expression of genes related to immune response, DNA repair, and chromatin organization, which were affected in human cord blood were also altered in CD-exposed Ke-37 cells. Our data suggest that developmental exposure to CD leads to profound changes in histone modification patterns and affects the processes controlled by them in human cord blood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Louis Legoff
- University of Rennes, EHESP, Inserm, Institut de Recherche en Santé, Environnement et Travail (Irset)-UMR_S 1085, Rennes, France
| | - Shereen Cynthia D'Cruz
- University of Rennes, EHESP, Inserm, Institut de Recherche en Santé, Environnement et Travail (Irset)-UMR_S 1085, Rennes, France
| | - Katia Bouchekhchoukha
- University of Rennes, EHESP, Inserm, Institut de Recherche en Santé, Environnement et Travail (Irset)-UMR_S 1085, Rennes, France
| | - Christine Monfort
- University of Rennes, EHESP, Inserm, Institut de Recherche en Santé, Environnement et Travail (Irset)-UMR_S 1085, Rennes, France
| | - Christian Jaulin
- Institut de Génétique et Développement de Rennes, Epigenetics and Cancer Group, UMR 6290 CNRS, Université Rennes 1, Rennes Cedex, France
| | - Luc Multigner
- University of Rennes, EHESP, Inserm, Institut de Recherche en Santé, Environnement et Travail (Irset)-UMR_S 1085, Rennes, France
| | - Fatima Smagulova
- University of Rennes, EHESP, Inserm, Institut de Recherche en Santé, Environnement et Travail (Irset)-UMR_S 1085, Rennes, France
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24
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Miyake K, Miyashita C, Ikeda-Araki A, Miura R, Itoh S, Yamazaki K, Kobayashi S, Masuda H, Ooka T, Yamagata Z, Kishi R. DNA methylation of GFI1 as a mediator of the association between prenatal smoking exposure and ADHD symptoms at 6 years: the Hokkaido Study on Environment and Children's Health. Clin Epigenetics 2021; 13:74. [PMID: 33827680 PMCID: PMC8028116 DOI: 10.1186/s13148-021-01063-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2020] [Accepted: 03/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Prenatal smoking exposure has been associated with childhood attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). However, the mechanism underlying this relationship remains unclear. We assessed whether DNA methylation differences may mediate the association between prenatal smoking exposure and ADHD symptoms at the age of 6 years. RESULTS We selected 1150 mother-infant pairs from the Hokkaido Study on the Environment and Children's Health. Mothers were categorized into three groups according to plasma cotinine levels at the third trimester: non-smokers (≤ 0.21 ng/mL), passive smokers (0.21-11.48 ng/mL), and active smokers (≥ 11.49 ng/mL). The children's ADHD symptoms were determined by the ADHD-Rating Scale at the age of 6 years. Maternal active smoking during pregnancy was significantly associated with an increased risk of ADHD symptoms (odds ratio, 1.89; 95% confidence interval, 1.14-3.15) compared to non-smoking after adjusting for covariates. DNA methylation of the growth factor-independent 1 transcriptional repressor (GFI1) region, as determined by bisulfite next-generation sequencing of cord blood samples, mediated 48.4% of the total effect of the association between maternal active smoking during pregnancy and ADHD symptoms. DNA methylation patterns of other genes (aryl-hydrocarbon receptor repressor [AHRR], cytochrome P450 family 1 subfamily A member 1 [CYP1A1], estrogen receptor 1 [ESR1], and myosin IG [MYO1G]) regions did not exert a statistically significant mediation effect. CONCLUSIONS Our findings demonstrated that DNA methylation of GFI1 mediated the association between maternal active smoking during pregnancy and ADHD symptoms at the age of 6 years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kunio Miyake
- Departments of Health Sciences, Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Medicine and Engineering, University of Yamanashi, 1110 Shimokato, Chuo, Yamanashi, 409-3898, Japan.
| | - Chihiro Miyashita
- Center for Environmental and Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Atsuko Ikeda-Araki
- Center for Environmental and Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Ryu Miura
- Center for Environmental and Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Sachiko Itoh
- Center for Environmental and Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Keiko Yamazaki
- Center for Environmental and Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Sumitaka Kobayashi
- Center for Environmental and Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Hideyuki Masuda
- Center for Environmental and Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Tadao Ooka
- Departments of Health Sciences, Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Medicine and Engineering, University of Yamanashi, 1110 Shimokato, Chuo, Yamanashi, 409-3898, Japan
| | - Zentaro Yamagata
- Departments of Health Sciences, Interdisciplinary Graduate School of Medicine and Engineering, University of Yamanashi, 1110 Shimokato, Chuo, Yamanashi, 409-3898, Japan
| | - Reiko Kishi
- Center for Environmental and Health Sciences, Hokkaido University, Hokkaido, Japan
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25
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Diemer EW, Labrecque JA, Neumann A, Tiemeier H, Swanson SA. Mendelian randomisation approaches to the study of prenatal exposures: A systematic review. Paediatr Perinat Epidemiol 2021; 35:130-142. [PMID: 32779786 PMCID: PMC7891574 DOI: 10.1111/ppe.12691] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2020] [Revised: 04/30/2020] [Accepted: 05/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Mendelian randomisation (MR) designs apply instrumental variable techniques using genetic variants to study causal effects. MR is increasingly used to evaluate the role of maternal exposures during pregnancy on offspring health. OBJECTIVES We review the application of MR to prenatal exposures and describe reporting of methodologic challenges in this area. DATA SOURCES We searched PubMed, EMBASE, Medline Ovid, Cochrane Central, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. STUDY SELECTION AND DATA EXTRACTION Eligible studies met the following criteria: (a) a maternal pregnancy exposure; (b) an outcome assessed in offspring of the pregnancy; and (c) a genetic variant or score proposed as an instrument or proxy for an exposure. SYNTHESIS We quantified the frequency of reporting of MR conditions stated, techniques used to examine assumption plausibility, and reported limitations. RESULTS Forty-three eligible studies were identified. When discussing challenges or limitations, the most common issues described were known potential biases in the broader MR literature, including population stratification (n = 29), weak instrument bias (n = 18), and certain types of pleiotropy (n = 30). Of 22 studies presenting point estimates for the effect of exposure, four defined their causal estimand. Twenty-four studies discussed issues unique to prenatal MR, including selection on pregnancy (n = 1) and pleiotropy via postnatal exposure (n = 10) or offspring genotype (n = 20). CONCLUSIONS Prenatal MR studies frequently discuss issues that affect all MR studies, but rarely discuss problems specific to the prenatal context, including selection on pregnancy and effects of postnatal exposure. Future prenatal MR studies should report and attempt to falsify their assumptions, with particular attention to issues specific to prenatal MR. Further research is needed to evaluate the impacts of biases unique to prenatal MR in practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth W. Diemer
- Department of Child and Adolescent PsychiatryErasmus MCRotterdamThe Netherlands
| | | | - Alexander Neumann
- Department of Child and Adolescent PsychiatryErasmus MCRotterdamThe Netherlands,Lady Davis Institute for Medical ResearchJewish General HospitalMontrealQCCanada
| | - Henning Tiemeier
- Department of Child and Adolescent PsychiatryErasmus MCRotterdamThe Netherlands,Department of Social and Behavioral ScienceHarvard T.H. Chan School of Public HealthBostonMAUSA
| | - Sonja A. Swanson
- Department of EpidemiologyErasmus MCRotterdamThe Netherlands,Department of EpidemiologyHarvard T.H. Chan School of Public HealthBostonMAUSA
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26
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Wang XM, Tian FY, Xie CB, Niu ZZ, Chen WQ. Abnormal placental DNA methylation variation in spontaneous preterm birth. J Matern Fetal Neonatal Med 2020; 35:4704-4712. [PMID: 33327822 DOI: 10.1080/14767058.2020.1863357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Preterm birth (PTB) has become a major public health concern as the leading cause of neonatal death, but little is understood about its etiology. Children born preterm are also at increased risk of long-term consequences such as neurodevelopmental disorders, adulthood hypertension and diabetes. Recent studies have indicated that DNA methylation may be involved in the occurrence of PTB as well as related adverse outcomes. The latest Infinium EPIC BeadChip extends the coverage of the genome and provides a better tool to help investigate the involvement of DNA methylation in these conditions. METHODS We conducted this case-control study in three Women and Children's hospitals in South China, and enrolled 32 spontaneous preterm births and 16 term births. We assessed placental DNA methylation profiling of these participants with the Infinium EPIC BeadChip. We identified PTB and gestational age (GA)-associated CpG sites with limma regression model, and applied seqlm to identify PTB-associated regions. We performed gene ontology analysis to further interpret functional enrichment of the identified differentially methylated genes in PTB. RESULTS We identified a total of 8 differentially methylated positions (DMPs) that were significantly associated with PTB (FDR < 0.1) and a total of 15 DMPs that were associated with GA (FDR < 0.1). In the regional analysis, one differentially methylated region in the SLC23A1 gene overlapped with PTB-associated CpG site. The differentially methylated CpG sites in PTB were mapped to the genes involving in biological processes mainly regarding neurodevelopment, regulation of inflammation and metabolism. CONCLUSION Our findings suggested that preterm placenta have distinct DNA methylation alterations, and these alteration patterns established at birth provide insight into the long-term consequences of preterm birth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xi-Meng Wang
- Department of Epidemiology, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution and Health Assessment, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Food, Nutrition and Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.,Department of Epidemiology, Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, Guangdong, China
| | - Fu-Ying Tian
- Department of Epidemiology, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution and Health Assessment, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Food, Nutrition and Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.,Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Chuan-Bo Xie
- Department of Cancer Prevention Research, State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zhong-Zheng Niu
- Department of Epidemiology and Environmental Health, School of Public Health and Health Professions, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY, USA
| | - Wei-Qing Chen
- Department of Epidemiology, Guangzhou Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution and Health Assessment, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Food, Nutrition and Health, School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.,Department of Information Management, Xinhua College, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
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27
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Epigenetics, pregnancy and autoimmune rheumatic diseases. Autoimmun Rev 2020; 19:102685. [PMID: 33115633 DOI: 10.1016/j.autrev.2020.102685] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2020] [Accepted: 06/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Autoimmune rheumatic diseases (ARDs) are chronic conditions with a striking female predominance, frequently affecting women of childbearing age. Sex hormones and gender dimorphism of immune response are major determinants in the multifactorial pathogenesis of ARDs, with significant implications throughout reproductive life. Particularly, pregnancy represents a challenging condition in the context of autoimmunity, baring profound hormonal and immunologic changes, which are responsible for the bi-directional interaction between ARDs outcome and pregnancy course. In the latest years epigenetics has proven to be an important player in ARDs pathogenesis, finely modulating major immune functions and variably tuning the significant gender effects in autoimmunity. Additionally, epigenetics is a recognised influencer of the physiological dynamic modifications occurring during pregnancy. Still, there is currently little evidence on the pregnancy-related epigenetic modulation of immune response in ARDs patients. This review aims to overview the current knowledge of the role of epigenetics in the context of autoimmunity, as well as during physiologic and pathologic pregnancy, discussing under-regarded aspects in the interplay between ARDs and pregnancy pathology. The outline of a new ongoing European project will be presented.
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28
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Rousseaux S, Seyve E, Chuffart F, Bourova-Flin E, Benmerad M, Charles MA, Forhan A, Heude B, Siroux V, Slama R, Tost J, Vaiman D, Khochbin S, Lepeule J. Immediate and durable effects of maternal tobacco consumption alter placental DNA methylation in enhancer and imprinted gene-containing regions. BMC Med 2020; 18:306. [PMID: 33023569 PMCID: PMC7542140 DOI: 10.1186/s12916-020-01736-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2020] [Accepted: 08/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Although exposure to cigarette smoking during pregnancy has been associated with alterations of DNA methylation in the cord blood or placental cells, whether such exposure before pregnancy could induce epigenetic alterations in the placenta of former smokers has never been investigated. METHODS Our approach combined the analysis of placenta epigenomic (ENCODE) data with newly generated DNA methylation data obtained from 568 pregnant women, the largest cohort to date, either actively smoking during their pregnancy or formerly exposed to tobacco smoking. RESULTS This strategy resulted in several major findings. First, among the 203 differentially methylated regions (DMRs) identified by the epigenome-wide association study, 152 showed "reversible" alterations of DNA methylation, only present in the placenta of current smokers, whereas 26 were also found altered in former smokers, whose placenta had not been exposed directly to cigarette smoking. Although the absolute methylation changes were smaller than those observed in other contexts, such as in some congenital diseases, the observed alterations were consistent within each DMR. This observation was further supported by a demethylation of LINE-1 sequences in the placentas of both current (beta-coefficient (β) (95% confidence interval (CI)), - 0.004 (- 0.008; 0.001)) and former smokers (β (95% CI), - 0.006 (- 0.011; - 0.001)) compared to nonsmokers. Second, the 203 DMRs were enriched in epigenetic marks corresponding to enhancer regions, including monomethylation of lysine 4 and acetylation of lysine 27 of histone H3 (respectively H3K4me1 and H3K27ac). Third, smoking-associated DMRs were also found near and/or overlapping 10 imprinted genes containing regions (corresponding to 16 genes), notably including the NNAT, SGCE/PEG10, and H19/MIR675 loci. CONCLUSIONS Our results pointing towards genomic regions containing the imprinted genes as well as enhancers as preferential targets suggest mechanisms by which tobacco could directly impact the fetus and future child. The persistence of significant DNA methylation changes in the placenta of former smokers supports the hypothesis of an "epigenetic memory" of exposure to cigarette smoking before pregnancy. This observation not only is conceptually revolutionary, but these results also bring crucial information in terms of public health concerning potential long-term detrimental effects of smoking in women.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie Rousseaux
- Université Grenoble Alpes, Inserm, CNRS, IAB, 38000, Grenoble, France
| | - Emie Seyve
- Université Grenoble Alpes, Inserm, CNRS, IAB, 38000, Grenoble, France
| | - Florent Chuffart
- Université Grenoble Alpes, Inserm, CNRS, IAB, 38000, Grenoble, France
| | | | - Meriem Benmerad
- Université Grenoble Alpes, Inserm, CNRS, IAB, 38000, Grenoble, France
| | - Marie-Aline Charles
- Université de Paris, Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Statistics (CRESS), INSERM, INRAE, Paris, France
| | - Anne Forhan
- Université de Paris, Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Statistics (CRESS), INSERM, INRAE, Paris, France
| | - Barbara Heude
- Université de Paris, Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Statistics (CRESS), INSERM, INRAE, Paris, France
| | - Valérie Siroux
- Université Grenoble Alpes, Inserm, CNRS, IAB, 38000, Grenoble, France
| | - Remy Slama
- Université Grenoble Alpes, Inserm, CNRS, IAB, 38000, Grenoble, France
| | - Jorg Tost
- Laboratory for Epigenetics and Environment, Centre National de Recherche en Génomique Humaine, CEA - Institut de Biologie François Jacob, Evry, France
| | - Daniel Vaiman
- Genomics, Epigenetics and Physiopathology of Reproduction, Institut Cochin, U1016 Inserm - UMR 8104 CNRS - Paris-Descartes University, Paris, France
| | - Saadi Khochbin
- Université Grenoble Alpes, Inserm, CNRS, IAB, 38000, Grenoble, France
| | - Johanna Lepeule
- Université Grenoble Alpes, Inserm, CNRS, IAB, 38000, Grenoble, France.
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29
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Vives-Usano M, Hernandez-Ferrer C, Maitre L, Ruiz-Arenas C, Andrusaityte S, Borràs E, Carracedo Á, Casas M, Chatzi L, Coen M, Estivill X, González JR, Grazuleviciene R, Gutzkow KB, Keun HC, Lau CHE, Cadiou S, Lepeule J, Mason D, Quintela I, Robinson O, Sabidó E, Santorelli G, Schwarze PE, Siskos AP, Slama R, Vafeiadi M, Martí E, Vrijheid M, Bustamante M. In utero and childhood exposure to tobacco smoke and multi-layer molecular signatures in children. BMC Med 2020; 18:243. [PMID: 32811491 PMCID: PMC7437049 DOI: 10.1186/s12916-020-01686-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2020] [Accepted: 06/29/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The adverse health effects of early life exposure to tobacco smoking have been widely reported. In spite of this, the underlying molecular mechanisms of in utero and postnatal exposure to tobacco smoke are only partially understood. Here, we aimed to identify multi-layer molecular signatures associated with exposure to tobacco smoke in these two exposure windows. METHODS We investigated the associations of maternal smoking during pregnancy and childhood secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure with molecular features measured in 1203 European children (mean age 8.1 years) from the Human Early Life Exposome (HELIX) project. Molecular features, covering 4 layers, included blood DNA methylation and gene and miRNA transcription, plasma proteins, and sera and urinary metabolites. RESULTS Maternal smoking during pregnancy was associated with DNA methylation changes at 18 loci in child blood. DNA methylation at 5 of these loci was related to expression of the nearby genes. However, the expression of these genes themselves was only weakly associated with maternal smoking. Conversely, childhood SHS was not associated with blood DNA methylation or transcription patterns, but with reduced levels of several serum metabolites and with increased plasma PAI1 (plasminogen activator inhibitor-1), a protein that inhibits fibrinolysis. Some of the in utero and childhood smoking-related molecular marks showed dose-response trends, with stronger effects with higher dose or longer duration of the exposure. CONCLUSION In this first study covering multi-layer molecular features, pregnancy and childhood exposure to tobacco smoke were associated with distinct molecular phenotypes in children. The persistent and dose-dependent changes in the methylome make CpGs good candidates to develop biomarkers of past exposure. Moreover, compared to methylation, the weak association of maternal smoking in pregnancy with gene expression suggests different reversal rates and a methylation-based memory to past exposures. Finally, certain metabolites and protein markers evidenced potential early biological effects of postnatal SHS, such as fibrinolysis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marta Vives-Usano
- Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain
- ISGlobal, Barcelona, Spain
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain
- CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
| | - Carles Hernandez-Ferrer
- ISGlobal, Barcelona, Spain
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain
- CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
| | - Léa Maitre
- ISGlobal, Barcelona, Spain
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain
- CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
| | - Carlos Ruiz-Arenas
- ISGlobal, Barcelona, Spain
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain
- CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
| | - Sandra Andrusaityte
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Vytautas Magnus University, K. Donelaicio Street 58, 44248, Kaunas, Lithuania
| | - Eva Borràs
- Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ángel Carracedo
- Grupo de Medicina Xenómica, Fundación Pública Galega de Medicina Xenómica, Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria de Santiago de Compostela (IDIS), SERGAS, Rúa Choupana s/n, 15706, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
- Centro de Investigación en Red de Enfermedades Raras (CIBERER) y Centro Nacional de Genotipado (CEGEN-PRB3-ISCIII), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Praza do Obradoiro s/n, 15782, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Maribel Casas
- ISGlobal, Barcelona, Spain
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain
- CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
| | - Leda Chatzi
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, 1540 Alcazar Street, Los Angeles, 90033, USA
| | - Muireann Coen
- Oncology Safety, Clinical Pharmacology and Safety Sciences, R&D Biopharmaceuticals, AstraZeneca, 1 Francis Crick Avenue, Cambridge, CB2 0RE, UK
- Division of Systems Medicine, Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Xavier Estivill
- Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain
- CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
- Quantitative Genomics Medicine Laboratories (qGenomics), Esplugues del Llobregat, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
| | - Juan R González
- ISGlobal, Barcelona, Spain
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain
- CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
| | - Regina Grazuleviciene
- Department of Environmental Sciences, Vytautas Magnus University, K. Donelaicio Street 58, 44248, Kaunas, Lithuania
| | - Kristine B Gutzkow
- Department af Environmental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Lovisenberggt 6, 0456, Oslo, Norway
| | - Hector C Keun
- Division of Systems Medicine, Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
- Cancer Metabolism and Systems Toxicology Group, Division of Cancer, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital Campus, London, W12 0NN, UK
| | - Chung-Ho E Lau
- Division of Systems Medicine, Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Solène Cadiou
- University Grenoble Alpes, Inserm, CNRS, Team of Environmental Epidemiology Applied to Reproduction and Respiratory Health, IAB, 38000, Grenoble, France
| | - Johanna Lepeule
- University Grenoble Alpes, Inserm, CNRS, Team of Environmental Epidemiology Applied to Reproduction and Respiratory Health, IAB, 38000, Grenoble, France
| | - Dan Mason
- Bradford Institute for Health Research, Bradford Royal Infirmary, Bradford, BD9 6RJ, UK
| | - Inés Quintela
- Grupo de Medicina Xenómica, Centro Nacional de Genotipado (CEGEN-PRB3-ISCIII), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, Praza do Obradoiro s/n, 15782, Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Oliver Robinson
- MRC Centre for Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Imperial College London, St. Mary's Hospital Campus, London, W21PG, UK
| | - Eduard Sabidó
- Centre for Genomic Regulation (CRG), The Barcelona Institute of Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Gillian Santorelli
- Bradford Institute for Health Research, Bradford Royal Infirmary, Bradford, BD9 6RJ, UK
| | - Per E Schwarze
- Department af Environmental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Lovisenberggt 6, 0456, Oslo, Norway
| | - Alexandros P Siskos
- Division of Systems Medicine, Department of Metabolism, Digestion and Reproduction, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, London, SW7 2AZ, UK
- Cancer Metabolism and Systems Toxicology Group, Division of Cancer, Department of Surgery and Cancer, Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital Campus, London, W12 0NN, UK
| | - Rémy Slama
- University Grenoble Alpes, Inserm, CNRS, Team of Environmental Epidemiology Applied to Reproduction and Respiratory Health, IAB, 38000, Grenoble, France
| | - Marina Vafeiadi
- Department of Social Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Crete, Heraklion, Crete, Greece
| | - Eulàlia Martí
- CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
- Departament de Biomedicina, Institut de Neurociències, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Martine Vrijheid
- ISGlobal, Barcelona, Spain
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain
- CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
| | - Mariona Bustamante
- ISGlobal, Barcelona, Spain.
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain.
- CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain.
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30
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Philips EM, Santos S, Trasande L, Aurrekoetxea JJ, Barros H, von Berg A, Bergström A, Bird PK, Brescianini S, Ní Chaoimh C, Charles MA, Chatzi L, Chevrier C, Chrousos GP, Costet N, Criswell R, Crozier S, Eggesbø M, Fantini MP, Farchi S, Forastiere F, van Gelder MMHJ, Georgiu V, Godfrey KM, Gori D, Hanke W, Heude B, Hryhorczuk D, Iñiguez C, Inskip H, Karvonen AM, Kenny LC, Kull I, Lawlor DA, Lehmann I, Magnus P, Manios Y, Melén E, Mommers M, Morgen CS, Moschonis G, Murray D, Nohr EA, Nybo Andersen AM, Oken E, Oostvogels AJJM, Papadopoulou E, Pekkanen J, Pizzi C, Polanska K, Porta D, Richiardi L, Rifas-Shiman SL, Roeleveld N, Rusconi F, Santos AC, Sørensen TIA, Standl M, Stoltenberg C, Sunyer J, Thiering E, Thijs C, Torrent M, Vrijkotte TGM, Wright J, Zvinchuk O, Gaillard R, Jaddoe VWV. Changes in parental smoking during pregnancy and risks of adverse birth outcomes and childhood overweight in Europe and North America: An individual participant data meta-analysis of 229,000 singleton births. PLoS Med 2020; 17:e1003182. [PMID: 32810184 PMCID: PMC7433860 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1003182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2019] [Accepted: 07/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Fetal smoke exposure is a common and key avoidable risk factor for birth complications and seems to influence later risk of overweight. It is unclear whether this increased risk is also present if mothers smoke during the first trimester only or reduce the number of cigarettes during pregnancy, or when only fathers smoke. We aimed to assess the associations of parental smoking during pregnancy, specifically of quitting or reducing smoking and maternal and paternal smoking combined, with preterm birth, small size for gestational age, and childhood overweight. METHODS AND FINDINGS We performed an individual participant data meta-analysis among 229,158 families from 28 pregnancy/birth cohorts from Europe and North America. All 28 cohorts had information on maternal smoking, and 16 also had information on paternal smoking. In total, 22 cohorts were population-based, with birth years ranging from 1991 to 2015. The mothers' median age was 30.0 years, and most mothers were medium or highly educated. We used multilevel binary logistic regression models adjusted for maternal and paternal sociodemographic and lifestyle-related characteristics. Compared with nonsmoking mothers, maternal first trimester smoking only was not associated with adverse birth outcomes but was associated with a higher risk of childhood overweight (odds ratio [OR] 1.17 [95% CI 1.02-1.35], P value = 0.030). Children from mothers who continued smoking during pregnancy had higher risks of preterm birth (OR 1.08 [95% CI 1.02-1.15], P value = 0.012), small size for gestational age (OR 2.15 [95% CI 2.07-2.23], P value < 0.001), and childhood overweight (OR 1.42 [95% CI 1.35-1.48], P value < 0.001). Mothers who reduced the number of cigarettes between the first and third trimester, without quitting, still had a higher risk of small size for gestational age. However, the corresponding risk estimates were smaller than for women who continued the same amount of cigarettes throughout pregnancy (OR 1.89 [95% CI 1.52-2.34] instead of OR 2.20 [95% CI 2.02-2.42] when reducing from 5-9 to ≤4 cigarettes/day; OR 2.79 [95% CI 2.39-3.25] and OR 1.93 [95% CI 1.46-2.57] instead of OR 2.95 [95% CI 2.75-3.15] when reducing from ≥10 to 5-9 and ≤4 cigarettes/day, respectively [P values < 0.001]). Reducing the number of cigarettes during pregnancy did not affect the risks of preterm birth and childhood overweight. Among nonsmoking mothers, paternal smoking was associated with childhood overweight (OR 1.21 [95% CI 1.16-1.27], P value < 0.001) but not with adverse birth outcomes. Limitations of this study include the self-report of parental smoking information and the possibility of residual confounding. As this study only included participants from Europe and North America, results need to be carefully interpreted regarding other populations. CONCLUSIONS We observed that as compared to nonsmoking during pregnancy, quitting smoking in the first trimester is associated with the same risk of preterm birth and small size for gestational age, but with a higher risk of childhood overweight. Reducing the number of cigarettes, without quitting, has limited beneficial effects. Paternal smoking seems to be associated, independently of maternal smoking, with the risk of childhood overweight. Population strategies should focus on parental smoking prevention before or at the start, rather than during, pregnancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elise M Philips
- The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.,Department of Pediatrics, Sophia Children's Hospital, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Susana Santos
- The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.,Department of Pediatrics, Sophia Children's Hospital, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Leonardo Trasande
- Department of Pediatrics, New York University School of Medicine, New York City, New York, United States of America.,Department of Environmental Medicine, New York University School of Medicine, New York City, New York, United States of America.,Department of Population Health, New York University School of Medicine, New York City, New York, United States of America.,New York Wagner School of Public Service, New York City, New York, United States of America.,New York University College of Global Public Health, New York City, New York, United States of America
| | - Juan J Aurrekoetxea
- Subdirección de Salud Pública Gipuzkoa, San Sebastián, Spain.,Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria BIODONOSTIA, San Sebastián, Spain.,CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
| | - Henrique Barros
- EPIUnit-Instituto de Saúde Pública, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.,Department of Public Health and Forensic Sciences and Medical Education, Unit of Clinical Epidemiology, Predictive Medicine and Public Health, University of Porto Medical School, Porto, Portugal
| | - Andrea von Berg
- Research Institute, Department of Pediatrics, Marien-Hospital Wesel, Wesel, Germany
| | - Anna Bergström
- Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.,Centre for Occupational and Environmental Medicine Stockholm County Council, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Philippa K Bird
- Born in Bradford, Bradford Institute for Health Research, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Bradford, United Kingdom
| | - Sonia Brescianini
- Centre for Behavioural Science and Mental Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - Carol Ní Chaoimh
- Cork Centre for Vitamin D and Nutrition Research, School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.,Irish Centre for Fetal and Neonatal Translational Research, Cork University Maternity Hospital, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
| | | | - Leda Chatzi
- Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, United States of America
| | - Cécile Chevrier
- Univ Rennes, Inserm, EHESP, Irset (Institut de recherche en santé, environment et travail)-UMR_S 1085, Rennes, France
| | - George P Chrousos
- First Department of Pediatrics, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens Medical School, Aghia Sophia Children's Hospital, Athens, Greece
| | - Nathalie Costet
- Univ Rennes, Inserm, EHESP, Irset (Institut de recherche en santé, environment et travail)-UMR_S 1085, Rennes, France
| | - Rachel Criswell
- Department of Environmental Exposure and Epidemiology, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.,Maine-Dartmouth Family Medicine Residency, Augusta, Maine, United States of America
| | - Sarah Crozier
- MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - Merete Eggesbø
- Department of Exposure and Environmental Epidemiology, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
| | - Maria Pia Fantini
- The Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Sara Farchi
- Department of Epidemiology, Lazio Regional Health Service, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Marleen M H J van Gelder
- Department for Health Evidence, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.,Radboud REshape Innovation Center, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Vagelis Georgiu
- Department of Social Medicine, University of Crete, Heraklion, Greece
| | - Keith M Godfrey
- MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom.,NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, University of Southampton and University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - Davide Gori
- The Department of Biomedical and Neuromotor Sciences, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Wojciech Hanke
- Department of Environmental Epidemiology, Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Lodz, Poland
| | - Barbara Heude
- Université de Paris, CRESS, INSERM, INRA, Paris, France
| | - Daniel Hryhorczuk
- Center for Global Health, University of Illinois College of Medicine, Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
| | - Carmen Iñiguez
- CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain.,Department of Statistics and Computational Research, Universitat de València, València, Spain
| | - Hazel Inskip
- MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom.,NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, University of Southampton and University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - Anne M Karvonen
- Department of Health Security, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Louise C Kenny
- Irish Centre for Fetal and Neonatal Translational Research, Cork University Maternity Hospital, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.,Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Cork University Maternity Hospital, Cork, Ireland
| | - Inger Kull
- Department of Clinical Science and Education, Södersjukhuset, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.,Sachs' Children and Youth Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Debbie A Lawlor
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, Oakfield House, Oakfield Grove, Bristol, United Kingdom.,Population Health Science, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Irina Lehmann
- Department of Environmental Immunology/Core Facility Studies, Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research-UFZ, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Per Magnus
- Division of Health Data and Digitalization, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
| | - Yannis Manios
- Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, School of Health Science and Education, Harokopio University, Athens, Greece
| | - Erik Melén
- Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.,Department of Clinical Science and Education, Södersjukhuset, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.,Sachs' Children and Youth Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Monique Mommers
- Department of Epidemiology, Care and Public Health Research Institute, Maastricht University Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | - Camilla S Morgen
- National Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, Copenhagen, Denmark.,Department of Public Health, Section of Epidemiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - George Moschonis
- Department of Dietetics, Nutrition and Sport, School of Allied Health, Human Services and Sport, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
| | - Deirdre Murray
- Irish Centre for Fetal and Neonatal Translational Research, Cork University Maternity Hospital, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland.,Paediatrics & Child Health, University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
| | - Ellen A Nohr
- Research Unit for Gynaecology and Obstetrics, Institute for Clinical Research, University of Southern Denmark, Denmark
| | - Anne-Marie Nybo Andersen
- Department of Public Health, Section of Epidemiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Emily Oken
- Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Adriëtte J J M Oostvogels
- Department of Public Health, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Eleni Papadopoulou
- Department of Environmental Exposures and Epidemiology, Domain of Infection Control and Environmental Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway
| | - Juha Pekkanen
- Department of Health Security, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Kuopio, Finland.,Department of Public Health, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Costanza Pizzi
- Department of Medical Sciences, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - Kinga Polanska
- Department of Environmental Epidemiology, Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Lodz, Poland
| | - Daniela Porta
- Department of Epidemiology, Lazio Regional Health Service, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Sheryl L Rifas-Shiman
- Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America
| | - Nel Roeleveld
- Department for Health Evidence, Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - Franca Rusconi
- Unit of Epidemiology, "Anna Meyer" Children's University Hospital, Florence, Italy
| | - Ana C Santos
- EPIUnit-Instituto de Saúde Pública, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal.,Department of Public Health and Forensic Sciences and Medical Education, Unit of Clinical Epidemiology, Predictive Medicine and Public Health, University of Porto Medical School, Porto, Portugal
| | - Thorkild I A Sørensen
- Department of Public Health, Section of Epidemiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.,The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, Section on Metabolic Genetics, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Marie Standl
- Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München-German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Camilla Stoltenberg
- Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Oslo, Norway.,Department of Global Public Health and Primary Care, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
| | - Jordi Sunyer
- CIBER Epidemiología y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain.,ISGlobal, Institute for Global Health, Barcelona, Spain.,Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Elisabeth Thiering
- Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München-German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany.,Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Carel Thijs
- Department of Epidemiology, Care and Public Health Research Institute, Maastricht University Maastricht, the Netherlands
| | | | - Tanja G M Vrijkotte
- Department of Public Health, Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
| | - John Wright
- Bradford Institute for Health Research, Temple Bank House, Bradford Royal Infirmary, Duckworth Lane, Bradford, United Kingdom
| | - Oleksandr Zvinchuk
- Department of Medical and Social Problems of Family Health, Institute of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kyiv, Ukraine
| | - Romy Gaillard
- The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.,Department of Pediatrics, Sophia Children's Hospital, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Vincent W V Jaddoe
- The Generation R Study Group, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.,Department of Pediatrics, Sophia Children's Hospital, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
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Ng S, Aris IM, Tint MT, Gluckman PD, Godfrey KM, Shek LPC, Yap F, Tan KH, Lek N, Teoh OH, Chan YH, Chong MFF, Lee YS, Chong YS, Kramer MS, Chan SY. High Maternal Circulating Cotinine During Pregnancy is Associated With Persistently Shorter Stature From Birth to Five Years in an Asian Cohort. Nicotine Tob Res 2020; 21:1103-1112. [PMID: 30032178 DOI: 10.1093/ntr/nty148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2017] [Accepted: 07/16/2018] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Self-reported maternal active smoking has been associated with reduced offspring birth length and shorter stature in early and late childhood. OBJECTIVE To use circulating cotinine as an objective biomarker to investigate the association between smoking and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) exposure in pregnancy and longitudinal measures of offspring length/height from birth to 60 months. METHODS In 969 maternal-offspring dyads from the GUSTO cohort, maternal plasma cotinine at 26-28 weeks' gestation was measured by LC/MS/MS and categorized into four groups: Group 1: cotinine <0.17 ng/mL (the assay's detection limit) and no ETS exposure; Group 2: cotinine <0.17 ng/mL but self-reported ETS; Group 3: cotinine 0.17-13.99 ng/mL (ETS or light smoking); Group 4: cotinine ≥14 ng/mL (active smoking). RESULTS Adjusting for infant sex, gestational age at birth, ethnicity, maternal age, education, parity, BMI, and height, Group 4 offspring were shorter at birth [z-score β = -0.42 SD units (SDs) (95% CI = -0.77 to -0.06)] than Group 1 offspring. Group 4 offspring continued to be shorter at older ages, with similar effect sizes at 3 months [-0.57 SDs (-0.95 to -0.20)], 36 months [-0.53 SDs (-0.92 to -0.15)], 48 months [-0.43 SDs (-0.81 to -0.04)], and 60 months [-0.57 SDs (-0.96 to -0.17)]. Associations were particularly marked in boys. No significant differences in stature were observed in Groups 2 or 3 compared with Group 1. CONCLUSIONS This Asian longitudinal study associated high prenatal cotinine with persistently shorter stature in offspring from birth and into early childhood, whilst low prenatal cotinine levels and ETS exposure showed no such association. IMPLICATIONS Little is known about the long-term effects of prenatal tobacco exposure on offspring stature in Asia where passive smoking is common. This study has used an objective biomarker to reveal that the association of prenatal tobacco exposure with offspring length/height mainly occurs at a high maternal cotinine level of greater than 14 ng/mL in pregnancy, consistent with active smoking, but no significant associations were found with lower cotinine levels, consistent with passive smoking. Encouraging women to quit smoking prior to or during pregnancy may avert the long-term negative impact on their child's height despite appreciable prenatal ETS exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sharon Ng
- Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, National University Health System, Singapore
| | - Izzuddin M Aris
- Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore
| | - Mya Thway Tint
- Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, National University Health System, Singapore
| | - Peter D Gluckman
- Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore.,Liggins Institute, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Keith M Godfrey
- MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit, Southampton, UK.,NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, University of Southampton and University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, UK
| | - Lynette Pei-Chi Shek
- Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore.,Department of Paediatrics, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.,Khoo Teck Puat-National University Children's Medical Institute, National University Health System, Singapore
| | - Fabian Yap
- Department of Paediatric Endocrinology, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore
| | - Kok Hian Tan
- Department of Maternal Fetal Medicine, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore.,Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore
| | - Ngee Lek
- Department of Paediatrics, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore
| | - Oon Hoe Teoh
- Respiratory Medicine Service, Department of Paediatrics, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore
| | - Yiong Huak Chan
- Biostatistics Unit, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore
| | - Mary Foong-Fong Chong
- Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore.,Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore, National University Health System, Singapore
| | - Yung Seng Lee
- Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore.,Department of Paediatrics, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.,Division of Paediatric Endocrinology, Khoo Teck Puat-National University Children's Medical Institute, National University Health System, Singapore
| | - Yap-Seng Chong
- Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, National University Health System, Singapore.,Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore
| | - Michael S Kramer
- Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, National University Health System, Singapore.,Departments of Pediatrics and of Epidemiology, Biostatistics and Occupational Health, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Canada
| | - Shiao-Yng Chan
- Department of Obstetrics & Gynaecology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, National University Health System, Singapore.,Singapore Institute for Clinical Sciences, Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR), Singapore
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Reijnders IF, Mulders AGMGJ, van der Windt M, Steegers EAP, Steegers-Theunissen RPM. The impact of periconceptional maternal lifestyle on clinical features and biomarkers of placental development and function: a systematic review. Hum Reprod Update 2020; 25:72-94. [PMID: 30407510 DOI: 10.1093/humupd/dmy037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2018] [Accepted: 10/17/2018] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Worldwide, placenta-related complications contribute to adverse pregnancy outcomes, such as pre-eclampsia, fetal growth restriction and preterm birth, with implications for the future health of mothers and offspring. The placenta develops in the periconception period and forms the interface between mother and embryo/fetus. An unhealthy periconceptional maternal lifestyle, such as smoking, alcohol and under- and over-nutrition, can detrimentally influence placental development and function. OBJECTIVE AND RATIONALE The impact of maternal lifestyle on placental health is largely unknown. Therefore, we aim to summarize the evidence of the impact of periconceptional maternal lifestyle on clinical features and biomarkers of placental development and function throughout pregnancy. SEARCH METHODS A comprehensive search in Medline, Embase, Pubmed, The Cochrane Library Web of Science and Google Scholar was conducted. The search strategy included keywords related to the maternal lifestyle, smoking, alcohol, caffeine, nutrition (including folic acid supplement intake) and body weight. For placental markers throughout pregnancy, keywords related to ultrasound imaging, serum biomarkers and histological characteristics were used. We included randomized controlled trials and observational studies published between January 2000 and March 2017 and restricted the analysis to singleton pregnancies and maternal periconceptional lifestyle. Methodological quality was scored using the ErasmusAGE tool. A protocol of this systematic review has been registered in PROSPERO International prospective register of systematic reviews (PROSPERO 2016:CRD42016045596). OUTCOMES Of 2593 unique citations found, 82 studies were included. The median quality score was 5 (range: 0-10). The findings revealed that maternal smoking was associated with lower first-trimester placental vascularization flow indices, higher second- and third-trimester resistance of the uterine and umbilical arteries and lower resistance of the middle cerebral artery. Although a negative impact of smoking on placental weight was expected, this was less clear. Alcohol use was associated with a lower placental weight. One study described higher second- and third-trimester placental growth factor (PlGF) levels after periconceptional alcohol use. None of the studies looked at caffeine intake. Adequate nutrition in the first trimester, periconceptional folic acid supplement intake and strong adherence to a Mediterranean diet, were all associated with a lower resistance of the uterine and umbilical arteries in the second and third trimester. A low caloric intake resulted in a lower placental weight, length, breadth, thickness, area and volume. Higher maternal body weight was associated with a larger placenta measured by ultrasound in the second and third trimester of pregnancy or weighed at birth. In addition, higher maternal body weight was associated with decreased PlGF-levels. WIDER IMPLICATIONS Evidence of the impact of periconceptional maternal lifestyle on placental health was demonstrated. However, due to poorly defined lifestyle exposures and time windows of investigation, unstandardized measurements of placenta-related outcomes and small sample sizes of the included studies, a cautious interpretation of the effect estimates is indicated. We suggest that future research should focus more on physiological consequences of unhealthy lifestyle during the critical periconception window. Moreover, we foresee that new evidence will support the development of lifestyle interventions to improve the health of mothers and their offspring from the earliest moment in life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ignatia F Reijnders
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Erasmus Medical Centre, University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Annemarie G M G J Mulders
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Erasmus Medical Centre, University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Melissa van der Windt
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Erasmus Medical Centre, University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Eric A P Steegers
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Erasmus Medical Centre, University Medical Centre, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
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Barišić A, Kolak M, Peterlin A, Tul N, Gašparović Krpina M, Ostojić S, Peterlin B, Pereza N. DNMT3B rs1569686 and rs2424913 gene polymorphisms are associated with positive family history of preterm birth and smoking status. Croat Med J 2020; 61:8-17. [PMID: 32118373 PMCID: PMC7063552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2019] [Accepted: 12/20/2019] [Indexed: 12/17/2023] Open
Abstract
AIM To evaluate the association between spontaneous preterm birth (SPTB) and DNA methyltransferase (DNMT)1, 3A, 3B, and 3L gene polymorphisms, and their contribution to the clinical characteristics of women with SPTB and their newborns. METHODS This case-control study, conducted in 2018, enrolled 162 women with SPTB and 162 women with term delivery. DNMT1 rs2228611, DNMT3A rs1550117, DNMT3B rs1569686, DNMT3B rs2424913, and DNMT3L rs2070565 single nucleotide polymorphisms were genotyped using polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism methods. The clinical characteristics included in the analysis were family history of preterm birth, maternal smoking, maternal age, gestational week at delivery, and fetal birth weight. RESULTS DNMT gene polymorphisms were not significantly associated with SPTB. DNMT3B rs1569686 and rs2424913 minor alleles (T) were significantly more frequent in women with familial PTB than in women with non-familial PTB, increasing the odds for familial PTB 3.30 and 3.54 times under dominant genetic models. They were also significantly more frequent in women with SPTB who smoked before pregnancy, reaching the most significant association under additive genetic models (odds ratio 6.86, 95% confidence interval 2.25-20.86, P<0.001; odds ratio 3.77, 95% confidence interval 1.36-10.52, P=0.011, respectively). CONCLUSIONS DNMT3B rs1569686 and rs2424913 gene polymorphisms might be associated with positive family history of PTB and smoking status.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Nina Pereza
- Nina Pereza, Department of Medical Biology and Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Rijeka, B. Branchetta 20, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia,
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Scarpato R, Testi S, Colosimo V, Garcia Crespo C, Micheli C, Azzarà A, Tozzi MG, Ghirri P. Role of oxidative stress, genome damage and DNA methylation as determinants of pathological conditions in the newborn: an overview from conception to early neonatal stage. MUTATION RESEARCH-REVIEWS IN MUTATION RESEARCH 2020; 783:108295. [DOI: 10.1016/j.mrrev.2019.108295] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2019] [Revised: 11/25/2019] [Accepted: 12/24/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
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35
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Cardenas A, Lutz SM, Everson TM, Perron P, Bouchard L, Hivert MF. Mediation by Placental DNA Methylation of the Association of Prenatal Maternal Smoking and Birth Weight. Am J Epidemiol 2019; 188:1878-1886. [PMID: 31497855 DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwz184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2018] [Revised: 04/17/2019] [Accepted: 04/22/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Prenatal maternal smoking is a risk factor for lower birth weight. We performed epigenome-wide association analyses of placental DNA methylation (DNAm) at 720,077 cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) sites and prenatal maternal smoking among 441 mother-infant pairs (2010-2014) and evaluated whether DNAm mediates the association between smoking and birth weight using mediation analysis. Mean birth weight was 3,443 (standard deviation, 423) g, and 38 mothers (8.6%) reported smoking at a mean of 9.4 weeks of gestation. Prenatal maternal smoking was associated with a 175-g lower birth weight (95% confidence interval (CI): -305.5, -44.8) and with differential DNAm of 71 CpGs in placenta, robust to latent-factor adjustment reflecting cell types (Bonferroni-adjusted P < 6.94 × 10-8). Of the 71 CpG sites, 7 mediated the association between prenatal smoking and birth weight (on MDS2, PBX1, CYP1A2, VPRBP, WBP1L, CD28, and CDK6 genes), and prenatal smoking × DNAm interactions on birth weight were observed for 5 CpG sites. The strongest mediator, cg22638236, was annotated to the PBX1 gene body involved in skeletal patterning and programming, with a mediated effect of 301-g lower birth weight (95% CI: -543, -86) among smokers but no mediated effect for nonsmokers (β = -38 g; 95% CI: -88, 9). Prenatal maternal smoking might interact with placental DNAm at specific loci, mediating the association with lower infant birth weight.
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36
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Ladd-Acosta C, Fallin MD. Invited Commentary: Is DNA Methylation an Actionable Mediator of Prenatal Exposure Effects on Child Health? Am J Epidemiol 2019; 188:1887-1889. [PMID: 31647097 DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwz182] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2019] [Accepted: 06/21/2019] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
A substantial body of literature has shown robust associations between prenatal smoking exposure and DNA methylation levels. The pattern of DNA methylation can be used as a molecular signature of past prenatal smoking exposure and might also provide mechanistic insights into associations between prenatal smoking exposure and adverse health outcomes. In this issue of the Journal, Cardenas et al. (Am J Epidemiol. 2019;188(11):1878-1886) evaluated whether DNA methylation mediates the association between prenatal smoking and low birth weight in a tissue that is mechanistically relevant to birth weight-the placenta-using formal mediation analyses. They found that methylation levels, at 5 loci, mediated smoking exposure effects on birth weight but only among children whose mothers smoked during pregnancy. Given the use of formal mediation methods and measurement in a mechanistically relevant tissue, this work has the potential to inform novel directions for intervention. Replication of these findings in larger and more racially and ethnically diverse samples, repeated measures to better tease apart the timing of DNA methylation changes with respect to exposure and birth weight, and continued use of intervention-focused mediation methods are needed before the impact of these findings will be fully realized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christine Ladd-Acosta
- Department of Epidemiology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
- the Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
| | - M Daniele Fallin
- Department of Mental Health, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
- the Wendy Klag Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland
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37
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Kaur G, Begum R, Thota S, Batra S. A systematic review of smoking-related epigenetic alterations. Arch Toxicol 2019; 93:2715-2740. [PMID: 31555878 DOI: 10.1007/s00204-019-02562-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/20/2019] [Accepted: 09/02/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
The aim of this study is to provide a systematic review of the known epigenetic alterations caused by cigarette smoke; establish an evidence-based perspective of their clinical value for screening, diagnosis, and treatment of smoke-related disorders; and discuss the challenges and ethical concerns associated with epigenetic studies. A well-defined, reproducible search strategy was employed to identify relevant literature (clinical, cellular, and animal-based) between 2000 and 2019 based on AMSTAR guidelines. A total of 80 studies were identified that reported alterations in DNA methylation, histone modifications, and miRNA expression following exposure to cigarette smoke. Changes in DNA methylation were most extensively documented for genes including AHRR, F2RL3, DAPK, and p16 after exposure to cigarette smoke. Likewise, miR16, miR21, miR146, and miR222 were identified to be differentially expressed in smokers and exhibit potential as biomarkers for determining susceptibility to COPD. We also identified 22 studies highlighting the transgenerational effects of maternal and paternal smoking on offspring. This systematic review lists the epigenetic events/alterations known to occur in response to cigarette smoke exposure and identifies the major genes and miRNAs that are potential targets for translational research in associated pathologies. Importantly, the limitations and ethical concerns related to epigenetic studies are also highlighted, as are the effects on the ability to address specific questions associated with exposure to tobacco/cigarette smoke. In the future, improved interpretation of epigenetic signatures will lead to their increased use as biomarkers and/or in drug development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gagandeep Kaur
- Laboratory of Pulmonary Immuno-toxicology, Department of Environmental Toxicology, 129 Health Research Centre, Southern University and A&M College, Baton Rouge, LA, 70813, USA
| | - Rizwana Begum
- Laboratory of Pulmonary Immuno-toxicology, Department of Environmental Toxicology, 129 Health Research Centre, Southern University and A&M College, Baton Rouge, LA, 70813, USA
| | - Shilpa Thota
- Laboratory of Pulmonary Immuno-toxicology, Department of Environmental Toxicology, 129 Health Research Centre, Southern University and A&M College, Baton Rouge, LA, 70813, USA
| | - Sanjay Batra
- Laboratory of Pulmonary Immuno-toxicology, Department of Environmental Toxicology, 129 Health Research Centre, Southern University and A&M College, Baton Rouge, LA, 70813, USA.
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38
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McKennan C, Nicolae D. Accounting for unobserved covariates with varying degrees of estimability in high-dimensional biological data. Biometrika 2019; 106:823-840. [PMID: 31754283 DOI: 10.1093/biomet/asz037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
An important phenomenon in high-throughput biological data is the presence of unobserved covariates that can have a significant impact on the measured response. When these covariates are also correlated with the covariate of interest, ignoring or improperly estimating them can lead to inaccurate estimates of and spurious inference on the corresponding coefficients of interest in a multivariate linear model. We first prove that existing methods to account for these unobserved covariates often inflate Type I error for the null hypothesis that a given coefficient of interest is zero. We then provide alternative estimators for the coefficients of interest that correct the inflation, and prove that our estimators are asymptotically equivalent to the ordinary least squares estimators obtained when every covariate is observed. Lastly, we use previously published DNA methylation data to show that our method can more accurately estimate the direct effect of asthma on DNA methylation levels compared to existing methods, the latter of which likely fail to recover and account for latent cell type heterogeneity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chris McKennan
- Department of Statistics, University of Chicago, 5747 S. Ellis Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A
| | - Dan Nicolae
- Department of Statistics, University of Chicago, 5747 S. Ellis Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A
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39
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Rauschert S, Melton PE, Burdge G, Craig JM, Godfrey KM, Holbrook JD, Lillycrop K, Mori TA, Beilin LJ, Oddy WH, Pennell C, Huang RC. Maternal Smoking During Pregnancy Induces Persistent Epigenetic Changes Into Adolescence, Independent of Postnatal Smoke Exposure and Is Associated With Cardiometabolic Risk. Front Genet 2019; 10:770. [PMID: 31616461 PMCID: PMC6764289 DOI: 10.3389/fgene.2019.00770] [Citation(s) in RCA: 60] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2019] [Accepted: 07/22/2019] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Background: Several studies have shown effects of current and maternal smoking during pregnancy on DNA methylation of CpG sites in newborns and later in life. Here, we hypothesized that there are long-term and persistent epigenetic effects following maternal smoking during pregnancy on adolescent offspring DNA methylation, independent of paternal and postnatal smoke exposure. Furthermore, we explored the association between DNA methylation and cardiometabolic risk factors at 17 years of age. Materials and Methods: DNA methylation was measured using the Illumina HumanMethylation450K BeadChip in whole blood from 995 participants attending the 17-year follow-up of the Raine Study. Linear mixed effects models were used to identify differential methylated CpGs, adjusting for parental smoking during pregnancy, and paternal, passive, and adolescent smoke exposure. Additional models examined the association between DNA methylation and paternal, adolescent, and passive smoking over the life course. Offspring CpGs identified were analyzed against cardiometabolic risk factors (blood pressure, triacylglycerols (TG), high-density lipoproteins cholesterol (HDL-C), and body mass index). Results: We identified 23 CpGs (genome-wide p level: 1.06 × 10-7) that were associated with maternal smoking during pregnancy, including associated genes AHRR (cancer development), FTO (obesity), CNTNAP2 (developmental processes), CYP1A1 (detoxification), MYO1G (cell signalling), and FRMD4A (nicotine dependence). A sensitivity analysis showed a dose-dependent relationship between maternal smoking and offspring methylation. These results changed little following adjustment for paternal, passive, or offspring smoking, and there were no CpGs identified that associated with these variables. Two of the 23 identified CpGs [cg00253568 (FTO) and cg00213123 (CYP1A1)] were associated with either TG (male and female), diastolic blood pressure (female only), or HDL-C (male only), after Bonferroni correction. Discussion: This study demonstrates a critical timing of cigarette smoke exposure over the life course for establishing persistent changes in DNA methylation into adolescence in a dose-dependent manner. There were significant associations between offspring CpG methylation and adolescent cardiovascular risk factors, namely, TG, HDL-C, and diastolic blood pressure. Future studies on current smoking habits and DNA methylation should consider the importance of maternal smoking during pregnancy and explore how the persistent DNA methylation effects of in utero smoke exposure increase cardiometabolic risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Rauschert
- Telethon Kids Institute, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia
| | - Phillip E. Melton
- Centre for Genetic Origins of Health and Disease, The University of Western Australia and Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia
- School of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, Curtin University, Bentley, WA, Australia
| | - Graham Burdge
- Human Development and Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - Jeffrey M. Craig
- Early Life Epigenetics Group, MCRI, Royal Children’s Hospital, Flemington Road, Parkville, VIC, Australia
- Centre for Molecular and Medical Research, School of Medicine, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia
| | - Keith M. Godfrey
- Human Development and Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
- MRC Lifecourse Epidemiology Unit and NIHR Southampton Biomedical Research Centre, University of Southampton and University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - Joanna D. Holbrook
- Human Development and Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - Karen Lillycrop
- Centre for Biological Sciences, Faculty of Natural and Environmental Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom
| | - Trevor A. Mori
- Medical School, Royal Perth Hospital Unit, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia
| | - Lawrence J. Beilin
- Medical School, Royal Perth Hospital Unit, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia
| | - Wendy H. Oddy
- Menzies Institute for Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS, Australia
| | | | - Rae-Chi Huang
- Telethon Kids Institute, University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, Australia
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40
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Human placental methylome in the interplay of adverse placental health, environmental exposure, and pregnancy outcome. PLoS Genet 2019; 15:e1008236. [PMID: 31369552 PMCID: PMC6675049 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1008236] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The placenta is the interface between maternal and fetal circulations, integrating maternal and fetal signals to selectively regulate nutrient, gas, and waste exchange, as well as secrete hormones. In turn, the placenta helps create the in utero environment and control fetal growth and development. The unique epigenetic profile of the human placenta likely reflects its early developmental separation from the fetus proper and its role in mediating maternal–fetal exchange that leaves it open to a range of exogenous exposures in the maternal circulation. In this review, we cover recent advances in DNA methylation in the context of placental function and development, as well as the interaction between the pregnancy and the environment.
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Fernandez-Jimenez N, Allard C, Bouchard L, Perron P, Bustamante M, Bilbao JR, Hivert MF. Comparison of Illumina 450K and EPIC arrays in placental DNA methylation. Epigenetics 2019; 14:1177-1182. [PMID: 31250700 DOI: 10.1080/15592294.2019.1634975] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Illumina HumanMethylation450 BeadChip (450K) has been commonly used to investigate DNA methylation in human tissues. Recently, it has been replaced by Illumina HumanMethylationEPIC BeadChip (EPIC) covering over 850,000 CpGs distributed genome-wide. Many consortia have now datasets coming from both arrays and aspire to analyze the two together. The placenta shows a high number of intermediate methylation levels and is often investigated for obstetric/birth outcomes, and potentially for long-term programming in offspring. We performed a systematic comparison between the two arrays using 108 duplicate placental samples from Gen3G birth cohort. We find that placenta shows a high per-sample correlation between the arrays, and higher median correlations at individual CpGs than those reported for blood. We identify 26,340 probes with absolute difference in per cent methylation >10%. We conclude that EPIC and 450K placental data can be combined, and we provide two lists of CpGs that should be excluded to avoid misleading results.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nora Fernandez-Jimenez
- Department of Genetics, Physical Anthropology and Animal Physiology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and Biocruces-Bizkaia Health Research Institute , Leioa , Spain
| | - Catherine Allard
- Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke (CHUS) , Sherbrooke , Canada
| | - Luigi Bouchard
- Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke (CHUS) , Sherbrooke , Canada.,Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of medicine and life sciences, Université de Sherbrooke , Sherbrooke , Canada.,Department of Medical Biology, CIUSSS Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean - Hôpital de Chicoutimi , Saguenay , Canada
| | - Patrice Perron
- Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke (CHUS) , Sherbrooke , Canada.,Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Life Sciences, Université de Sherbrooke , Sherbrooke , Canada
| | - Mariona Bustamante
- ISGlobal, Barcelona Institute for Global Health , Barcelona , Spain.,University Pompeu Fabra (UPF) , Barcelona , Spain.,CIBER of Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP) , Spain
| | - Jose Ramon Bilbao
- Department of Genetics, Physical Anthropology and Animal Physiology, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) and Biocruces-Bizkaia Health Research Institute , Leioa , Spain.,CIBER of diabetes and associated metabolic disorders (CIBERDEM) , Madrid , Spain
| | - Marie-France Hivert
- Centre de Recherche du Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke (CHUS) , Sherbrooke , Canada.,Department of Population Medicine, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, Harvard Medical School , Boston , USA.,Diabetes Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital , Boston , MA , USA
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42
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Everson TM, Marsit CJ. Integrating -Omics Approaches into Human Population-Based Studies of Prenatal and Early-Life Exposures. Curr Environ Health Rep 2019; 5:328-337. [PMID: 30054820 DOI: 10.1007/s40572-018-0204-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW We present the study design and methodological suggestions for population-based studies that integrate molecular -omics data and highlight recent studies that have used such data to examine the potential impacts of prenatal environmental exposures on fetal health. RECENT FINDINGS Epidemiologic studies have observed numerous relationships between prenatal exposures (smoking, toxic metals, endocrine disruptors) and fetal and early-life molecular profiles, though such investigations have so far been dominated by epigenomic association studies. However, recent transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic studies have demonstrated their promise for the identification of exposure and response biomarkers. Molecular -omics have opened new avenues of research in environmental health that can improve our understanding of disease etiology and contribute to the development of exposure and response biomarkers. Studies that incorporate multiple -omics data from different molecular domains in longitudinally collected samples hold particular promise.
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Affiliation(s)
- Todd M Everson
- Departments of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Road, Claudia Nance Rollins Room 2021, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA
| | - Carmen J Marsit
- Departments of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Road, Claudia Nance Rollins Room 2021, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA. .,Departments of Environmental Health and Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, 1518 Clifton Road, Claudia Nance Rollins Room 2021, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA.
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43
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Neophytou AM, Oh SS, Hu D, Huntsman S, Eng C, Rodríguez-Santana JR, Kumar R, Balmes JR, Eisen EA, Burchard EG. In utero tobacco smoke exposure, DNA methylation, and asthma in Latino children. Environ Epidemiol 2019; 3:e048. [PMID: 31342008 PMCID: PMC6571182 DOI: 10.1097/ee9.0000000000000048] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2018] [Accepted: 03/26/2019] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Maternal smoking during pregnancy is a risk factor for chronic disease later in life and has been associated with variability of DNA methylation at specific cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) loci. We assessed the role of DNA methylation as a potential mediator of adverse effects of in utero tobacco smoke exposures on asthma outcomes in Latino children from the US mainland and Puerto Rico. METHODS Relationships between self-reported exposure and DNA methylation at CpG loci previously reported to be associated with maternal smoking were assessed in a subsample consisting of 572 children aged 8-21 years (310 cases with asthma, 262 healthy controls), sampled from a larger asthma case-control study. Subsequently, we assessed associations between top loci and asthma-related outcomes, followed by mediation analysis for loci for which associations with outcomes were observed. RESULTS Self-reported maternal smoking was associated with a -1.5% (95% confidence interval (CI) = -2.4%, -0.6%) lower methylation at CpG locus cg05575921 on the AHRR gene; a 1% increase in DNA methylation at the same locus resulted in an odds ratio (OR) of 0.90 (95% CI = 0.83, 0.96) for the odds of asthma. The OR for the indirect effect of maternal smoking on asthma mediated through methylation at the cg05575921 locus was 1.18 (95% CI = 1.07, 1.68), compared to the OR for the total effect of exposure in the parent study of 1.48 (95% CI = 1.03, 2.11). CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest potential mediation by DNA methylation in the association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and asthma status.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreas M. Neophytou
- Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, California
- Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
| | - Sam S. Oh
- Department of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado
| | - Donglei Hu
- Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, California
| | - Scott Huntsman
- Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, California
| | - Celeste Eng
- Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, California
| | | | - Rajesh Kumar
- Division of Allergy and Immunology, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois
- Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| | - John R. Balmes
- Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, California
- Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, California
| | - Ellen A. Eisen
- Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, California
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Fragou D, Pakkidi E, Aschner M, Samanidou V, Kovatsi L. Smoking and DNA methylation: Correlation of methylation with smoking behavior and association with diseases and fetus development following prenatal exposure. Food Chem Toxicol 2019; 129:312-327. [PMID: 31063835 DOI: 10.1016/j.fct.2019.04.059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2018] [Revised: 04/29/2019] [Accepted: 04/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Among epigenetic mechanisms, DNA methylation has been widely studied with respect to many environmental factors. Smoking is a common factor which affects both global and gene-specific DNA methylation. It is supported that smoking directly affects DNA methylation, and these effects contribute to the development and progression of various diseases, such as cancer, lung and cardiovascular diseases and male infertility. In addition, prenatal smoking influences the normal development of the fetus via DNA methylation changes. The DNA methylation profile and its smoking-induced alterations helps to distinguish current from former smokers and non-smokers and can be used to predict the risk for the development of a disease. This review summarizes the DNA methylation changes induced by smoking, their correlation with smoking behavior and their association with various diseases and fetus development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Domniki Fragou
- Laboratory of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Eleni Pakkidi
- Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Michael Aschner
- Departments of Molecular Pharmacology, Neuroscience, and Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Victoria Samanidou
- Laboratory of Analytical Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Leda Kovatsi
- Laboratory of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, School of Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece.
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Everson TM, Marable C, Deyssenroth MA, Punshon T, Jackson BP, Lambertini L, Karagas MR, Chen J, Marsit CJ. Placental Expression of Imprinted Genes, Overall and in Sex-Specific Patterns, Associated with Placental Cadmium Concentrations and Birth Size. ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH PERSPECTIVES 2019; 127:57005. [PMID: 31082282 PMCID: PMC6791491 DOI: 10.1289/ehp4264] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2018] [Revised: 04/09/2019] [Accepted: 04/22/2019] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Prenatal cadmium (Cd) exposure has been recognized to restrict growth, and male and female fetuses may have differential susceptibility to the developmental toxicity of Cd. Imprinted genes, which exhibit monoallelic expression based on parent of origin, are highly expressed in placental tissues. The function of these genes is particularly critical to fetal growth and development, and some are expressed in sex-specific patterns. OBJECTIVES We aimed to examine whether prenatal Cd associates with the expression of imprinted placental genes, overall or in fetal sex-specific patterns, across two independent epidemiologic studies. METHODS We tested for Cd–sex interactions in association with gene expression, then regressed the placental expression levels of 74 putative imprinted genes on placental log-Cd concentrations while adjusting for maternal age, sex, smoking history, and educational attainment. These models were performed within study- and sex-specific strata in the New Hampshire Birth Cohort Study (NHBCS; [Formula: see text]) and the Rhode Island Child Health Study (RICHS; [Formula: see text]). We then used fixed-effects models to estimate the sex-specific and overall associations across strata and then examine heterogeneity in the associations by fetal sex. RESULTS We observed that higher Cd concentrations were associated with higher expression of distal-less homeobox 5 (DLX5) ([Formula: see text]), and lower expression of h19 imprinted maternally expressed transcript (H19) ([Formula: see text]) and necdin, MAGE family member (NDN) ([Formula: see text]) across study and sex-specific strata, while three other genes [carboxypeptidase A4 (CPA4), growth factor receptor bound protein 10 (GRB10), and integrin-linked kinase (ILK)] were significantly associated with Cd concentrations, but only among female placenta ([Formula: see text]). Additionally, the expression of DLX5, H19, and NDN, the most statistically significant Cd-associated genes, were also associated with standardized birth weight z-scores. DISCUSSION The differential regulation of a set of imprinted genes, particularly DLX5, H19, and NDN, in association with prenatal Cd exposure may be involved in overall developmental toxicity, and some imprinted genes may respond to Cd exposure in a manner that is specific to infant gender. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP4264.
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Affiliation(s)
- Todd M. Everson
- Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Carmen Marable
- Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
| | - Maya A. Deyssenroth
- Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Tracy Punshon
- Department of Biological Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
| | - Brian P. Jackson
- Department of Earth Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
| | - Luca Lambertini
- Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Margaret R. Karagas
- Department of Epidemiology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
- Children’s Environmental Health and Disease Prevention Research Center at Dartmouth Geisel School of Medicine, Lebanon, New Hampshire, USA
| | - Jia Chen
- Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York, USA
| | - Carmen J. Marsit
- Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
- Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
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46
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Sunyer J, Dadvand P. Pre-natal brain development as a target for urban air pollution. Basic Clin Pharmacol Toxicol 2019; 125 Suppl 3:81-88. [PMID: 30884144 DOI: 10.1111/bcpt.13226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2018] [Accepted: 03/08/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Air pollution is the main urban-related environmental hazard and one of the major contributors to the global burden of disease based on its cardiovascular-respiratory impacts. In children, exposure to urban air pollution is associated, among others, with decelerated neurodevelopment early in life and increased risk of neurodevelopmental problems such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism spectrum disorders, academic failure and the start of Alzheimer's pathogenesis. However, the evidence of the effects of air pollution on brain development is still inadequate, mainly due to the limitations in (a) characterizing brain development (most studies were based on subjective tools such as questionnaires or neuropsychological tests) and (b) air pollution exposure (most studies only used residential levels based on geographical modelling and also overlooking the variation in the mixture of air pollutants as well as the composition and hence toxicity of particulate pollutants in different settings), (c) the lack of studies during the most vulnerable stages of brain development (foetal and early life (first two years post-natally)) and (d) the lack of structural and functional imaging data underlying these effects. In mice, in utero exposure to fine particles was linked to structural brain changes and there is a need to establish the generalizability of these findings in human beings. Though scarce, current evidence in children supports the importance of the pre-natal period as a susceptible window of exposure. Two studies in schoolchildren found that pre-natal air pollution exposure might damage brain structure while exposure during childhood was not linked to any structural alteration. Another study showed that children with higher traffic-related air pollution at school had lower functional integration in key brain networks, but no changes in brain structure, possibly partly because of the time window of air pollution exposure (in utero versus childhood exposure). A key development is to discover the windows of greatest sensitivity of structural brain changes to air pollution exposure by incorporating the recent advances in non-invasive imaging to characterize natal and post-natal brain development and exploring whether and to what extend placental dysfunction could mediate such an association. Studying pre-natal life is important because effects at this time are of a potentially irreversible nature and because the largest preventive opportunities occur during these periods.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordi Sunyer
- ISGlobal, Barcelona, Spain.,Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), Barcelona, Spain.,Spanish Consortium for Research on Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Barcelona, Spain
| | - Payam Dadvand
- ISGlobal, Barcelona, Spain.,Pompeu Fabra University (UPF), Barcelona, Spain.,Spanish Consortium for Research on Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Barcelona, Spain
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Grau-Perez M, Agha G, Pang Y, Bermudez JD, Tellez-Plaza M. Mendelian Randomization and the Environmental Epigenetics of Health: a Systematic Review. Curr Environ Health Rep 2019; 6:38-51. [DOI: 10.1007/s40572-019-0226-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
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48
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Finken MJJ, van der Steen M, Smeets CCJ, Walenkamp MJE, de Bruin C, Hokken-Koelega ACS, Wit JM. Children Born Small for Gestational Age: Differential Diagnosis, Molecular Genetic Evaluation, and Implications. Endocr Rev 2018; 39:851-894. [PMID: 29982551 DOI: 10.1210/er.2018-00083] [Citation(s) in RCA: 106] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2018] [Accepted: 06/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
Children born small for gestational age (SGA), defined as a birth weight and/or length below -2 SD score (SDS), comprise a heterogeneous group. The causes of SGA are multifactorial and include maternal lifestyle and obstetric factors, placental dysfunction, and numerous fetal (epi)genetic abnormalities. Short-term consequences of SGA include increased risks of hypothermia, polycythemia, and hypoglycemia. Although most SGA infants show catch-up growth by 2 years of age, ∼10% remain short. Short children born SGA are amenable to GH treatment, which increases their adult height by on average 1.25 SD. Add-on treatment with a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist may be considered in early pubertal children with an expected adult height below -2.5 SDS. A small birth size increases the risk of later neurodevelopmental problems and cardiometabolic diseases. GH treatment does not pose an additional risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martijn J J Finken
- Department of Pediatrics, VU University Medical Center, MB Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Manouk van der Steen
- Department of Pediatrics, Erasmus University Medical Center/Sophia Children's Hospital, CN Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | - Carolina C J Smeets
- Department of Pediatrics, Erasmus University Medical Center/Sophia Children's Hospital, CN Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | - Marie J E Walenkamp
- Department of Pediatrics, VU University Medical Center, MB Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Christiaan de Bruin
- Department of Pediatrics, Leiden University Medical Center, RC Leiden, Netherlands
| | - Anita C S Hokken-Koelega
- Department of Pediatrics, Erasmus University Medical Center/Sophia Children's Hospital, CN Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | - Jan M Wit
- Department of Pediatrics, Leiden University Medical Center, RC Leiden, Netherlands
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Busato F, Dejeux E, El Abdalaoui H, Gut IG, Tost J. Quantitative DNA Methylation Analysis at Single-Nucleotide Resolution by Pyrosequencing®. Methods Mol Biol 2018; 1708:427-445. [PMID: 29224157 DOI: 10.1007/978-1-4939-7481-8_22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Many protocols for gene-specific DNA methylation analysis are either labor intensive, not quantitative and/or limited to the measurement of the methylation status of only one or very few CpG positions. Pyrosequencing is a real-time sequencing technology that overcomes these limitations. After bisulfite modification of genomic DNA, a region of interest is amplified by PCR with one of the two primers being biotinylated. The PCR generated template is rendered single-stranded and a pyrosequencing primer is annealed to analyze quantitatively cytosine methylation. In comparative studies, pyrosequencing has been shown to be among the most accurate and reproducible technologies for locus-specific DNA methylation analyses and has become a widely used tool for the validation of DNA methylation changes identified in genome-wide studies as well as for locus-specific analyses with clinical impact such as methylation analysis of the MGMT promoter. Advantages of the Pyrosequencing technology are the ease of its implementation, the high quality and the quantitative nature of the results, and its ability to identify differentially methylated positions in close proximity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Florence Busato
- Laboratory for Epigenetics and Environment, Centre National de Recherche en Génomique Humaine, CEA-Institut de Biologie Francois Jacob, Bâtiment G2, 2 rue Gaston Crémieux, 91000, Evry, France
| | - Emelyne Dejeux
- Laboratory for Epigenetics and Environment, Centre National de Recherche en Génomique Humaine, CEA-Institut de Biologie Francois Jacob, Bâtiment G2, 2 rue Gaston Crémieux, 91000, Evry, France
| | - Hafida El Abdalaoui
- Laboratory for Epigenetics and Environment, Centre National de Recherche en Génomique Humaine, CEA-Institut de Biologie Francois Jacob, Bâtiment G2, 2 rue Gaston Crémieux, 91000, Evry, France
| | - Ivo Glynne Gut
- Biomedical Genomics Group, Centro Nacional de Analisis Genomico, CNAG-CRG, Center for Genomic Regulation, Barcelona Institute for Science and Technology, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Jörg Tost
- Laboratory for Epigenetics and Environment, Centre National de Recherche en Génomique Humaine, CEA-Institut de Biologie Francois Jacob, Bâtiment G2, 2 rue Gaston Crémieux, 91000, Evry, France.
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Witt SH, Frank J, Gilles M, Lang M, Treutlein J, Streit F, Wolf IAC, Peus V, Scharnholz B, Send TS, Heilmann-Heimbach S, Sivalingam S, Dukal H, Strohmaier J, Sütterlin M, Arloth J, Laucht M, Nöthen MM, Deuschle M, Rietschel M. Impact on birth weight of maternal smoking throughout pregnancy mediated by DNA methylation. BMC Genomics 2018; 19:290. [PMID: 29695247 PMCID: PMC5922319 DOI: 10.1186/s12864-018-4652-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/30/2017] [Accepted: 04/08/2018] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Cigarette smoking has severe adverse health consequences in adults and in the offspring of mothers who smoke during pregnancy. One of the most widely reported effects of smoking during pregnancy is reduced birth weight which is in turn associated with chronic disease in adulthood. Epigenome-wide association studies have revealed that smokers show a characteristic “smoking methylation pattern”, and recent authors have proposed that DNA methylation mediates the impact of maternal smoking on birth weight. The aims of the present study were to replicate previous reports that methylation mediates the effect of maternal smoking on birth weight, and for the first time to investigate whether the observed mediation effects are sex-specific in order to account for known sex-specific differences in methylation levels. Methods Methylation levels in the cord blood of 313 newborns were determined using the Illumina HumanMethylation450K Beadchip. A total of 5,527 CpG sites selected on the basis of evidence from the literature were tested. To determine whether the observed association between maternal smoking and birth weight was attributable to methylation, mediation analyses were performed for significant CpG sites. Separate analyses were then performed in males and females. Results Following quality control, 282 newborns eventually remained in the analysis. A total of 25 mothers had smoked consistently throughout the pregnancy. The birthweigt of newborns whose mothers had smoked throughout pregnancy was reduced by >200g. After correction for multiple testing, 30 CpGs showed differential methylation in the maternal smoking subgroup including top “smoking methylation pattern” genes AHRR, MYO1G, GFI1, CYP1A1, and CNTNAP2. The effect of maternal smoking on birth weight was partly mediated by the methylation of cg25325512 (PIM1); cg25949550 (CNTNAP2); and cg08699196 (ITGB7). Sex-specific analyses revealed a mediating effect for cg25949550 (CNTNAP2) in male newborns. Conclusion The present data replicate previous findings that methylation can mediate the effect of maternal smoking on birth weight. The analysis of sex-dependent mediation effects suggests that the sex of the newborn may have an influence. Larger studies are warranted to investigate the role of both the identified differentially methylated loci and the sex of the newborn in mediating the association between maternal smoking during pregnancy and birth weight. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1186/s12864-018-4652-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie H Witt
- Department of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.
| | - Josef Frank
- Department of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Maria Gilles
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Maren Lang
- Department of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Jens Treutlein
- Department of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Fabian Streit
- Department of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Isabell A C Wolf
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Verena Peus
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Barbara Scharnholz
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Tabea S Send
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Stefanie Heilmann-Heimbach
- Institute of Human Genetics, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.,Department of Genomics, Life & Brain Center, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Sugirthan Sivalingam
- Institute of Human Genetics, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.,Department of Genomics, Life & Brain Center, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Helene Dukal
- Department of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Jana Strohmaier
- Department of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Marc Sütterlin
- Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Faculty of Medicine Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Janine Arloth
- Department of Translational Research in Psychiatry, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
| | - Manfred Laucht
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany.,Department of Psychology, University of Potsdam, Potsdam, Germany
| | - Markus M Nöthen
- Institute of Human Genetics, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany.,Department of Genomics, Life & Brain Center, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany
| | - Michael Deuschle
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Marcella Rietschel
- Department of Genetic Epidemiology in Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
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