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Premji SS, Lalani S, Ghani F, Nausheen S, Forcheh N, Omuse G, Letourneau N, Babar N, Sulaiman S, Wangira M, Ali SS, Islam N, Dosani A, Yim IS. Allostatic Load as a Mediator and Perceived Chronic Stress as a Moderator in the Association between Maternal Mental Health and Preterm Birth: A Prospective Cohort Study of Pregnant Women in Pakistan. Psychopathology 2024:1-20. [PMID: 39342939 DOI: 10.1159/000540579] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2023] [Accepted: 07/22/2024] [Indexed: 10/01/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The complex biopsychosocial pathways linking maternal mental health with preterm birth (PTB) are not well understood. This study aimed to explore allostatic load (AL) as a mediator and perceived chronic stress as a moderator in the pathway linking maternal mental health and PTB. METHODS A cohort study of pregnant women (n = 1,567) recruited at clinic visits within 10-19 weeks of gestation was assessed for maternal mental health (i.e., pregnancy-related anxiety, state anxiety, depressive symptoms) and perceived chronic stress. Blood pressure and levels of cortisol, total cholesterol, C-reactive protein, and glycosylated hemoglobin were used to create a composite measure of AL. RESULTS AL had the most significant effect on PTB (odds ratio (OR) = 1.84, 95% CI = 1.26-12.67, p = 0.001), while systolic blood pressure emerged as the only significant individual marker using variable selection (OR = 22%, 95% CI = 1.06-1.40, p < 0.001) in multiple logistic regression analysis. A mediation analysis revealed that maternal mental health did not have a significant direct effect on PTB (p = 0.824), but its indirect effect mediated by AL was significant (z = 2.33, p < 0.020). Low and high levels of perceived chronic stress, relative to the mean, moderated this indirect effect (z = 3.66, p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS AL has a significant direct influence on PTB and mediates the effect of maternal mental health on PTB; however, the indirect effect of AL is indistinguishable between women with higher or lower levels of perceived chronic stress than normal.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Sharifa Lalani
- School of Nursing and Midwifery, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan
| | - Farooq Ghani
- Department of Pathology and Microbiology, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan
| | - Sidrah Nausheen
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan
| | - Ntonghanwah Forcheh
- School of Nursing, Faculty of Health Sciences, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada
| | - Geoffrey Omuse
- Department of Pathology, Aga Khan University, Nairobi, Kenya
| | | | - Neelofur Babar
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Aga Khan University, Karachi, Pakistan
| | - Salima Sulaiman
- Department of Nursing, Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, Brock University, St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada
| | - Musana Wangira
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Aga Khan University Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya
| | - Shahnaz Shahid Ali
- Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Nazneen Islam
- Molecular Pathology, Clinical Laboratory Medicine, Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan
| | - Aliyah Dosani
- School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Health, Community and Education, Mount Royal University, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Ilona S Yim
- Department of Psychological Science, University of California, Irvine, California, USA
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Ryan J, Phyo AZZ, Krasniqi SP, Carkaxhiu SI, Fransquet P, Kaas‐Petersen SH, Limani DA, Xhemaili VD, Salihu M, Prapashtica Q, Zekaj N, Turjaka V, Wang S, Rushiti F, Hjort L. An epigenome-wide study of a needs-based family intervention for offspring of trauma-exposed mothers in Kosovo. Brain Behav 2024; 14:e70029. [PMID: 39262181 PMCID: PMC11391026 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.70029] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2024] [Revised: 08/17/2024] [Accepted: 08/19/2024] [Indexed: 09/13/2024] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Maternal stress and trauma during pregnancy have been shown to influence cortisol levels and epigenetic patterns, including DNA methylation, in the offspring. This study aimed to determine whether a tailor-made family intervention could help reduce cortisol levels in children born to traumatized mothers, and to determine whether it effected offspring DNA methylation. The secondary aim was to determine whether the family intervention influenced DNA methylation aging, a marker of biological aging. METHODS A needs-based family intervention was designed to help address relational difficulties and family functioning, and included a focus on family strengths and problem-solving patterns. Women survivors of sexual violence during the Kosovar war in 1998-1999, and their families (children with or without partners) were randomly assigned to 10 sessions of a family therapy over a 3-5-month period, or to a waitlist control group. Both mothers and children completed assessments prior to and after the intervention phase. Children's blood samples collected at these two time points were used to measure cortisol and epigenome-wide DNA methylation patterns (Illumina EPIC array). Cortisol levels, and genome-wide DNA methylation changes pre-/postintervention were compared between children in the intervention and the waitlist groups. DNA methylation age and accelerated biological aging were calculated. RESULTS Sixty-two women-child dyads completed the study, 30 were assigned first to the intervention group, and 32 to the waitlist control group. In adjusted linear regression, the family intervention was associated with a significant decline in cortisol levels compared to the waitlist control (β = -124.72, 95% confidence interval [CI]: -197.4 to -52.1, p = .001). Children in the intervention group, compared to the waitlist control group, showed >1% differential methylation degree at 5819 CpG (5'-C-phosphate-G-3') sites across the genome (p < .01), with the largest methylation difference being 21%. However, none of these differences reached genome-wide significant levels. There was no significant difference in DNA methylation aging between the two groups. CONCLUSION We find evidence that a tailored family-based intervention reduced stress levels in the children (based on cortisol levels), and modified DNA methylation levels at a number of sites across the genome. This study provides some preliminary evidence to suggest the potential for tailored interventions to help break the intergenerational transmission of trauma, however, large studies powered to detect associations at genome-wide significant levels are needed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joanne Ryan
- Biological Neuropsychiatry and Dementia Unit, School of Public Health and Preventative MedicineMonash UniversityMelbourneAustralia
| | - Aung Zaw Zaw Phyo
- Biological Neuropsychiatry and Dementia Unit, School of Public Health and Preventative MedicineMonash UniversityMelbourneAustralia
| | | | | | - Peter Fransquet
- Faculty of Health, School of Psychology, Centre for Social & Early Emotional DevelopmentDeakin UniversityGeelongVictoriaAustralia
| | | | | | | | - Mimoza Salihu
- Kosovo Rehabilitation Center for Torture Victims (KRCT)Pristina KosovoAustralia
| | | | - Nebahate Zekaj
- Kosovo Rehabilitation Center for Torture Victims (KRCT)Pristina KosovoAustralia
| | - Vesa Turjaka
- Kosovo Rehabilitation Center for Torture Victims (KRCT)Pristina KosovoAustralia
| | - Shr‐Jie Wang
- The Danish Institute Against Torture (DIGNITY)CopenhagenDenmark
| | - Feride Rushiti
- Kosovo Rehabilitation Center for Torture Victims (KRCT)Pristina KosovoAustralia
| | - Line Hjort
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Basic Metabolic Research, Metabolic Epigenetics Group, Faculty of Health and Medical SciencesUniversity of CopenhagenCopenhagenDenmark
- Department of Obstetrics, Center for Pregnant Women with DiabetesCopenhagen University HospitalCopenhagenDenmark
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Phomvisith O, Muroya S, Otomaru K, Oshima K, Oshima I, Nishino D, Haginouchi T, Gotoh T. Maternal Undernutrition Affects Fetal Thymus DNA Methylation, Gene Expression, and, Thereby, Metabolism and Immunopoiesis in Wagyu (Japanese Black) Cattle. Int J Mol Sci 2024; 25:9242. [PMID: 39273192 PMCID: PMC11395129 DOI: 10.3390/ijms25179242] [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: 07/30/2024] [Revised: 08/20/2024] [Accepted: 08/22/2024] [Indexed: 09/15/2024] Open
Abstract
We aimed to determine the effects of maternal nutrient restriction (MNR) on the DNA methylation and gene expression patterns associated with metabolism and immunopoiesis in the thymuses of fetal Wagyu cattle. Pregnant cows were allocated to two groups: a low-nutrition (LN; 60% nutritional requirement; n = 5) and a high-nutrition (HN; 120% nutritional requirement, n = 6) group, until 8.5 months of gestation. Whole-genome bisulfite sequencing (WGBS) and RNA sequencing were used to analyze DNA methylation and gene expression, while capillary electrophoresis-Fourier transform mass spectrometry assessed the metabolome. WGBS identified 4566 hypomethylated and 4303 hypermethylated genes in the LN group, with the intergenic regions most frequently being methylated. Pathway analysis linked hypoDMGs to Ras signaling, while hyperDMGs were associated with Hippo signaling. RNA sequencing found 94 differentially expressed genes (66 upregulated, 28 downregulated) in the LN group. The upregulated genes were tied to metabolic pathways and oxidative phosphorylation; the downregulated genes were linked to natural killer cell cytotoxicity. Key overlapping genes (GRIA1, CACNA1D, SCL25A4) were involved in cAMP signaling. The metabolomic analysis indicated an altered amino acid metabolism in the MNR fetuses. These findings suggest that MNR affects DNA methylation, gene expression, and the amino acid metabolism, impacting immune system regulation during fetal thymus development in Wagyu cattle.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ouanh Phomvisith
- Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere, Hokkaido University, N11W10, Kita, Sapporo 060-0811, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Susumu Muroya
- Department of Animal Science, Joint Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kagoshima University, Korimoto 1-21-24, Kagoshima 890-8580, Kagoshima, Japan
| | - Konosuke Otomaru
- Joint Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kagoshima University, Korimoto 1-21-24, Kagoshima 890-8580, Kagoshima, Japan
| | - Kazunaga Oshima
- Division of Year-Round Grazing Research, NARO Western Region Agricultural Research Center, 60 Yoshinaga, Ohda 694-0013, Shimane, Japan
| | - Ichiro Oshima
- Department of Animal Science, Joint Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kagoshima University, Korimoto 1-21-24, Kagoshima 890-8580, Kagoshima, Japan
| | - Daichi Nishino
- Graduate School of Bioresource and Bioenvironmental Sciences, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka Nishi-ku, Fukuoka 819-0395, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Taketo Haginouchi
- Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere, Hokkaido University, N11W10, Kita, Sapporo 060-0811, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Takafumi Gotoh
- Field Science Center for Northern Biosphere, Hokkaido University, N11W10, Kita, Sapporo 060-0811, Hokkaido, Japan
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Bozack AK, Merrill SM, Cardenas A. Epigenetic Biomarkers for Understanding Adverse Experiences and Health. JAMA Netw Open 2024; 7:e2427070. [PMID: 39120907 DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.27070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/10/2024] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Anne K Bozack
- Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Stanford School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California
| | - Sarah M Merrill
- Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island
| | - Andres Cardenas
- Department of Epidemiology and Population Health, Stanford School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California
- Department of Pediatrics, Stanford School of Medicine, Palo Alto, California
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Calabrese V, Osakabe N, Siracusa R, Modafferi S, Di Paola R, Cuzzocrea S, Jacob UM, Fritsch T, Abdelhameed AS, Rashan L, Wenzel U, Franceschi C, Calabrese EJ. Transgenerational hormesis in healthy aging and antiaging medicine from bench to clinics: Role of food components. Mech Ageing Dev 2024; 220:111960. [PMID: 38971236 DOI: 10.1016/j.mad.2024.111960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2024] [Revised: 06/20/2024] [Accepted: 06/25/2024] [Indexed: 07/08/2024]
Abstract
Neurodegenerative diseases have multifactorial pathogenesis, mainly involving neuroinflammatory processes. Finding drugs able to treat these diseases, expecially because for most of these diseases there are no effective drugs, and the current drugs cause undesired side effects, represent a crucial point. Most in vivo and in vitro studies have been concentrated on various aspects related to neurons (e.g. neuroprotection), however, there has not been focus on the prevention of early stages involving glial cell activation and neuroinflammation. Recently, it has been demonstrated that nutritional phytochemicals including polyphenols, the main active constituents of the Mediterranean diet, maintain redox balance and neuroprotection through the activation of hormetic vitagene pathway. Recent lipidomics data from our laboratory indicate mushrooms as strong nutritional neuronutrients with strongly activity against neuroinflammation in Meniere' diseaseas, a model of cochleovestibular neural degeneration, as well as in animal model of traumatic brain injury, or rotenone induced parkinson's disease. Moreover, Hidrox®, an aqueous extract of olive containing hydroxytyrosol, and Boswellia, acting as Nrf2 activators, promote resilience by enhancing the redox potential, and thus, regulate through hormetic mechanisms, cellular stress response mechanisms., Thus, modulation of cellular stress pathways, in particular vitagenes system, may be an innovative approach for therapeutic intervention in neurodegenerative disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vittorio Calabrese
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
| | - Naomi Osakabe
- Department of Bioscience and Engineering, Shibaura Institute Technology, Tokyo, Japan.
| | - Rosalba Siracusa
- Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina 98166, Italy
| | - Sergio Modafferi
- Department of Biomedical and Biotechnological Sciences, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
| | - Rosanna Di Paola
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Messina, Messina 98168, Italy
| | - Salvatore Cuzzocrea
- Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Messina 98166, Italy
| | | | | | - Ali S Abdelhameed
- Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
| | - Luay Rashan
- Biodiversity Unit, Dhofar University, Salalah, Oman
| | - Uwe Wenzel
- Institut für Ernährungswissenschaft, Justus Liebig Universitat Giessen, Germany
| | | | - Edward J Calabrese
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Morrill I, N344, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003, USA
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Fauver M, Clark EM, Schwartz CE. A new framework for understanding stress and disease: the developmental model of stress as applied to multiple sclerosis. Front Integr Neurosci 2024; 18:1365672. [PMID: 38957213 PMCID: PMC11218666 DOI: 10.3389/fnint.2024.1365672] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2024] [Accepted: 05/17/2024] [Indexed: 07/04/2024] Open
Abstract
This paper proposes a new model of stress that integrates earlier models and adds insights from developmental psychology. Previous models describe the behavioral and physical effects of stress events, but have not explained the translation of experiences into stress itself. The Developmental Model of Stress shows how psychosocial developmental challenges in childhood create persistent negative beliefs and behaviors that increase threat perception and maladaptive stress responses. These developmental challenges produce early psychological and physiological predispositions for increased stress responses over time. Ongoing stress leads to dysregulation of physical stress-response systems (allostatic load), which is associated with multiple diseases. High allostatic load provides the necessary preconditions for the diathesis-stress model, which says the addition of an acute stressor to a weakened or predisposed system can lead to disease development. The paper also documents the evolving measurement of stress to better understand the stress-disease relationship, helping to resolve conflicting results between studies. The Developmental Model of Stress was combined with clinician insight and patient reports to build an integrative framework for understanding the role of stress in the development and progression of multiple sclerosis (MS). It includes the first mapping of maladaptive beliefs and behaviors arising from developmental challenges that are common to people with MS. An initial comparison shows these may be distinct from those of people with other chronic diseases. These beliefs and behaviors form the predisposing factors and contribute to the triggering factors, which are the acute stressors triggering disease onset. These often took two forms, a prolonged incident experienced as feeling trapped or stuck, and threat of a breach in a relationship. The reinforcing factors add the stress of a chronic disease with a poor prognosis and seemingly random symptom fluctuation, still managed with the same beliefs and behaviors developed in childhood, increasing physiological dysregulation and symptom severity. A pilot study is described in which these three categories of stress factors in MS were explicitly addressed. This study noted clinically important improvements in physical and mental well-being, providing preliminary support for the Developmental Model. Future research might expand on the pilot using a more robust sample and design.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle Fauver
- Integral Health Program, California Institute for Human Science, Encinitas, CA, United States
| | - Eva M. Clark
- MIND based Healing, Santa Cruz, CA, United States
| | - Carolyn E. Schwartz
- DeltaQuest Foundation, Inc., Concord, MA, United States
- Department of Medicine and Departments of Orthopaedic Surgery, Tufts University Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
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Otaru N, Kourouma L, Pugin B, Constancias F, Braegger C, Mansuy IM, Lacroix C. Transgenerational effects of early life stress on the fecal microbiota in mice. Commun Biol 2024; 7:670. [PMID: 38822061 PMCID: PMC11143345 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-024-06279-2] [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: 11/09/2023] [Accepted: 05/02/2024] [Indexed: 06/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Stress in early life can affect the progeny and increase the risk to develop psychiatric and cardiometabolic diseases across generations. The cross-generational effects of early life stress have been modeled in mice and demonstrated to be associated with epigenetic factors in the germline. While stress is known to affect gut microbial features, whether its effects can persist across life and be passed to the progeny is not well defined. Here we show that early postnatal stress in mice shifts the fecal microbial composition (binary Jaccard index) throughout life, including abundance of eight amplicon sequencing variants (ASVs). Further effects on fecal microbial composition, structure (weighted Jaccard index), and abundance of 16 ASVs are detected in the progeny across two generations. These effects are not accompanied by changes in bacterial metabolites in any generation. These results suggest that changes in the fecal microbial community induced by early life traumatic stress can be perpetuated from exposed parent to the offspring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nize Otaru
- Nutrition Research Unit, University Children's Hospital Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
- Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Laboratory of Food Biotechnology, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Lola Kourouma
- Department of Health Science and Technology of the ETH Zurich, Laboratory of Neuroepigenetics, Brain Research Institute, Medical Faculty of the University of Zurich, and Institute for Neuroscience, Zurich, Switzerland
- Center for Neuroscience Zürich, ETH and University Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Benoit Pugin
- Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Laboratory of Food Biotechnology, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Florentin Constancias
- Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Laboratory of Food Biotechnology, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Christian Braegger
- Nutrition Research Unit, University Children's Hospital Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Isabelle M Mansuy
- Department of Health Science and Technology of the ETH Zurich, Laboratory of Neuroepigenetics, Brain Research Institute, Medical Faculty of the University of Zurich, and Institute for Neuroscience, Zurich, Switzerland.
- Center for Neuroscience Zürich, ETH and University Zürich, Zurich, Switzerland.
| | - Christophe Lacroix
- Department of Health Sciences and Technology, Laboratory of Food Biotechnology, ETH Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland.
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Cánepa ET, Berardino BG. Epigenetic mechanisms linking early-life adversities and mental health. Biochem J 2024; 481:615-642. [PMID: 38722301 DOI: 10.1042/bcj20230306] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2024] [Revised: 04/22/2024] [Accepted: 04/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/15/2024]
Abstract
Early-life adversities, whether prenatal or postnatal exposure, have been linked to adverse mental health outcomes later in life increasing the risk of several psychiatric disorders. Research on its neurobiological consequences demonstrated an association between exposure to adversities and persistent alterations in the structure, function, and connectivity of the brain. Consistent evidence supports the idea that regulation of gene expression through epigenetic mechanisms are involved in embedding the impact of early-life experiences in the genome and mediate between social environments and later behavioral phenotypes. In addition, studies from rodent models and humans suggest that these experiences and the acquired risk factors can be transmitted through epigenetic mechanisms to offspring and the following generations potentially contributing to a cycle of disease or disease risk. However, one of the important aspects of epigenetic mechanisms, unlike genetic sequences that are fixed and unchangeable, is that although the epigenetic markings are long-lasting, they are nevertheless potentially reversible. In this review, we summarize our current understanding of the epigenetic mechanisms involved in the mental health consequences derived from early-life exposure to malnutrition, maltreatment and poverty, adversities with huge and pervasive impact on mental health. We also discuss the evidence about transgenerational epigenetic inheritance in mammals and experimental data suggesting that suitable social and pharmacological interventions could reverse adverse epigenetic modifications induced by early-life negative social experiences. In this regard, these studies must be accompanied by efforts to determine the causes that promote these adversities and that result in health inequity in the population.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eduardo T Cánepa
- Laboratorio de Neuroepigenética y Adversidades Tempranas, Departamento de Química Biológica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires and IQUIBICEN, CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Bruno G Berardino
- Laboratorio de Neuroepigenética y Adversidades Tempranas, Departamento de Química Biológica, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Buenos Aires and IQUIBICEN, CONICET, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Opare-Addo PA, Sarfo FS, Aikins M, Bediako SA, Ovbiagele B. Epigenetics as a target to mitigate excess stroke risk in people of African ancestry: A scoping review. J Stroke Cerebrovasc Dis 2024; 33:107585. [PMID: 38253246 PMCID: PMC11060795 DOI: 10.1016/j.jstrokecerebrovasdis.2024.107585] [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: 12/09/2023] [Revised: 01/12/2024] [Accepted: 01/16/2024] [Indexed: 01/24/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Globally, individuals of African ancestry have a relatively greater stroke preponderance compared to other racial/ethnic groups. The higher prevalence of traditional stroke risk factors in this population, however, only partially explains this longstanding disparity. Epigenetic signatures are transgenerational and could be a plausible therapeutic target to further bend the stroke disparities curve for people of African ancestry. There is, however, limited data on epigenetics and stroke risk in this population. PURPOSE To examine existing evidence and knowledge gaps on the potential contribution of epigenetics to excess stroke risk in people of African ancestry and avenues for mitigation. MATERIALS AND METHODS We conducted a scoping review of studies published between January 2003 and July 2023, on epigenetics and stroke risk. We then summarized our findings, highlighting the results for people of African ancestry. RESULTS Of 104 studies, there were only 6 studies that specifically looked at epigenetic mechanisms and stroke risk in people of African ancestry. Results of these studies show how patterns of DNA methylation and non-coding RNA interact with lifestyle choices, xenobiotics, and FVIII levels to raise stroke risk in people of African ancestry. However, no studies evaluated epigenetic patterns as actionable targets for the influence of psychosocial stressors or social context and excess stroke risk in this population (versus others). Also, no studies interrogated the role of established or novel therapeutic agents with the potential to reprogram DNA by adding or removing epigenetic markers in people of African ancestry. CONCLUSION Epigenetics potentially offers a promising target for modifying the effects of lifestyle, environmental exposures, and other factors that differentially affect people of African ancestry and place them at relatively greater stroke risk compared to other populations. Studies that precisely assess the pathways by which epigenetic mechanisms modulate population-specific disparities in the risk of stroke are needed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Fred Stephen Sarfo
- Komfo Anokye Teaching Hospital, Kumasi, Ghana; Neurology Division, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science & Technology, P. O. Box 1934, Kumasi, Ghana.
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Leve LD, Oro V, Natsuaki MN, Harold GT, Neiderhiser JM, Ganiban JM, Shaw DS, DeGarmo DS. The pernicious role of stress on intergenerational continuity of psychopathology. Dev Psychopathol 2024:1-14. [PMID: 38384191 PMCID: PMC11339241 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579424000191] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/23/2024]
Abstract
Development and Psychopathology has been a premier resource for understanding stressful childhood experiences and the intergenerational continuity of psychopathology. Building on that tradition, we examined the unique and joint influences of maternal stress on children's effortful control (age 7) and externalizing behavior (age 11) as transmitted via genetics, the prenatal environment, and the postnatal environment. The sample included N = 561 adopted children and their biological and adoptive parents. Path models identified a direct effect of biological mother life stress on children's effortful control (β = -.08) and an indirect effect of her life stress on child externalizing behavior via effortful control (β = .52), but no main or indirect effects of biological parent psychopathology, prenatal stress, or adoptive mother adverse childhood experiences (ACES). Adoptive mother ACES amplified the association between biological mother life stress and child effortful control (β = -.08), externalizing behavior (β = 1.41), and the indirect effect via effortful control, strengthening associations when adoptive mothers reported average or high ACES during their own childhoods. Results suggest that novel study designs are needed to enhance the understanding of how life stress gets "under the skin" to affect psychopathology in the offspring of adults who have experienced stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leslie D. Leve
- Prevention Science Institute, University of Oregon
- Department of Counseling Psychology and Human Services, University of Oregon
| | - Veronica Oro
- Prevention Science Institute, University of Oregon
| | | | | | | | - Jody M. Ganiban
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, George Washington University
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Cohen D. Family Constellation therapy: A nascent approach for working with non-local consciousness in a therapeutic container. PROGRESS IN BIOPHYSICS AND MOLECULAR BIOLOGY 2024; 186:33-38. [PMID: 38052327 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbiomolbio.2023.11.008] [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: 07/02/2023] [Revised: 10/25/2023] [Accepted: 11/24/2023] [Indexed: 12/07/2023]
Abstract
Family Constellations are an emerging therapeutic approach for working with local and non-local consciousness. First developed by German psychoanalyst Bert Hellinger, and now practiced by thousands of licensed and un-licensed facilitators globally, Family Constellations are a transpersonal and systemically oriented therapeutic process. Their aim is to address a focus client's emotional, behavioral, relational, or somatic issues by uncovering and resolving transgenerational entanglements within their family system. The author expands on the proposal of symbiogenesis as a mediator of local and non-local consciousness to query whether applying the Observer Effect to inherited trauma may influence epigenetic marks. An expanded perspective on consciousness, life, death, and quantum fields may provide a more comprehensive framework to address therapeutic interventions for common emotional and behavioral disorders. Innovative features of Family Constellations are its phenomenological orientation, reference to family system entanglements, and potential for symptom relief through cellular mediation of ancestral memory. Family Constellations utilize techniques called representative perception and tuning-in to identify and release ancestral traumas. These are akin to remote viewing and mediumship. While the scientific basis for Family Constellations is speculative, the text references research on the quantum theory of consciousness, mediumship and remote viewing as potential supporting evidence. Four case studies are presented.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dan Cohen
- Seeing with Your Heart, http:seeingwithyourheart.com 14 Rhode Island Avenue, Providence, RI, 02906, USA.
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Aldawood N, Almustafa S, Alwasel S, Aldahmash W, Ben Bacha A, Alamri A, Alanazi M, Harrath AH. Involvement of Autophagy and Oxidative Stress-Mediated DNA Hypomethylation in Transgenerational Nephrotoxicity Induced in Rats by the Mycotoxin Fumonisin B1. Toxins (Basel) 2023; 15:663. [PMID: 37999527 PMCID: PMC10674455 DOI: 10.3390/toxins15110663] [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: 10/08/2023] [Revised: 11/12/2023] [Accepted: 11/14/2023] [Indexed: 11/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Fumonisin B1 (FB1), a mycotoxin produced by Fusarium verticillioides, is one of the most common pollutants in natural foods and agricultural crops. It can cause chronic and severe health issues in humans and animals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the transgenerational effects of FB1 exposure on the structure and function of the kidneys in offspring. Virgin female Wistar rats were randomly divided into three groups: group one (control) received sterile water, and groups two and three were intragastrically administered low (20 mg/kg) and high (50 mg/kg) doses of FB1, respectively, from day 6 of pregnancy until delivery. Our results showed that exposure to either dose of FB1 caused histopathological changes, such as atrophy, hypercellularity, hemorrhage, calcification, and a decrease in the glomerular diameter, in both the first and second generations. The levels of the antioxidant markers glutathione, glutathione S-transferase, and catalase significantly decreased, while malondialdehyde levels increased. Moreover, autophagy was induced, as immunofluorescence analysis revealed that LC-3 protein expression was significantly increased in both generations after exposure to either dose of FB1. However, a significant decrease in methyltransferase (DNMT3) protein expression was observed in the first generation in both treatment groups (20 mg/kg and 50 mg/kg), indicating a decrease in DNA methylation as a result of early-life exposure to FB1. Interestingly, global hypomethylation was also observed in the second generation in both treatment groups despite the fact that the mothers of these rats were not exposed to FB1. Thus, early-life exposure to FB1 induced nephrotoxicity in offspring of the first and second generations. The mechanisms of action underlying this transgenerational effect may include oxidative stress, autophagy, and DNA hypomethylation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nouf Aldawood
- Department of Biology, College of Science, Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia;
| | - Sarah Almustafa
- Department of Zoology, College of Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia (S.A.); (W.A.)
| | - Saleh Alwasel
- Department of Zoology, College of Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia (S.A.); (W.A.)
| | - Waleed Aldahmash
- Department of Zoology, College of Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia (S.A.); (W.A.)
| | - Abir Ben Bacha
- Department of Biochemistry, College of Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11671, Saudi Arabia;
| | - Abdullah Alamri
- Genome Research Chair, Department of Biochemistry, College of Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11495, Saudi Arabia; (A.A.); (M.A.)
| | - Mohammad Alanazi
- Genome Research Chair, Department of Biochemistry, College of Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11495, Saudi Arabia; (A.A.); (M.A.)
| | - Abdel Halim Harrath
- Department of Zoology, College of Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh 11451, Saudi Arabia (S.A.); (W.A.)
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