TFAM as a sensor of UVC-induced mitochondrial DNA damage.

Mitochondria lack nucleotide excision DNA repair; however, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is resistant to mutation accumulation following DNA damage. These observations suggest additional damage sensing or protection mechanisms. Transcription Factor A, Mitochondrial (TFAM) compacts mtDNA into nucleoids.

Implications of Prenatal Cannabis Exposure on Childhood Neurodevelopmental Outcomes: A Summary of the Clinical Evidence.

Importance: Cannabis is commonly used by pregnant patients for alleviation of pregnancy-associated symptoms. Multiple national medical associations have recommended against prenatal cannabis use, yet misinformation regarding its safety and efficacy remains prevalent in public discourse. Effective and evidence-based patient counseling on prenatal cannabis use requires a thorough understanding of the existing data on fetal neurodevelopment.

Associations of Gestational Exposure to Air Pollution and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons with Placental Inflammation.

Restricted fetal growth (RFG) is a leading contributor to perinatal mortality and has been associated with gestational exposure to air pollution, such as fine particulate matter (PM), nitrogen dioxide (NO), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). This study examines the association between trimester-specific and weekly means of air pollution throughout gestation and placental inflammatory markers at delivery. In a prospective cohort study of 263 pregnant women in Rochester, NY, we measured interleukin-6 (IL-6) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) in placental tissue and estimated gestational exposure to PM and NO using a high-resolution spatial-temporal model.

Regulation of Age-Related Lipid Metabolism in Ovarian Cancer.

Unlabelled: Although a lot of effort has been dedicated to ovarian cancer (OC) research, the mortality rate is still among the highest in female gynecologic malignancies. The effects of the aged tumor microenvironment are still being undermined despite age being the highest risk factor in ovarian cancer development and progression. In this study, we have conducted RNA sequencing and lipidomics analysis of gonadal adipose tissues from young and aged rat xenografts before and after ovarian cancer formation.

Exposure to Low-Level Air Pollution and Hyperglycemia Markers during Pregnancy: A Repeated Measure Analysis.

Epidemiologic evidence has emerged showing an association between exposure to air pollution and increased risks of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). This study examines the effect of low-level air pollution exposure on a subclinical biomarker of hyperglycemia (i.e.

Epigenome-wide differential methylation and differential variability as predictors of high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (cin2+).

CpG site methylation patterns have potential to improve differentiation of high-grade screening-detected cervical abnormalities. We assessed CpG differential methylation (DM) and differential variability (DV) in high-grade (CIN2+) vs. low-grade (≤CIN1) lesions.

Tobacco Exposures are Associated With Healthcare Utilization and Healthcare Costs in Pregnant Persons and Their Newborn Babies.

Introduction: Identifying healthcare utilization and costs associated with active and passive smoking during pregnancy could help improve health management strategies.

Aims And Methods: Data are from the Newborn Epigenetics STudy (NEST), a birth cohort enrolled from 2005 to 2011 in Durham and adjacent counties in North Carolina, United States. Participants included those for whom prenatal serum samples were assayed and for whom administrative data were obtainable (N = 1045).

Lack of detectable sex differences in the mitochondrial function of Caenorhabditis elegans.

Background: Sex differences in mitochondrial function have been reported in multiple tissue and cell types. Additionally, sex-variable responses to stressors including environmental pollutants and drugs that cause mitochondrial toxicity have been observed. The mechanisms that establish these differences are thought to include hormonal modulation, epigenetic regulation, double dosing of X-linked genes, and the maternal inheritance of mtDNA.

Influence of substance use on male reproductive health and offspring outcomes.

The prevalence of substance use globally is rising and is highest among men of reproductive age. In Africa, and South and Central America, cannabis use disorder is most prevalent and in Eastern and South-Eastern Europe, Central America, Canada and the USA, opioid use disorder predominates. Substance use might be contributing to the ongoing global decline in male fertility, and emerging evidence has linked paternal substance use with short-term and long-term adverse effects on offspring development and outcomes.

Maternal Childhood Adversity and Infant Epigenetic Aging: Moderation by Restless Sleep During Pregnancy.

Maternal exposure to childhood adversity is associated with detrimental health outcomes throughout the lifespan and may have implications for offspring. Evidence links maternal adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) to detrimental birth outcomes, yet the impact on the infant's epigenome is unclear. Moreover, maternal sleep habits during pregnancy may influence this association.

The use of race terms in epigenetics research: considerations moving forward.

The field of environmental epigenetics is uniquely suited to investigate biologic mechanisms that have the potential to link stressors to health disparities. However, it is common practice in basic epigenetic research to treat race as a covariable in large data analyses in a way that can perpetuate harmful biases without providing any biologic insight. In this article, we i) propose that epigenetic researchers open a dialogue about how and why race is employed in study designs and think critically about how this might perpetuate harmful biases; ii) call for interdisciplinary conversation and collaboration between epigeneticists and social scientists to promote the collection of more detailed social metrics, particularly institutional and structural metrics such as levels of discrimination that could improve our understanding of individual health outcomes; iii) encourage the development of standards and practices that promote full transparency about data collection methods, particularly with regard to race; and iv) encourage the field of epigenetics to continue to investigate how social structures contribute to biological health disparities, with a particular focus on the influence that structural racism may have in driving these health disparities.

Maternal adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and offspring imprinted gene DMR methylation at birth.

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) contribute to numerous negative health outcomes across the life course and across generations. Here, we extend prior work by examining the association of maternal ACEs, and their interaction with financial stress and discrimination, with methylation status within eight differentially methylated regions (DMRs) in imprinted domains in newborns. ACEs, financial stress during pregnancy, and experience of discrimination were self-reported among 232 pregnant women.

Periostin facilitates ovarian cancer recurrence by enhancing cancer stemness.

The lethality of epithelial ovarian cancer (OC) is largely due to a high rate of recurrence and development of chemoresistance, which requires synergy between cancer cells and the tumor microenvironment (TME) and is thought to involve cancer stem cells. Our analysis of gene expression microarray data from paired primary and recurrent OC tissues revealed significantly elevated expression of the gene encoding periostin (POSTN) in recurrent OC compared to matched primary tumors (p = 0.015).

Epigenome-wide methylation and progression to high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN2+): a prospective cohort study in the United States.

Background: Methylation levels may be associated with and serve as markers to predict risk of progression of precancerous cervical lesions. We conducted an epigenome-wide association study (EWAS) of CpG methylation and progression to high-grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN2 +) following an abnormal screening test.

Methods: A prospective US cohort of 289 colposcopy patients with normal or CIN1 enrollment histology was assessed.

Association of maternal prenatal copper concentration with gestational duration and preterm birth: a multicountry meta-analysis.

Background: Copper (Cu), an essential trace mineral regulating multiple actions of inflammation and oxidative stress, has been implicated in risk for preterm birth (PTB).

Objectives: This study aimed to determine the association of maternal Cu concentration during pregnancy with PTB risk and gestational duration in a large multicohort study including diverse populations.

Methods: Maternal plasma or serum samples of 10,449 singleton live births were obtained from 18 geographically diverse study cohorts.

An epigenome-wide association study of child appetitive traits and DNA methylation.

The etiology of childhood appetitive traits is poorly understood. Early-life epigenetic processes may be involved in the developmental programming of appetite regulation in childhood. One such process is DNA methylation (DNAm), whereby a methyl group is added to a specific part of DNA, where a cytosine base is next to a guanine base, a CpG site.

AHRR Hypomethylation mediates the association between maternal smoking and metabolic profiles in children.

Background: Tobacco smoking during pregnancy is associated with metabolic dysfunction in children, but mechanistic insights remain limited. Hypomethylation of cg05575921 in the aryl hydrocarbon receptor repressor (AHRR) gene is associated with in utero tobacco smoke exposure. In this study, we evaluated whether AHRR hypomethylation mediates the association between maternal smoking and metabolic dysfunction in children.

An epigenome-wide association study of child appetitive traits and DNA methylation.

Childhood appetitive traits are consistently associated with obesity risk, and yet their etiology is poorly understood. Appetitive traits are complex phenotypes which are hypothesized to be influenced by both genetic and environmental factors, as well as their interactions. Early-life epigenetic processes, such as DNA methylation (DNAm), may be involved in the developmental programming of appetite regulation in childhood.

An epigenetic clock for gestational age based on human umbilical vein endothelial cells from a diverse population of newborns.

Background: Epigenetic clocks are emerging as a useful tool in many areas of research. Many epigenetic clocks have been developed for adults; however, there are fewer clocks focused on newborns and most are trained using blood from European ancestry populations. In this study, we built an epigenetic clock based on primary human umbilical vein endothelial cells from a racially and ethnically diverse population.

Prenatal delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol exposure is associated with changes in rhesus macaque DNA methylation enriched for autism genes.

Background: With the growing availability of cannabis and the popularization of additional routes of cannabis use beyond smoking, including edibles, the prevalence of cannabis use in pregnancy is rapidly increasing. However, the potential effects of prenatal cannabis use on fetal developmental programming remain unknown.

Results: We designed this study to determine whether the use of edible cannabis during pregnancy is deleterious to the fetal and placental epigenome.

An epigenetic synopsis of parental substance use.

The rate of substance use is rising, especially among reproductive-age individuals. Emerging evidence suggests that paternal pre-conception and maternal prenatal substance use may alter offspring epigenetic regulation (changes to gene expression without modifying DNA) and outcomes later in life, including neurodevelopment and mental health. However, relatively little is known due to the complexities and limitations of existing studies, making causal interpretations challenging.

Urinary 1-hydroxypyrene in pregnant women in a Northeastern U.S. city: socioeconomic disparity and contributions from air pollution sources.

Background: Maternal exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), ubiquitous constituents of air pollution, has been associated with adverse birth outcomes. Yet it remains unclear whether and how socioeconomic status (SES) affects gestational PAH exposure.

Objective: To examine whether there are socioeconomic disparities in PAHs exposure among pregnant women from Rochester, NY, and if so, to what extent disproportionate proximity to air pollution sources, measured by residential distance to transportation-related sources, contributed to the exposure disparity.