1 935 199 CHRONIC LOW-DOSE EXPOSURE TO XENOESTROGEN AMBIENT AIR POLLUTANTS AND BREAST CANCER RISK: XENAIR PROTOCOL FOR A CASE-CONTROL STUDY NESTED WITHIN THE FRENCH E3N COHORT. BACKGROUND: BREAST CANCER IS THE MOST FREQUENT CANCER IN WOMEN IN INDUSTRIALIZED COUNTRIES. LIFESTYLE AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS, PARTICULARLY ENDOCRINE-DISRUPTING POLLUTANTS, HAVE BEEN SUGGESTED TO PLAY A ROLE IN BREAST CANCER RISK. CURRENT EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES, ALTHOUGH NOT FULLY CONSISTENT, SUGGEST A POSITIVE ASSOCIATION OF BREAST CANCER RISK WITH EXPOSURE TO SEVERAL INTERNATIONAL AGENCY FOR RESEARCH ON CANCER GROUP 1 AIR-POLLUTANT CARCINOGENS, SUCH AS PARTICULATE MATTER, POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS (PCB), DIOXINS, BENZO[A]PYRENE (BAP), AND CADMIUM. HOWEVER, EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES REMAIN SCARCE AND INCONSISTENT. IT HAS BEEN PROPOSED THAT THE MENOPAUSAL STATUS COULD MODIFY THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN POLLUTANTS AND BREAST CANCER AND THAT THE ASSOCIATION VARIES WITH HORMONE RECEPTOR STATUS. OBJECTIVE: THE XENAIR PROJECT WILL INVESTIGATE THE ASSOCIATION OF BREAST CANCER RISK (OVERALL AND BY HORMONE RECEPTOR STATUS) WITH CHRONIC EXPOSURE TO SELECTED AIR POLLUTANTS, INCLUDING PARTICULATE MATTER, NITROGEN DIOXIDE (NO2), OZONE (O3), BAP, DIOXINS, PCB-153, AND CADMIUM. METHODS: OUR RESEARCH IS BASED ON A CASE-CONTROL STUDY NESTED WITHIN THE FRENCH NATIONAL E3N COHORT OF 5222 INVASIVE BREAST CANCER CASES IDENTIFIED DURING FOLLOW-UP FROM 1990 TO 2011, AND 5222 MATCHED CONTROLS. A QUESTIONNAIRE WAS SENT TO ALL PARTICIPANTS TO COLLECT THEIR LIFETIME RESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES AND INFORMATION ON INDOOR POLLUTION. WE WILL ASSESS THESE EXPOSURES USING COMPLEMENTARY MODELS OF LAND-USE REGRESSION, ATMOSPHERIC DISPERSION, AND REGIONAL CHEMISTRY-TRANSPORT (CHIMERE) MODELS, VIA A GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM. ASSOCIATIONS WITH BREAST CANCER RISK WILL BE MODELED USING CONDITIONAL LOGISTIC REGRESSION MODELS. WE WILL ALSO STUDY THE IMPACT OF EXPOSURE ON DNA METHYLATION AND INTERACTIONS WITH GENETIC POLYMORPHISMS. APPROPRIATE STATISTICAL METHODS, INCLUDING BAYESIAN MODELING, PRINCIPAL COMPONENT ANALYSIS, AND CLUSTER ANALYSIS, WILL BE USED TO ASSESS THE IMPACT OF MULTIPOLLUTANT EXPOSURE. THE FRACTION OF BREAST CANCER CASES ATTRIBUTABLE TO AIR POLLUTION WILL BE ESTIMATED. RESULTS: THE XENAIR PROJECT WILL CONTRIBUTE TO CURRENT KNOWLEDGE ON THE HEALTH EFFECTS OF AIR POLLUTION AND IDENTIFY AND UNDERSTAND ENVIRONMENTAL MODIFIABLE RISK FACTORS RELATED TO BREAST CANCER RISK. CONCLUSIONS: THE RESULTS WILL PROVIDE RELEVANT EVIDENCE TO GOVERNMENTS AND POLICY-MAKERS TO IMPROVE EFFECTIVE PUBLIC HEALTH PREVENTION STRATEGIES ON AIR POLLUTION. THE XENAIR DATASET CAN BE USED IN FUTURE EFFORTS TO STUDY THE EFFECTS OF EXPOSURE TO AIR POLLUTION ASSOCIATED WITH OTHER CHRONIC CONDITIONS. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/15167. 2020 2 6876 55 [PROLONGED EXPOSURE TO ATMOSPHERIC AIR POLLUTION AND MORTALITY FROM RESPIRATORY CAUSES]. DIFFERENT DESIGNS CAN BE USED TO ANALYZE THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN RESPIRATORY MORTALITY AND LONG TERM EXPOSURE TO ATMOSPHERIC POLLUTION: EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES (COHORT, PREVALENCE STUDY) DEMONSTRATE THE REALITY OF THE RELATIONSHIP AND TOXICOLOGICAL STUDIES EXPLAIN IT. COHORT STUDIES HAVE THE ADVANTAGE OF BEING ABLE TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT MANY CONFOUNDING FACTORS AND THUS AVOID BIASES (WHICH IS NOT THE CASE WITH PREVALENCE STUDIES), BUT REQUIRE SIGNIFICANT HUMAN AND FINANCIAL RESOURCES. THEY WERE FIRST ADOPTED IN THE US, BUT ARE NOW MORE OFTEN APPLIED IN EUROPE. THE RESULTS ARE RELATIVELY CONSISTENT, AS THEY ALL SHOW A STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT ASSOCIATION BETWEEN AN INCREASE IN PARTICULATE POLLUTION AND CARDIOPULMONARY MORTALITY. MORTALITY FROM LUNG CANCER IS ALSO ASSOCIATED WITH LONG TERM EXPOSITION TO PARTICLES AND SOMETIMES TO OZONE OR NITROGEN OXIDES. CEREBROVASCULAR DISEASES AND SUDDEN DEATH OF YOUNG CHILDREN HAVE ALSO BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH PARTICULATE POLLUTION. THE RELATIONSHIPS ARE MORE POWERFUL FOR LONG TERM THAN SHORT TERM EXPOSURE BUT ARE ALSO LINEAR AND WITHOUT THRESHOLD. IN ORDER TO EXPLAIN THESE EFFECTS (TODAY THE CAUSALITY OF THE RELATIONSHIP IS CERTAIN) THERE ARE MANY POSSIBLE FACTORS, PARTICULARLY REGARDING PARTICULATE EXPOSURES: AN INCREASE IN CARDIOVASCULAR RISK BIOMARKERS (FIBRINOGEN, WHITE BLOOD CELLS, AND PLATELETS), ATHEROSCLEROSIS, CHRONIC INFLAMMATION OF LUNG TISSUES INCREASED BY ACUTE EXPOSURE, ETC. MORE AND MORE STUDIES ADDRESS THE INTERACTION BETWEEN GENE AND ENVIRONMENT AND EVEN EPIGENETIC PHENOMENA WHICH COULD BE RESPONSIBLE OF THESE EFFECTS. PUBLIC HEALTH IMPACT COULD BE QUANTIFIED. THE EUROPEAN E&H SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM APHEIS, FOR EXAMPLE, ESTIMATED THAT IF PM2.5 LEVELS REMAINED BELOW 15 MICROG/M(3), A 30 YEAR OLD PERSON COULD SEE HIS LIFE EXPECTANCY INCREASED BY 1 MONTH TO 2 YEARS, DEPENDING ON THE STUDIED CITY. FINALLY, MORTALITY IS NOT THE ONLY RELEVANT INDICATOR FOR HEALTH EFFECTS OF AIR POLLUTION. ISAAC STUDIES ADDRESS ASTHMA, ALLERGIC RHINITIS AND ECZEMA AMONG CHILDREN. 2009 3 1324 42 DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID (DNA) METHYLATION IN CHILDREN EXPOSED TO AIR POLLUTION: A POSSIBLE MECHANISM UNDERLYING RESPIRATORY HEALTH EFFECTS DEVELOPMENT. AIR POLLUTION IS A SUBSTANTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL THREAT TO CHILDREN AND ACTS AS ACUTE AND CHRONIC DISEASE RISK FACTORS ALIKE. SEVERAL STUDIES HAVE PREVIOUSLY EVALUATED EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS CONCERNING ITS EXPOSURE ACROSS VARIOUS LIFE STAGES. HOWEVER, FINDINGS ON EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS AS THE CONSEQUENCES OF AIR POLLUTION DURING CHILDHOOD ARE RATHER MINIMAL. THIS REVIEW EVALUATED HIGHLY RELEVANT STUDIES IN THE FIELD TO ANALYZE THE EXISTING LITERATURE REGARDING EXPOSURE TO AIR POLLUTION, WITH A FOCUS ON EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS DURING CHILDHOOD AND THEIR CONNECTIONS WITH RESPIRATORY HEALTH EFFECTS. THE SEARCH WAS CONDUCTED USING READILY AVAILABLE ELECTRONIC DATABASES (PUBMED AND SCIENCEDIRECT) TO SCREEN FOR CHILDREN'S STUDIES ON EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS FOLLOWING EITHER PRE- OR POST-NATAL EXPOSURE TO AIR POLLUTANTS. STUDIES RELEVANT ENOUGH AND MATCHED THE PREDETERMINED CRITERIA WERE CHOSEN TO BE REVIEWED. NON-ENGLISH ARTICLES AND STUDIES THAT DID NOT REPORT BOTH AIR MONITORING AND EPIGENETIC OUTCOMES IN THE SAME ARTICLE WERE EXCLUDED. THE REVIEW FOUND THAT EPIGENETIC CHANGES HAVE BEEN LINKED WITH EXPOSURE TO AIR POLLUTANTS DURING EARLY LIFE WITH EVIDENCE AND REPORTS OF HOW THEY MAY DEREGULATE THE EPIGENOME BALANCE, THUS INDUCING DISEASE PROGRESSION IN THE FUTURE. EPIGENETIC STUDIES EVOLVE AS A PROMISING NEW APPROACH IN DECIPHERING THE UNDERLYING IMPACTS OF AIR POLLUTION ON DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID (DNA) DUE TO LINKS ESTABLISHED BETWEEN SOME OF THESE EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS AND ILLNESSES. 2021 4 299 45 AIR POLLUTION AND DNA METHYLATION: EFFECTS OF EXPOSURE IN HUMANS. AIR POLLUTION EXPOSURE IS ESTIMATED TO CONTRIBUTE TO APPROXIMATELY SEVEN MILLION EARLY DEATHS EVERY YEAR WORLDWIDE AND MORE THAN 3% OF DISABILITY-ADJUSTED LIFE YEARS LOST. AIR POLLUTION HAS NUMEROUS HARMFUL EFFECTS ON HEALTH AND CONTRIBUTES TO THE DEVELOPMENT AND MORBIDITY OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE, METABOLIC DISORDERS, AND A NUMBER OF LUNG PATHOLOGIES, INCLUDING ASTHMA AND CHRONIC OBSTRUCTIVE PULMONARY DISEASE (COPD). EMERGING DATA INDICATE THAT AIR POLLUTION EXPOSURE MODULATES THE EPIGENETIC MARK, DNA METHYLATION (DNAM), AND THAT THESE CHANGES MIGHT IN TURN INFLUENCE INFLAMMATION, DISEASE DEVELOPMENT, AND EXACERBATION RISK. SEVERAL TRAFFIC-RELATED AIR POLLUTION (TRAP) COMPONENTS, INCLUDING PARTICULATE MATTER (PM), BLACK CARBON (BC), OZONE (O(3)), NITROGEN OXIDES (NO(X)), AND POLYAROMATIC HYDROCARBONS (PAHS), HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH CHANGES IN DNAM; TYPICALLY LOWERING DNAM AFTER EXPOSURE. EFFECTS OF AIR POLLUTION ON DNAM HAVE BEEN OBSERVED ACROSS THE HUMAN LIFESPAN, BUT IT IS NOT YET CLEAR WHETHER EARLY LIFE DEVELOPMENTAL SENSITIVITY OR THE ACCUMULATION OF EXPOSURES HAVE THE MOST SIGNIFICANT EFFECTS ON HEALTH. AIR POLLUTION EXPOSURE-ASSOCIATED DNAM PATTERNS ARE OFTEN CORRELATED WITH LONG-TERM NEGATIVE RESPIRATORY HEALTH OUTCOMES, INCLUDING THE DEVELOPMENT OF LUNG DISEASES, A FOCUS IN THIS REVIEW. RECENTLY, INTERVENTIONS SUCH AS EXERCISE AND B VITAMINS HAVE BEEN PROPOSED TO REDUCE THE IMPACT OF AIR POLLUTION ON DNAM AND HEALTH. ULTIMATELY, IMPROVED KNOWLEDGE OF HOW EXPOSURE-INDUCED CHANGE IN DNAM IMPACTS HEALTH, BOTH ACUTELY AND CHRONICALLY, MAY ENABLE PREVENTATIVE AND REMEDIAL STRATEGIES TO REDUCE MORBIDITY IN POLLUTED ENVIRONMENTS. 2019 5 2047 40 EPIGENETIC CLOCKS MAY COME OUT OF RHYTHM-IMPLICATIONS FOR THE ESTIMATION OF CHRONOLOGICAL AGE IN FORENSIC CASEWORK. THERE IS A GROWING PERCEPTION THAT DNA METHYLATION MAY BE INFLUENCED BY EXOGENOUS AND ENDOGENOUS PARAMETERS. KNOWLEDGE OF THESE FACTORS IS OF GREAT RELEVANCE FOR THE INTERPRETATION OF DNA-METHYLATION DATA FOR THE ESTIMATION OF CHRONOLOGICAL AGE IN FORENSIC CASEWORK. WE PERFORMED A LITERATURE REVIEW TO IDENTIFY PARAMETERS, WHICH MIGHT BE OF RELEVANCE FOR THE PREDICTION OF CHRONOLOGICAL AGE BASED ON DNA METHYLATION. THE QUALITY OF AGE PREDICTIONS MIGHT PARTICULARLY BE INFLUENCED BY LIFETIME ADVERSITIES (CHRONIC STRESS, TRAUMA/POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD), VIOLENCE, LOW SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS/EDUCATION), CANCER, OBESITY AND RELATED DISEASES, INFECTIOUS DISEASES (ESPECIALLY HIV AND CYTOMEGALOVIRUS (CMV) INFECTIONS), SEX, ETHNICITY AND EXPOSURE TO TOXINS (ALCOHOL, SMOKING, AIR POLLUTION, PESTICIDES). SUCH FACTORS MAY ALTER THE DNA METHYLATION PATTERN AND MAY EXPLAIN THE PARTLY HIGH DEVIATIONS BETWEEN EPIGENETIC AGE AND CHRONOLOGICAL AGE IN SINGLE CASES (DESPITE OF LOW MEAN ABSOLUTE DEVIATIONS) THAT CAN ALSO BE OBSERVED WITH "EPIGENETIC CLOCKS" COMPRISING A HIGH NUMBER OF CPG SITES. SO FAR, ONLY FEW PUBLICATIONS DEALING WITH FORENSIC AGE ESTIMATION ADDRESS THESE CONFOUNDING FACTORS. FUTURE RESEARCH SHOULD FOCUS ON THE IDENTIFICATION OF FURTHER RELEVANT CONFOUNDING FACTORS AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF MODELS THAT ARE "ROBUST" AGAINST THE INFLUENCE OF SUCH BIOLOGICAL FACTORS BY SYSTEMATIC INVESTIGATIONS UNDER TARGETED INCLUSION OF DIVERSE AND DEFINED COHORTS. 2020 6 266 56 ADVERSE OUTCOME PATHWAYS FOR IONIZING RADIATION AND BREAST CANCER INVOLVE DIRECT AND INDIRECT DNA DAMAGE, OXIDATIVE STRESS, INFLAMMATION, GENOMIC INSTABILITY, AND INTERACTION WITH HORMONAL REGULATION OF THE BREAST. KNOWLEDGE ABOUT ESTABLISHED BREAST CARCINOGENS CAN SUPPORT IMPROVED AND MODERNIZED TOXICOLOGICAL TESTING METHODS BY IDENTIFYING KEY MECHANISTIC EVENTS. IONIZING RADIATION (IR) INCREASES THE RISK OF BREAST CANCER, ESPECIALLY FOR WOMEN AND FOR EXPOSURE AT YOUNGER AGES, AND EVIDENCE OVERALL SUPPORTS A LINEAR DOSE-RESPONSE RELATIONSHIP. WE USED THE ADVERSE OUTCOME PATHWAY (AOP) FRAMEWORK TO OUTLINE AND EVALUATE THE EVIDENCE LINKING IONIZING RADIATION WITH BREAST CANCER FROM MOLECULAR INITIATING EVENTS TO THE ADVERSE OUTCOME THROUGH INTERMEDIATE KEY EVENTS, CREATING A QUALITATIVE AOP. WE IDENTIFIED KEY EVENTS BASED ON REVIEW ARTICLES, SEARCHED PUBMED FOR RECENT LITERATURE ON KEY EVENTS AND IR, AND IDENTIFIED ADDITIONAL PAPERS USING REFERENCES. WE MANUALLY CURATED PUBLICATIONS AND EVALUATED DATA QUALITY. IONIZING RADIATION DIRECTLY AND INDIRECTLY CAUSES DNA DAMAGE AND INCREASES PRODUCTION OF REACTIVE OXYGEN AND NITROGEN SPECIES (RONS). RONS LEAD TO DNA DAMAGE AND EPIGENETIC CHANGES LEADING TO MUTATIONS AND GENOMIC INSTABILITY (GI). PROLIFERATION AMPLIFIES THE EFFECTS OF DNA DAMAGE AND MUTATIONS LEADING TO THE AO OF BREAST CANCER. SEPARATELY, RONS AND DNA DAMAGE ALSO INCREASE INFLAMMATION. INFLAMMATION CONTRIBUTES TO DIRECT AND INDIRECT EFFECTS (EFFECTS IN CELLS NOT DIRECTLY REACHED BY IR) VIA POSITIVE FEEDBACK TO RONS AND DNA DAMAGE, AND SEPARATELY INCREASES PROLIFERATION AND BREAST CANCER THROUGH PRO-CARCINOGENIC EFFECTS ON CELLS AND TISSUE. FOR EXAMPLE, GENE EXPRESSION CHANGES ALTER INFLAMMATORY MEDIATORS, RESULTING IN IMPROVED SURVIVAL AND GROWTH OF CANCER CELLS AND A MORE HOSPITABLE TISSUE ENVIRONMENT. ALL OF THESE EVENTS OVERLAP AT MULTIPLE POINTS WITH EVENTS CHARACTERISTIC OF "BACKGROUND" INDUCTION OF BREAST CARCINOGENESIS, INCLUDING HORMONE-RESPONSIVE PROLIFERATION, OXIDATIVE ACTIVITY, AND DNA DAMAGE. THESE OVERLAPS MAKE THE BREAST PARTICULARLY SUSCEPTIBLE TO IONIZING RADIATION AND REINFORCE THAT THESE BIOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES ARE IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTICS OF CARCINOGENS. AGENTS THAT INCREASE THESE BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES SHOULD BE CONSIDERED POTENTIAL BREAST CARCINOGENS, AND PREDICTIVE METHODS ARE NEEDED TO IDENTIFY CHEMICALS THAT INCREASE THESE PROCESSES. TECHNIQUES ARE AVAILABLE TO MEASURE RONS, DNA DAMAGE AND MUTATION, CELL PROLIFERATION, AND SOME INFLAMMATORY PROTEINS OR PROCESSES. IMPROVED ASSAYS ARE NEEDED TO MEASURE GI AND CHRONIC INFLAMMATION, AS WELL AS THE INTERACTION WITH HORMONALLY DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT AND PROLIFERATION. SEVERAL METHODS MEASURE DIVERSE EPIGENETIC CHANGES, BUT IT IS NOT CLEAR WHICH CHANGES ARE RELEVANT TO BREAST CANCER. IN ADDITION, MOST TOXICOLOGICAL ASSAYS ARE NOT CONDUCTED IN MAMMARY TISSUE, AND SO IT IS A PRIORITY TO EVALUATE IF RESULTS FROM OTHER TISSUES ARE GENERALIZABLE TO BREAST, OR TO CONDUCT ASSAYS IN BREAST TISSUE. DEVELOPING AND APPLYING THESE ASSAYS TO IDENTIFY EXPOSURES OF CONCERN WILL FACILITATE EFFORTS TO REDUCE SUBSEQUENT BREAST CANCER RISK. 2020 7 3106 48 GENOMICS AND THE RESPIRATORY EFFECTS OF AIR POLLUTION EXPOSURE. ADVERSE HEALTH EFFECTS FROM AIR POLLUTANTS REMAIN IMPORTANT, DESPITE IMPROVEMENT IN AIR QUALITY IN THE PAST FEW DECADES. THE EXACT MECHANISMS OF LUNG INJURY FROM EXPOSURE TO AIR POLLUTANTS ARE NOT YET FULLY UNDERSTOOD. STUDYING THE GENOME (E.G. SINGLE-NUCLEOTIDE POLYMORPHISMS (SNP) ), EPIGENOME (E.G. METHYLATION OF GENES), TRANSCRIPTOME (MRNA EXPRESSION) AND MICRORNAOME (MICRORNA EXPRESSION) HAS THE POTENTIAL TO IMPROVE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE ADVERSE EFFECTS OF AIR POLLUTANTS. GENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDIES OF SNP HAVE DETECTED SNP ASSOCIATED WITH RESPIRATORY PHENOTYPES; HOWEVER, TO DATE, ONLY CANDIDATE GENE STUDIES OF AIR POLLUTION EXPOSURE HAVE BEEN PERFORMED. CHANGES IN EPIGENETIC PROCESSES, SUCH DNA METHYLATION THAT LEADS TO GENE SILENCING WITHOUT ALTERING THE DNA SEQUENCE, OCCUR WITH AIR POLLUTANT EXPOSURE, ESPECIALLY GLOBAL AND GENE-SPECIFIC METHYLATION CHANGES. RESPIRATORY CELL LINE AND ANIMAL MODELS DEMONSTRATE DISTINCT GENE EXPRESSION SIGNATURES IN THE TRANSCRIPTOME, ARISING FROM EXPOSURE TO PARTICULATE MATTER OR OZONE. PARTICULATE MATTER AND OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL TOXINS ALTER EXPRESSION OF MICRORNA, WHICH ARE SHORT NON-CODING RNA THAT REGULATE GENE EXPRESSION. WHILE IT IS CLEARLY IMPORTANT TO CONTAIN RISING LEVELS OF AIR POLLUTION, STRATEGIES ALSO NEED TO BE DEVELOPED TO MINIMIZE THE DAMAGING EFFECTS OF AIR POLLUTANT EXPOSURE ON THE LUNG, ESPECIALLY FOR PATIENTS WITH CHRONIC LUNG DISEASE AND FOR PEOPLE AT RISK OF FUTURE LUNG DISEASE. CAREFUL STUDY OF GENOMIC RESPONSES WILL IMPROVE OUR UNDERSTANDING OF MECHANISMS OF LUNG INJURY FROM AIR POLLUTION AND ENABLE FUTURE CLINICAL TESTING OF INTERVENTIONS AGAINST THE TOXIC EFFECTS OF AIR POLLUTANTS. 2012 8 2901 43 GENDER DIFFERENCES IN GERM-CELL MUTAGENESIS AND GENETIC RISK. CURRENT INTERNATIONAL CLASSIFICATION SYSTEMS FOR CHEMICAL MUTAGENS ARE HAZARD-BASED RATHER THAN AIMED AT ASSESSING RISKS QUANTITATIVELY. IN THE PAST, GERM-CELL TESTS HAVE BEEN MAINLY PERFORMED WITH A LIMITED NUMBER OF SOMATIC CELL MUTAGENS, AND RARELY UNDER CONDITIONS AIMED AT COMPARING GENDER-SPECIFIC DIFFERENCES IN SUSCEPTIBILITY TO MUTAGEN EXPOSURES. THERE ARE PROFOUND DIFFERENCES IN THE GENETIC CONSTITUTION, AND IN HORMONAL, STRUCTURAL, AND FUNCTIONAL ASPECTS OF DIFFERENTIATION AND CONTROL OF GAMETOGENESIS BETWEEN THE SEXES. A CRITICAL REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE SUGGESTS THAT THESE DIFFERENCES MAY HAVE A PROFOUND IMPACT ON THE RELATIVE SUSCEPTIBILITY, STAGE OF HIGHEST SENSITIVITY AND THE RELATIVE RISK FOR THE GENESIS OF GENE MUTATION, AS WELL AS STRUCTURAL AND NUMERICAL CHROMOSOMAL ABERRATIONS IN MALE AND FEMALE GERM CELLS. TRANSMISSION OF GERM-CELL MUTATIONS TO THE OFFSPRING MAY ALSO ENCOUNTER GENDER-SPECIFIC INFLUENCES. GENDER DIFFERENCES IN SUSCEPTIBILITY TO CHEMICALLY DERIVED ALTERATIONS IN IMPRINTING PATTERNS MAY POSE A THREAT FOR THE HEALTH OF THE OFFSPRING AND MAY ALSO BE TRANSMITTED TO FUTURE GENERATIONS. RECENT REPORTS ON DIFFERENT GENETIC EFFECTS FROM HIGH ACUTE AND FROM CHRONIC LOW-DOSE EXPOSURES CHALLENGE THE VALIDITY OF CONCLUSIONS DRAWN FROM STANDARD METHODS OF MUTAGENICITY TESTING. IN CONCLUSION, RESEARCH IS URGENTLY NEEDED TO IDENTIFY GENETIC HAZARDS FOR A LARGER RANGE OF CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS, INCLUDING THOSE SUSPECTED TO DISTURB PROPER CHROMOSOME SEGREGATION. ALTERATIONS IN EPIGENETIC PROGRAMMING AND THEIR HEALTH CONSEQUENCES WILL HAVE TO BE INVESTIGATED. MORE ATTENTION SHOULD BE PAID TO GENDER-SPECIFIC GENETIC EFFECTS. FINALLY, THE DATABASE FOR GERM-CELL MUTAGENS SHOULD BE ENLARGED USING MOLECULAR METHODOLOGIES, AND GENETIC EPIDEMIOLOGY STUDIES SHOULD BE PERFORMED WITH THESE TECHNIQUES TO VERIFY HUMAN GENETIC RISK. 2007 9 1045 39 CLINICAL CORRELATION AMONG MALE INFERTILITY AND OVERALL MALE HEALTH: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE. PURPOSE: ONGOING EVIDENCE HAS SUGGESTED THE ROLE OF MALE FACTOR INFERTILITY AS A POTENTIAL PREDICTOR OF MORTALITY AND GENERAL HEALTH STATUS. THE AIM OF THE PRESENT REVIEW IS TO UPDATE THE CURRENT KNOWLEDGE BASE REGARDING THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN MALE FACTOR INFERTILITY AND GENERAL HEALTH THROUGH A CRITICAL REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE WAS CARRIED OUT FROM INCEPTION TO NOVEMBER 2019 IN ORDER TO EVALUATE SIGNIFICANT ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN MALE INFERTILITY AND ADVERSE HEALTH OUTCOMES SUCH AS CARDIOVASCULAR, ONCOLOGIC, METABOLIC AND AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES AS WELL AS OVERALL MORTALITY. RESULTS: IN ALL, 27 STUDIES MET INCLUSION CRITERIA AND WERE CRITICALLY EXAMINED. FIVE STUDIES EXAMINED MALE INFERTILITY AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE RISK, 11 EXAMINED ONCOLOGIC RISK (E.G., OVERALL CANCER RISK, TESTIS AND PROSTATE CANCER), 8 EXAMINED AGGREGATE CHRONIC MEDICAL DISEASES AND 5 INFERTILITY RELATED TO INCIDENCE OF MORTALITY, FOR A TOTAL OF 599,807 MEN DIAGNOSED WITH ANY MALE FACTOR INFERTILITY COVERING A PERIOD FROM 1916 TO 2016. CONCLUSIONS: A MAN'S FERTILITY AND OVERALL HEALTH APPEAR TO BE INTERCONNECTED. THEREFORE, A DIAGNOSIS OF MALE INFERTILITY MAY ALLOW A WINDOW INTO FUTURE COMORBIDITY AND/OR MORTALITY WHICH MAY HELP GUIDE CLINICAL DECISIONS AND COUNSELING. SEVERAL POSSIBLE ETIOLOGIES SUCH AS GENETIC, EPIGENETIC, DEVELOPMENTAL, AND LIFESTYLE-BASED FACTORS NEED TO BE FURTHER EVALUATED IN ORDER TO ESTABLISH THE UNDERLYING MECHANISMS BETWEEN MALE INFERTILITY AND HEALTH. 2020 10 5194 34 PRENATAL EXPOSURE TO POTENTIALLY TOXIC METALS AND THEIR EFFECTS ON GENETIC MATERIAL IN OFFSPRING: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. IN RECENT YEARS, THE BACKGROUND LEVEL OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTANTS, INCLUDING METALS, HAS INCREASED. POLLUTANT EXPOSURE DURING THE EARLIEST STAGES OF LIFE MAY DETERMINE CHRONIC DISEASE SUSCEPTIBILITY IN ADULTHOOD BECAUSE OF GENETIC OR EPIGENETIC CHANGES. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS REVIEW WAS TO IDENTIFY THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PRENATAL AND EARLY POSTNATAL EXPOSURE TO POTENTIALLY TOXIC METALS (PTMS) AND THEIR ADVERSE EFFECTS ON THE GENETIC MATERIAL OF OFFSPRING. A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW WAS CARRIED OUT FOLLOWING THE COCHRANE METHODOLOGY IN FOUR DATABASES: PUBMED, SCOPUS, WEB OF SCIENCE, AND THE COCHRANE LIBRARY. ELIGIBLE PAPERS WERE THOSE CONDUCTED IN HUMANS AND PUBLISHED IN ENGLISH BETWEEN 2010/01/01 AND 2021/04/30. A TOTAL OF 57 ARTICLES WERE INCLUDED, MOST OF WHICH EVALUATED PRENATAL EXPOSURE. MOST COMMONLY EVALUATED PTMS WERE AS, CD, AND PB. MAIN ADVERSE EFFECTS ON THE GENETIC MATERIAL OF NEWBORNS ASSOCIATED WITH PTM PRENATAL EXPOSURE WERE ALTERATIONS IN TELOMERE LENGTH, GENE OR PROTEIN EXPRESSION, MITOCHONDRIAL DNA CONTENT, METABOLOMICS, DNA DAMAGE, AND EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS. MANY OF THESE EFFECTS WERE SEX-SPECIFIC, BEING PREDOMINANT IN BOYS. ONE ARTICLE REPORTED A SYNERGISTIC INTERACTION BETWEEN AS AND HG, AND TWO ARTICLES OBSERVED ANTAGONISTIC INTERACTIONS BETWEEN PTMS AND ESSENTIAL METALS, SUCH AS CU, SE, AND ZN. THE FINDINGS IN THIS REVIEW HIGHLIGHT THAT THE PROBLEM OF PTM EXPOSURE PERSISTS, AFFECTING THE MOST SUSCEPTIBLE POPULATIONS, SUCH AS NEWBORNS. SOME OF THESE ASSOCIATIONS WERE OBSERVED AT LOW CONCENTRATIONS OF PTMS. MOST OF THE STUDIES HAVE FOCUSED ON SINGLE EXPOSURES; HOWEVER, THREE INTERACTIONS BETWEEN ESSENTIAL AND NONESSENTIAL METALS WERE OBSERVED, HIGHLIGHTING THAT METAL MIXTURES NEED MORE ATTENTION. 2023 11 228 51 ADAPTATION OF THE HUMAN POPULATION TO THE ENVIRONMENT: CURRENT KNOWLEDGE, CLUES FROM CZECH CYTOGENETIC AND "OMICS" BIOMONITORING STUDIES AND POSSIBLE MECHANISMS. THE HUMAN POPULATION IS CONTINUALLY EXPOSED TO NUMEROUS HARMFUL ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSORS, CAUSING NEGATIVE HEALTH EFFECTS AND/OR DEREGULATION OF BIOMARKER LEVELS. HOWEVER, STUDIES REPORTING NO OR EVEN POSITIVE IMPACTS OF SOME STRESSORS ON HUMANS ARE ALSO SOMETIMES PUBLISHED. THE MAIN AIM OF THIS REVIEW IS TO PROVIDE A COMPREHENSIVE OVERVIEW OF THE LAST DECADE OF CZECH BIOMONITORING RESEARCH, CONCERNING THE EFFECT OF VARIOUS LEVELS OF AIR POLLUTION (BENZO[A]PYRENE) AND RADIATION (URANIUM, X-RAY EXAMINATION AND NATURAL RADON BACKGROUND), ON THE DIFFERENTLY EXPOSED POPULATION GROUPS. BECAUSE SOME RESULTS OBTAINED FROM CYTOGENETIC STUDIES WERE OPPOSITE THAN HYPOTHESIZED, WE HAVE SEARCHED FOR A MEANINGFUL INTERPRETATION IN GENOMIC/EPIGENETIC STUDIES. A DETAILED ANALYSIS OF OUR DATA SUPPORTED BY THE STUDIES OF OTHERS AND CURRENT EPIGENETIC KNOWLEDGE, LEADS TO A HYPOTHESIS OF THE VERSATILE MECHANISM OF ADAPTATION TO ENVIRONMENTAL STRESSORS VIA DNA METHYLATION SETTINGS WHICH MAY EVEN ORIGINATE IN PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT, AND HELP TO REDUCE THE RESULTING DNA DAMAGE LEVELS. THIS HYPOTHESIS IS FULLY IN AGREEMENT WITH UNEXPECTED DATA FROM OUR STUDIES (E.G. LOWER LEVELS OF DNA DAMAGE IN SUBJECTS FROM HIGHLY POLLUTED REGIONS THAN IN CONTROLS OR IN SUBJECTS EXPOSED REPEATEDLY TO A POLLUTANT THAN IN THOSE WITHOUT PREVIOUS EXPOSURE), AND IS ALSO SUPPORTED BY DIFFERENCES IN DNA METHYLATION PATTERNS IN GROUPS FROM REGIONS WITH VARIOUS LEVELS OF POLLUTION. IN LIGHT OF THE ADAPTATION HYPOTHESIS, THE FOLLOWING POINTS MAY BE SUGGESTED FOR FUTURE RESEARCH: (I) THE CHRONIC AND ACUTE EXPOSURE OF STUDY SUBJECTS SHOULD BE DISTINGUISHED; (II) THE EXPOSURE HISTORY SHOULD BE MAPPED INCLUDING PLACE OF RESIDENCE DURING THE LIFE AND PRENATAL DEVELOPMENT; (III) CHANGES OF EPIGENETIC MARKERS SHOULD BE MONITORED OVER TIME. IN SUMMARY, INVESTIGATION OF HUMAN ADAPTATION TO THE ENVIRONMENT, ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT PROCESSES OF SURVIVAL, IS A NEW CHALLENGE FOR FUTURE RESEARCH IN THE FIELD OF HUMAN BIOMONITORING THAT MAY CHANGE OUR VIEW ON THE RESULTS OF BIOMARKER ANALYSES AND POTENTIAL NEGATIVE HEALTH IMPACTS OF THE ENVIRONMENT. 2017 12 1916 48 ENVIRONMENTAL AND OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE TO CHEMICALS AND TELOMERE LENGTH IN HUMAN STUDIES. TELOMERES ARE COMPLEXES OF TANDEM REPEATS OF DNA (5'-TTAGGG-3') AND PROTEIN THAT CAP EUKARYOTIC CHROMOSOMES AND PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN CHROMOSOME STABILITY. TELOMERES SHORTEN WITH AGING AND THIS PROCESS CAN BE ACCELERATED BY INCREASED OXIDATIVE STRESS AND EPISODES OF INFLAMMATION. EVIDENCE IS RAPIDLY GROWING THAT TELOMERE LENGTH (TL) MAY BE AFFECTED BY ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICALS THAT HAVE FREQUENTLY BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH CHRONIC DISEASES. IN THIS ARTICLE, WE REVIEW THE PUBLISHED DATA ON TL IN RELATION TO ENVIRONMENTAL AND OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE TO SEVERAL CHEMICALS BASED ON OUR OWN AND OTHERS' STUDIES. THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURES ASSOCIATED WITH SHORTER TL INCLUDE TRAFFIC-RELATED AIR POLLUTION (IE, PARTICULATE MATTER (PM), BLACK CARBON (BC), AND BENZENE AND TOLUENE), POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS (PAHS), N-NITROSAMINES, PESTICIDES, LEAD, EXPOSURE IN CAR MECHANICAL WORKSHOPS, AND HAZARDOUS WASTE EXPOSURE. ARSENIC, PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS (POPS) AND SHORT-TERM EXPOSURE TO PM ARE ASSOCIATED WITH LONGER TL. WE DISCUSS THE POSSIBLE REASONS FOR THE DIFFERENCES IN RESULTS, INCLUDING TIME- AND DOSE-RELATED ISSUES, STUDY DESIGN, AND POSSIBLE MECHANISMS INVOLVED IN TELOMERE REGULATION. WE ALSO DISCUSS THE FUTURE DIRECTIONS AND CHALLENGES FOR TL-RELATED ENVIRONMENTAL AND OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH RESEARCH, SUCH AS INVESTIGATION OF TL IN SUBPOPULATIONS OF BLOOD LEUKOCYTES, AND THE STUDY OF GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC FACTORS THAT MAY REGULATE TELOMERE INTEGRITY USING LONGITUDINAL DESIGNS. 2013 13 6781 56 [BREATHING: AMBIENT AIR POLLUTION AND HEALTH - PART III]. THE THIRD PART OF THE DGP STATEMENT INTRODUCES THE CURRENT BODY OF KNOWLEDGE ON LESS STUDIED HEALTH OUTCOMES ASSOCIATED WITH EXPOSURE TO AMBIENT AIR POLLUTION: THE NEGATIVE IMPACT ON METABOLISM LEADING TO IMPAIRED GLUCOSE TOLERANCE AND DIABETES AS WELL AS CONTRIBUTION TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEURODEGENERATIVE DISORDERS AND DELAYED COGNITIVE FUNCTION IN CHILDREN. FURTHERMORE, PRENATAL EXPOSURE AND ADVERSE EFFECTS ON MOTHER AND CHILD ARE ADDRESSED. FINALLY, THE CURRENTLY DISCUSSED BIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS UNDERLYING VARIOUS HEALTH EFFECTS ASSOCIATED WITH EXPOSURE TO AIR POLLUTION ARE DESCRIBED.DIFFERING, BUT OFTEN COMPLEMENTARY BIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS CREATE THE BASIS FOR THE DIVERSE HEALTH OUTCOMES CAUSED BY AIR POLLUTION. OXIDATIVE STRESS AND A SUBCLINICAL INFLAMMATORY RESPONSE IN THE LUNGS AND ON A SYSTEMIC LEVEL ("LOW-GRADE SYSTEMIC INFLAMMATION") ARE CONSIDERED TO BE KEY MECHANISMS. THEY PROMOTE SECONDARY ALTERATIONS IN THE BODY, SUCH AS VASCULAR OR METABOLIC PROCESSES, AND MAY ALSO RESULT IN THE CURRENTLY STUDIED EPIGENETIC PHENOMENA OR NEUROINFLAMMATION. IN THIS CONTEXT, THE HEALTH SIGNIFICANCE OF SOLUBLE PARTICULATE MATTER AND THE ROLE OF ULTRAFINE PARTICLES TRANSLOCATED ACROSS BIOLOGICAL MEMBRANES INTO BLOOD VESSEL AND TRANSPORTED VIA THE CIRCULATION TO SECONDARY TARGET ORGANS, SUCH AS LIVER, BRAIN OR THE FETUS, ARE INTENSIVELY DISCUSSED.DIABETES IS ONE OF THE LEADING CHRONIC DISEASES WORLDWIDE, WITH A PREVALENCE OF ALMOST 14 % IN GERMANY. ALTHOUGH LIFESTYLE FACTORS ARE THE MAIN CAUSES, CURRENT EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT LONG-TERM EXPOSURE TO AIR POLLUTION MAY ADDITIONALLY INCREASE THE RISK FOR TYPE 2 DIABETES. SUPPORTING EVIDENCE FOR A CAUSAL ROLE OF AIR POLLUTION IS PROVIDED BY STUDIES ADDRESSING THE REGULATION OF THE BLOOD GLUCOSE LEVELS IN METABOLICALLY HEALTHY PARTICIPANTS, INSULIN SENSITIVITY, OR PREGNANCY-RELATED DIABETES. EXPERIMENTAL STUDIES PROVIDE FURTHER SUPPORT FOR PLAUSIBLE BIOLOGICAL MECHANISMS. HOWEVER, PROSPECTIVE STUDIES ARE NEEDED TO GAIN MORE EVIDENCE, TAKING MULTIPLE LIFESTYLE AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS, SUCH AS GREEN SPACE AND NOISE, AND AN IMPROVED INDIVIDUAL EXPOSURE ASSESSMENT INTO ACCOUNT.THE AGING POPULATION HAS AN INCREASED RISK OF NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES. FIRST STUDIES POINT TOWARDS A CONTRIBUTION OF CHRONIC EXPOSURE TO AIR POLLUTION, SPECIFICALLY BY PARTICULATE MATTER. SEVERAL STUDIES REPORT ITS ASSOCIATION WITH DECREASED NEUROCOGNITIVE CAPACITY OR AN INCREASED PREVALENCE OF DEMENTIA OR ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE IN ADULTS. HOWEVER, THE STUDIES ARE INHOMOGENEOUS REGARDING DESIGN, EXPOSURE AND OUTCOME, LEADING TO INCONSISTENT RESULTS. WITH RESPECT TO THE INFLUENCE ON NEUROCOGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF CHILDREN, FIRST STUDIES SUGGEST AN ASSOCIATION BETWEEN THE LEVEL OF AIR POLLUTION, E. G. AT SCHOOL, AND DELAYED COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT.EVEN THOUGH THE EVIDENCE FOR THE DIFFERENT BIOLOGICAL ENDPOINTS DURING PREGNANCY IS STILL HETEROGENEOUS, THE STUDIES GENERALLY POINT TOWARDS AN ADVERSE IMPACT OF AIR POLLUTION ON THE MATERNAL AND FETAL ORGANISMS. THE STRONGEST EVIDENCE EXISTS FOR LOW BIRTH WEIGHT, WITH SMALL EFFECT SIZES OF ONLY SOME GRAMS, AND FOR A HIGHER INCIDENCE OF REDUCED BIRTH WEIGHT (< 2500 G). AN INCREASED RISK FOR GESTATIONAL HYPERTENSION AND PREECLAMPSIA UNDERSCORES THE POSSIBLE IMPACT OF EXPOSURE TO AIR POLLUTION ON THE MATERNAL ORGANISM. HOWEVER, THE CURRENT BODY OF EVIDENCE DOES NOT YET ALLOW A FINAL CONCLUSION ON THE INFLUENCE OF INTRAUTERINE EXPOSURE TO AIR POLLUTION REGARDING EARLY CHILDHOOD LUNG FUNCTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF ALLERGIES, PARTICULARLY IN LIGHT OF THE FACT THAT IT IS HARD TO DISTINGUISH IN EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES BETWEEN THE EFFECTS OF PRE- AND POSTNATAL EXPOSURE. 2019 14 4787 38 NUTRITION, AGING AND CANCER: LESSONS FROM DIETARY INTERVENTION STUDIES. THERE IS CONVINCING EPIDEMIOLOGICAL AND CLINICAL EVIDENCE THAT, INDEPENDENT OF AGING, LIFESTYLE AND, NOTABLY, NUTRITION ARE ASSOCIATED WITH DEVELOPMENT OR PROGRESSION OF MAJOR HUMAN CANCERS, INCLUDING BREAST, PROSTATE, COLORECTAL TUMORS, AND AN INCREASINGLY LARGE COLLECTION OF DIET-RELATED CANCERS. MECHANISMS UNDERLYING THIS ASSOCIATION ARE MOSTLY RELATED TO THE DISTINCT EPIGENETIC EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT DIETARY PATTERNS. IN THIS CONTEXT, MEDITERRANEAN DIET HAS BEEN REPORTED TO SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCE MORTALITY RATES FOR VARIOUS CHRONIC ILLNESSES, INCLUDING CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES, NEURODEGENERATIVE DISEASES AND CANCER. ALTHOUGH MANY OBSERVATIONAL STUDIES HAVE SUPPORTED THIS EVIDENCE, DIETARY INTERVENTION STUDIES USING A MEDITERRANEAN DIETARY PATTERN OR ITS SELECTED FOOD COMPONENTS ARE STILL LIMITED AND AFFECTED BY A RATHER LARGE VARIABILITY IN CHARACTERISTICS OF STUDY SUBJECTS, TYPE AND LENGTH OF INTERVENTION, SELECTED END-POINTS AND STATISTICAL ANALYSIS. HERE WE REVIEW DATA OF TWO OF OUR INTERVENTION STUDIES, THE MEDIET STUDY AND THE DIMESA PROJECT, AIMED AT ASSESSING THE EFFECTS OF TRADITIONAL MEDITERRANEAN DIET AND/OR ITS COMPONENT(S) ON A LARGE PANEL OF BOTH PLASMA AND URINE BIOMARKERS. BOTH PUBLISHED AND UNPUBLISHED RESULTS ARE PRESENTED AND DISCUSSED. 2016 15 6112 47 THE EPIGENETIC CLOCK AS A PREDICTOR OF DISEASE AND MORTALITY RISK: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS. BACKGROUND: AGEING IS ONE OF THE PRINCIPAL RISK FACTORS FOR MANY CHRONIC DISEASES. HOWEVER, THERE IS CONSIDERABLE BETWEEN-PERSON VARIATION IN THE RATE OF AGEING AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN THEIR SUSCEPTIBILITY TO DISEASE AND DEATH. EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS MAY PLAY A ROLE IN HUMAN AGEING, AND DNA METHYLATION AGE BIOMARKERS MAY BE GOOD PREDICTORS OF AGE-RELATED DISEASES AND MORTALITY RISK. THE AIMS OF THIS SYSTEMATIC REVIEW WERE TO IDENTIFY AND SYNTHESISE THE EVIDENCE FOR AN ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PERIPHERALLY MEASURED DNA METHYLATION AGE AND LONGEVITY, AGE-RELATED DISEASE, AND MORTALITY RISK. METHODS: A SYSTEMATIC SEARCH WAS CONDUCTED IN LINE WITH THE PREFERRED REPORTING ITEMS FOR SYSTEMATIC REVIEWS AND META-ANALYSES (PRISMA) GUIDELINES. USING RELEVANT SEARCH TERMS, MEDLINE, EMBASE, COCHRANE CENTRAL REGISTER OF CONTROLLED TRIALS, AND PSYCHINFO DATABASES WERE SEARCHED TO IDENTIFY ARTICLES MEETING THE INCLUSION CRITERIA. STUDIES WERE ASSESSED FOR BIAS USING JOANNA BRIGGS INSTITUTE CRITICAL APPRAISAL CHECKLISTS. DATA WAS EXTRACTED FROM STUDIES MEASURING AGE ACCELERATION AS A PREDICTOR OF AGE-RELATED DISEASES, MORTALITY OR LONGEVITY, AND THE FINDINGS FOR SIMILAR OUTCOMES COMPARED. USING REVIEW MANAGER 5.3 SOFTWARE, TWO META-ANALYSES (ONE PER EPIGENETIC CLOCK) WERE CONDUCTED ON STUDIES MEASURING ALL-CAUSE MORTALITY. RESULTS: TWENTY-THREE RELEVANT ARTICLES WERE IDENTIFIED, INCLUDING A TOTAL OF 41,607 PARTICIPANTS. FOUR STUDIES FOCUSED ON AGEING AND LONGEVITY, 11 ON AGE-RELATED DISEASE (CANCER, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE, AND DEMENTIA), AND 11 ON MORTALITY. THERE WAS SOME, ALTHOUGH INCONSISTENT, EVIDENCE FOR AN ASSOCIATION BETWEEN INCREASED DNA METHYLATION AGE AND RISK OF DISEASE. META-ANALYSES INDICATED THAT EACH 5-YEAR INCREASE IN DNA METHYLATION AGE WAS ASSOCIATED AN 8 TO 15% INCREASED RISK OF MORTALITY. CONCLUSION: DUE TO THE SMALL NUMBER OF STUDIES AND HETEROGENEITY IN STUDY DESIGN AND OUTCOMES, THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN DNA METHYLATION AGE AND AGE-RELATED DISEASE AND LONGEVITY IS INCONCLUSIVE. INCREASED EPIGENETIC AGE WAS ASSOCIATED WITH MORTALITY RISK, BUT POSITIVE PUBLICATION BIAS NEEDS TO BE CONSIDERED. FURTHER RESEARCH IS NEEDED TO DETERMINE THE EXTENT TO WHICH DNA METHYLATION AGE CAN BE USED AS A CLINICAL BIOMARKER. 2019 16 3710 65 INFLUENCES OF POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBON ON THE EPIGENOME TOXICITY AND ITS APPLICABILITY IN HUMAN HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT. THE EXISTENCE OF POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS (PAHS) IN AMBIENT AIR IS AN ESCALATING CONCERN WORLDWIDE BECAUSE OF THEIR ABILITY TO CAUSE CANCER AND INDUCE PERMANENT CHANGES IN THE GENETIC MATERIAL. GROWING EVIDENCE IMPLIES THAT DURING EARLY LIFE-SENSITIVE STAGES, THE RISK OF PROGRESSION OF ACUTE AND CHRONIC DISEASES DEPENDS ON EPIGENETIC CHANGES INITIATED BY THE INFLUENCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL CUES. SEVERAL REPORTS DECIPHERED THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EXPOSURE TO ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICALS AND EPIGENETICS, AND HAVE KNOWN TOXICANTS THAT ALTER THE EPIGENETIC STATES. AMONGST PAHS, BENZO[A]PYRENE (B[A]P) IS ACCEPTED AS A GROUP 1 CANCER-CAUSING AGENT BY THE INTERNATIONAL AGENCY FOR THE RESEARCH ON CANCER (IARC). B[A]P IS A WELL-STUDIED PRO-CARCINOGEN THAT IS METABOLICALLY ACTIVATED BY THE ARYL HYDROCARBON RECEPTOR (AHR)/CYTOCHROME P450 PATHWAY. CYTOCHROME P450 PLAYS A PIVOTAL ROLE IN THE STIMULATION STEP, WHICH IS ESSENTIAL FOR DNA ADDUCT FORMATION. ACCRUING EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS ASSUME A FUNDAMENTAL PART IN PAH-PROMOTED CARCINOGENESIS. THIS INTERACTION BETWEEN PAHS AND EPIGENETIC FACTORS RESULTS IN AN ALTERED PROFILE OF THESE MARKS, GLOBALLY AND LOCUS-SPECIFIC. SOME OF THE EPIGENETIC CHANGES DUE TO EXPOSURE TO PAHS LEAD TO INCREASED DISEASE SUSCEPTIBILITY AND PROGRESSION. IT IS WELL UNDERSTOOD THAT EXPOSURE TO ENVIRONMENTAL CARCINOGENS, SUCH AS PAH TRIGGERS DISEASE PATHWAYS THROUGH CHANGES IN THE GENOME. SEVERAL EVIDENCE REPORTED DUE TO THE EPIGENOME-WIDE ASSOCIATION STUDIES, THAT EARLY LIFE ADVERSE ENVIRONMENTAL EVENTS MAY TRIGGER WIDESPREAD AND PERSISTENT VARIATIONS IN TRANSCRIPTIONAL PROFILING. MOREOVER, THESE VARIATIONS RESPOND TO DNA DAMAGE AND/OR A CONSEQUENCE OF EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS THAT NEED FURTHER INVESTIGATION. GROWING EVIDENCE HAS ASSOCIATED PAHS WITH EPIGENETIC VARIATIONS INVOLVING ALTERATIONS IN DNA METHYLATION, HISTONE MODIFICATION, AND MICRO RNA (MIRNA) REGULATION. EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS TO PAH EXPOSURE WERE RELATED TO CHRONIC DISEASES, SUCH AS PULMONARY DISEASE, CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE, ENDOCRINE DISRUPTOR, NERVOUS SYSTEM DISORDER, AND CANCER. THIS HORMETIC RESPONSE GIVES A NOVEL PERCEPTION CONCERNING THE TOXICITY OF PAHS AND THE BIOLOGICAL REACTION THAT MAY BE A DISTINCT RELIANCE ON EXPOSURE. THIS REVIEW SHEDS LIGHT ON UNDERSTANDING THE LATEST EVIDENCE ABOUT HOW PAHS CAN ALTER EPIGENETIC PATTERNS AND HUMAN HEALTH. IN CONCLUSION, AS SEVERAL EPIGENETIC CHANGE MECHANISMS REMAIN UNCLEAR YET, FURTHER ANALYSES DERIVED FROM PAHS EXPOSURE MUST BE PERFORMED TO FIND NEW TARGETS AND DISEASE BIOMARKERS. IN SPITE OF THE CURRENT LIMITATIONS, NUMEROUS EVIDENCE SUPPORTS THE PERCEPTION THAT EPIGENETICS GRIPS SUBSTANTIAL POTENTIAL FOR ADVANCING OUR KNOWLEDGE ABOUT THE MOLECULAR MECHANISMS OF ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICANTS, ALSO FOR PREDICTING HEALTH-ASSOCIATED RISKS DUE TO ENVIRONMENTAL CIRCUMSTANCES EXPOSURE AND INDIVIDUAL SUSCEPTIBILITY. 2022 17 3502 62 IDENTIFICATION OF POTENTIAL BIOMARKERS OF CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE IN INDIVIDUALS WITH DIABETES: PROTOCOL FOR A CROSS-SECTIONAL OBSERVATIONAL STUDY. BACKGROUND: THE IMPORTANCE OF IDENTIFYING PEOPLE WITH DIABETES AND PROGRESSIVE KIDNEY DYSFUNCTION RELATES TO THE EXCESS MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY OF THIS GROUP. RATES OF CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE ARE MUCH HIGHER IN PEOPLE WITH BOTH DIABETES AND KIDNEY DYSFUNCTION THAN IN THOSE WITH ONLY ONE OF THESE CONDITIONS. BY THE TIME THESE PEOPLE ARE IDENTIFIED IN CURRENT CLINICAL PRACTICE, PROTEINURIA AND RENAL DYSFUNCTION ARE ALREADY ESTABLISHED, LIMITING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THERAPEUTIC INTERVENTIONS. THE IDENTIFICATION OF AN EPIGENETIC OR BLOOD METABOLITE SIGNATURE OR GUT MICROBIOME PROFILE MAY IDENTIFY THOSE WITH DIABETES AT RISK OF PROGRESSIVE CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE, IN TURN PROVIDING TARGETED INTERVENTION TO IMPROVE PATIENT OUTCOMES. OBJECTIVE: THIS STUDY AIMS TO IDENTIFY POTENTIAL BIOMARKERS IN PEOPLE WITH DIABETES AND CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE (CKD) ASSOCIATED WITH PROGRESSIVE RENAL INJURY AND TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN STAGES OF CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE. THREE SOURCES OF BIOMARKERS WILL BE EXPLORED, INCLUDING DNA METHYLATION PROFILES IN BLOOD LYMPHOCYTES, THE METABOLOMIC PROFILE OF BLOOD-DERIVED PLASMA AND URINE, AND THE GUT MICROBIOME. METHODS: THE CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY RECRUITED 121 PEOPLE WITH DIABETES AND VARYING STAGES (STAGES 1-5) OF CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE. SINGLE-POINT DATA COLLECTION INCLUDED BLOOD, URINE, AND FECAL SAMPLES IN ADDITION TO CLINICAL DATA SUCH AS ANTHROPOMETRIC MEASUREMENTS AND BIOCHEMICAL PARAMETERS. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OBTAINED FROM MEDICAL RECORDS INCLUDED PATIENT DEMOGRAPHICS, MEDICAL COMORBIDITIES, AND MEDICATIONS. RESULTS: DATA COLLECTION COMMENCED IN JANUARY 2018 AND WAS COMPLETED IN JUNE 2018. AT THE TIME OF SUBMISSION, 121 PATIENTS HAD BEEN RECRUITED, AND 119 SAMPLES REMAINED AFTER QUALITY CONTROL. THERE WERE 83 PARTICIPANTS IN THE EARLY DIABETES-ASSOCIATED CKD GROUP WITH A MEAN ESTIMATED GLOMERULAR FILTRATION RATE (EGFR) OF 61.2 ML/MIN/1.73 M2 (EARLY CKD GROUP CONSISTING OF STAGE 1, 2, AND 3A CKD), AND 36 PARTICIPANTS IN THE LATE DIABETIC CKD GROUP WITH A MEAN EGFR OF 23.9 ML/MIN/1.73 M2 (LATE CKD GROUP, CONSISTING OF STAGE 3B, 4, AND 5), P<.001. WE HAVE SUCCESSFULLY OBTAINED DNA FOR METHYLATION AND MICROBIOME ANALYSES USING THE BIOSPECIMENS COLLECTED VIA THIS PROTOCOL AND ARE CURRENTLY ANALYZING THESE RESULTS TOGETHER WITH THE METABOLOME OF THIS COHORT OF INDIVIDUALS WITH DIABETIC CKD. CONCLUSIONS: RECENT ADVANCES HAVE IMPROVED OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE EPIGENOME, METABOLOMICS, AND THE INFLUENCE OF THE GUT MICROBIOME ON THE INCIDENCE OF DISEASES SUCH AS CANCERS, PARTICULARLY THOSE RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURES. HOWEVER, THERE IS A PAUCITY OF LITERATURE SURROUNDING THESE INFLUENCERS IN RENAL DISEASE. THIS STUDY WILL PROVIDE INSIGHT INTO THE FUNDAMENTAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF CKD IN INDIVIDUALS WITH DIABETES, ESPECIALLY IN NOVEL AREAS SUCH AS EPIGENETICS, METABOLOMICS, AND THE KIDNEY-GUT AXIS. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/16277. 2020 18 3652 46 INDIVIDUAL DNA METHYLATION PATTERN SHIFTS IN NANOPARTICLES-EXPOSED WORKERS ANALYZED IN FOUR CONSECUTIVE YEARS. A DNA METHYLATION PATTERN REPRESENTS AN ORIGINAL PLAN OF THE FUNCTION SETTINGS OF INDIVIDUAL CELLS AND TISSUES. THE BASIC STRATEGIES OF ITS DEVELOPMENT AND CHANGES DURING THE HUMAN LIFETIME ARE KNOWN, BUT THE DETAILS RELATED TO ITS MODIFICATION OVER THE YEARS ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS HAVE NOT YET BEEN STUDIED. MOREOVER, CURRENT EVIDENCE SHOWS THAT ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE COULD GENERATE CHANGES IN DNA METHYLATION SETTINGS AND, SUBSEQUENTLY, THE FUNCTION OF GENES. IN THIS STUDY, WE ANALYZED THE EFFECT OF CHRONIC EXPOSURE TO NANOPARTICLES (NP) IN OCCUPATIONALLY EXPOSED WORKERS REPEATEDLY SAMPLED IN FOUR CONSECUTIVE YEARS (2016-2019). A DETAILED METHYLATION PATTERN ANALYSIS OF 14 PERSONS (10 EXPOSED AND 4 CONTROLS) WAS PERFORMED ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS. A MICROARRAY-BASED APPROACH USING CHIPS, ALLOWING THE ASSESSMENT OF MORE THAN 850 K CPG LOCI, WAS USED. INDIVIDUAL DNA METHYLATION PATTERNS WERE COMPARED BY PRINCIPAL COMPONENT ANALYSIS (PCA). THE RESULTS SHOW THE SHIFT IN DNA METHYLATION PATTERNS IN INDIVIDUAL YEARS IN ALL THE EXPOSED AND CONTROL SUBJECTS. THE OVERALL RANGE OF DIFFERENCES VARIED BETWEEN THE YEARS IN INDIVIDUAL PERSONS. THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE FIRST AND LAST YEAR OF EXAMINATION (A THREE-YEAR TIME PERIOD) SEEM TO BE CONSISTENTLY GREATER IN THE NP-EXPOSED SUBJECTS IN COMPARISON WITH THE CONTROLS. THE SELECTED 14 MOST DIFFERENTLY METHYLATED CG LOCI WERE RELATIVELY STABLE IN THE CHRONICALLY EXPOSED SUBJECTS. IN SUMMARY, THE SPECIFIC TYPE OF LONG-TERM EXPOSURE CAN CONTRIBUTE TO THE FIXING OF RELEVANT EPIGENETIC CHANGES RELATED TO A SPECIFIC ENVIRONMENT AS, E.G., NP INHALATION. 2021 19 6633 38 UNHEALTHY SMOKERS: SCOPES FOR PROPHYLACTIC INTERVENTION AND CLINICAL TREATMENT. BACKGROUND: GLOBALLY, TOBACCO USE CAUSES APPROXIMATELY 6 MILLION DEATHS PER YEAR, AND PREDICTIONS REPORT THAT WITH CURRENT TRENDS; MORE THAN 8 MILLION DEATHS ARE EXPECTED ANNUALLY BY 2030. CIGARETTE SMOKINGS IS CURRENTLY ACCOUNTABLE FOR MORE THAN 480,000 DEATHS EACH YEAR IN UNITED STATES (US) AND IS THE LEADING CAUSE OF PREVENTABLE DEATH IN THE US. ON AVERAGE, SMOKERS DIE 10 YEARS EARLIER THAN NONSMOKERS AND IF SMOKING CONTINUES AT ITS CURRENT PROPORTION AMONG ADOLESCENTS, ONE IN EVERY 13 AMERICANS AGED 17 YEARS OR YOUNGER IS EXPECTED TO DIE PREMATURELY FROM A SMOKING-RELATED ILLNESS. EVEN THOUGH THERE HAS BEEN A MARGINAL SMOKING DECLINE OF AROUND 5% IN RECENT YEARS (2005 VS 2015), SMOKERS STILL ACCOUNT FOR 15% OF THE US ADULT POPULATION. WHAT IS ALSO CONCERNING IS THAT 41,000 OUT OF 480,000 DEATHS RESULTS FROM SECONDHAND SMOKE (SHS) EXPOSURE. HEREIN, WE PROVIDE A DETAILED REVIEW OF HEALTH COMPLICATIONS AND MAJOR PATHOLOGICAL MECHANISMS INCLUDING MUTATION, INFLAMMATION, OXIDATIVE STRESS, AND HEMODYNAMIC AND PLASMA PROTEIN CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH CHRONIC SMOKING. FURTHER, WE DISCUSS PROPHYLACTIC INTERVENTIONS AND ASSOCIATED BENEFITS AND PROVIDE A RATIONALE FOR THE SCOPE OF CLINICAL TREATMENT. CONCLUSIONS: CONSIDERING THESE PREMISES, IT IS EVIDENT THAT MUCH DETAILED TRANSLATIONAL AND CLINICAL STUDIES ARE NEEDED. FACTORS SUCH AS THE LENGTH OF SMOKING CESSATION FOR EX-SMOKERS, THE LEVEL OF SMOKE EXPOSURE IN CASE OF SHS, PRE-ESTABLISHED HEALTH CONDITIONS, GENETICS (AND EPIGENETICS MODIFICATION CAUSED BY CHRONIC SMOKING) ARE FEW OF THE CRITERIA THAT NEED TO BE EVALUATED TO BEGIN ASSESSING THE PROPHYLACTIC AND/OR THERAPEUTIC IMPACT OF TREATMENTS AIMED AT CHRONIC AND FORMER SMOKERS (ESPECIALLY EARLY STAGE EX-SMOKERS) INCLUDING THOSE FREQUENTLY SUBJECTED TO SECOND HAND TOBACCO SMOKE EXPOSURE. HEREIN, WE PROVIDE A DETAILED REVIEW OF HEALTH COMPLICATIONS AND MAJOR PATHOLOGICAL MECHANISMS INCLUDING MUTATION, INFLAMMATION, OXIDATIVE STRESS, AND HEMODYNAMIC AND PLASMA PROTEIN CHANGES ASSOCIATED WITH CHRONIC SMOKING. FURTHER, WE DISCUSS ABOUT PROPHYLACTIC INTERVENTIONS AND ASSOCIATED BENEFITS AND PROVIDE A RATIONALE AND SCOPE FOR CLINICAL TREATMENT. 2017 20 652 47 BISPHENOL A AS EPIGENETIC MODULATOR: SETTING THE STAGE FOR CARCINOGENESIS? BACKGROUND: BISPHENOL A (BPA) IS ONE OF THE MOST WIDELY PRODUCED CHEMICALS WORLDWIDE AND IS OFTEN USED IN THE PRODUCTION OF FOOD AND BEVERAGE CONTAINERS. AS A RESULT OF BPA CONTACT WITH FOOD, DRINK AND TOILETRIES, ITS INGESTION AND ABSORPTION BY HUMANS HAS BEEN GROWING. THE INDUSTRIALIZATION AND MODERN LIFESTYLES BROUGHT A CONSTANT EXPOSURE TO SEVERAL HEALTH-DISTURBING COMPOUNDS AND USHERED A NEW ERA OF CHRONIC DISEASES. THE ENDOCRINE DISRUPTOR POTENTIAL OF BPA IS WELL KNOWN, BUT THE RESEARCH AROUND ITS EPIGENOTOXIC EFFECTS RAISED FURTHER CONCERNS WHETHER CHRONIC EXPOSURE TO BPA CAN CONTRIBUTE TO CHRONIC HUMAN ILLNESS, INCLUDING CANCER IN HORMONE-SENSITIVE ORGANS. MATERIALS AND METHODS: FOCUSING ON COMPUTERIZED DATABASES, WE REVIEWED ORIGINAL AND REVIEW ARTICLES WHICH ELUCIDATE AND LINK SOME OF THE INFORMATION ALREADY AVAILABLE ABOUT BPA AND RELATED EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS. RESULTS: A NUMBER OF STUDIES INDICATE THAT SHORT-TERM ADMINISTRATION OF LOW OR HIGH-DOSES OF BPA MAY BE ASSOCIATED WITH AN INCREASED RISK OF EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS, INCREASING THE RISK FOR CARCINOGENESIS. HOWEVER, IT IS CLEAR THAT MORE STUDIES CONSIDERING REAL DAILY EXPOSURES ARE ESSENTIAL TO DEFINE A REAL TOLERABLE DAILY INTAKE AND TO TIGHTEN UP MANUFACTORY REGULATIONS. CONCLUSION: IN THIS REVIEW, WE HIGHLIGHT SOME EVIDENCES SUGGESTING A RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BPA EXPOSURE, GENOTOXIC ACTIVITY AND EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS, WHICH MAY PRIME FOR CARCINOGENESIS. 2015