1 3297 161 HIGH SODIUM INTAKE DURING POSTNATAL PHASES INDUCES AN INCREASE IN ARTERIAL BLOOD PRESSURE IN ADULT RATS. EPIGENETIC STUDIES SUGGEST THAT DISEASES THAT DEVELOP IN ADULTHOOD ARE RELATED TO CERTAIN CONDITIONS TO WHICH THE INDIVIDUAL IS EXPOSED DURING THE INITIAL STAGES OF LIFE. EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE HAS DEMONSTRATED THAT OFFSPRING BORN TO MOTHERS MAINTAINED ON HIGH-NA DIETS DURING PREGNANCY HAVE HIGHER MEAN ARTERIAL PRESSURE (MAP) IN ADULTHOOD. ALTHOUGH THESE STUDIES HAVE DEMONSTRATED THE IMPORTANCE OF PRENATAL PHASES TO HYPERTENSION DEVELOPMENT, NO EVIDENCE REGARDING THE ROLE OF HIGH NA INTAKE DURING POSTNATAL PHASES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS PATHOLOGY HAS BEEN REPORTED. THEREFORE, IN THE PRESENT STUDY, THE EFFECTS OF NA OVERLOAD DURING CHILDHOOD ON INDUCED WATER AND NA INTAKES AND ON CARDIOVASCULAR PARAMETERS IN ADULTHOOD WERE EVALUATED. EXPERIMENTS WERE CARRIED OUT IN TWO GROUPS OF 21-D-OLD RATS: EXPERIMENTAL GROUP, MAINTAINED ON HYPERTONIC SALINE (0.3 M-NACL) SOLUTION AND FOOD FOR 60 D, AND CONTROL GROUP, MAINTAINED ON TAP WATER AND FOOD. LATER, BOTH GROUPS WERE GIVEN WATER AND FOOD FOR 15 D (RECOVERY PERIOD). AFTER THE RECOVERY PERIOD, CHRONIC CANNULATION OF THE RIGHT FEMORAL ARTERY WAS PERFORMED IN UNANAESTHETISED RATS TO RECORD BASELINE MAP AND HEART RATE (HR). THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP WAS FOUND TO HAVE INCREASED BASAL MAP (98.6 (SEM 2.6) V. 118.3 (SEM 2.7) MMHG, P< 0.05) AND HR (365.4 (SEM 12.2) V. 398.2 (SEM 7.5) BEATS PER MIN, P< 0.05). THERE WAS A DECREASE IN THE BAROREFLEX INDEX IN THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP WHEN COMPARED WITH THAT IN THE CONTROL GROUP. A WATER AND NA INTAKE TEST WAS PERFORMED USING FUROSEMIDE. NA DEPLETION WAS FOUND TO INDUCE AN INCREASE IN NA INTAKE IN BOTH THE CONTROL AND EXPERIMENTAL GROUPS (12.1 (SEM 0.6) ML AND 7.8 (SEM 1.1), RESPECTIVELY, P< 0.05); HOWEVER, THIS INCREASE WAS OF LOWER MAGNITUDE IN THE EXPERIMENTAL GROUP. THESE RESULTS DEMONSTRATE THAT POSTNATAL NA OVERLOAD ALTERS BEHAVIOURAL AND CARDIOVASCULAR REGULATION IN ADULTHOOD. 2014 2 3991 30 LONGITUDINAL EFFECTS OF DEVELOPMENTAL BISPHENOL A, VARIABLE DIET, AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY ON AGE-RELATED METHYLATION IN BLOOD. RESEARCH INDICATES THAT ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS CAN ALTER DNA METHYLATION, BUT THE SPECIFIC EFFECTS OF ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURES ON EPIGENETIC AGING REMAIN UNCLEAR. HERE, USING A MOUSE MODEL OF HUMAN-RELEVANT EXPOSURES, WE TESTED THE HYPOTHESIS THAT EARLY-LIFE EXPOSURE TO BISPHENOL A (BPA), VARIABLE DIET, AND/OR CHANGES IN PHYSICAL ACTIVITY WOULD MODIFY RATES OF AGE-RELATED METHYLATION AT SEVERAL TARGET REGIONS, AS MEASURED FROM LONGITUDINAL BLOOD SAMPLES (2, 4, AND 10 MONTHS OLD). DNA METHYLATION WAS QUANTIFIED AT TWO REPETITIVE ELEMENTS (LINE-1, IAP), TWO IMPRINTED GENES (IGF2, H19), AND ONE NON-IMPRINTED GENE (ESR1) IN ISOGENIC MICE DEVELOPMENTALLY EXPOSED TO CONTROL, CONTROL + BPA (50 MICROG/KG DIET), WESTERN HIGH-FAT DIET (WHFD), OR WESTERN + BPA DIETS. IN BLOOD SAMPLES, ESR1 DNA METHYLATION INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY WITH AGE, BUT NO OTHER INVESTIGATED LOCI SHOWED SIGNIFICANT AGE-RELATED METHYLATION. LINE-1 AND IAP BOTH SHOWED SIGNIFICANT NEGATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL DEFLECTION BY WHFD EXPOSURE (P < 0.05). ESR1ALSO SHOWED SIGNIFICANT NEGATIVE ENVIRONMENTAL DEFLECTION BY WHFD EXPOSURE IN FEMALE MICE (P = 0.02), BUT NOT MALE MICE. PHYSICAL ACTIVITY HAD A NON-SIGNIFICANT POSITIVE EFFECT ON AGE-RELATED ESR1 METHYLATION IN FEMALE BLOOD, SUGGESTING THAT IT MAY PARTIALLY ABROGATE THE EFFECTS OF WHFD ON THE AGING EPIGENOME. THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT DEVELOPMENTAL NUTRITIONAL EXPOSURES CAN MODIFY AGE-RELATED DNA METHYLATION PATTERNS AT A GENE RELATED TO GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT. AS SUCH, ENVIRONMENTAL DEFLECTION OF THE AGING EPIGENOME MAY HELP TO EXPLAIN THE GROWING PREVALENCE OF CHRONIC DISEASES IN HUMAN POPULATIONS. 2018 3 1820 36 EFFECTS OF CHRONIC RESTRAINT STRESS ON THE GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION PROFILE OF RAT LUNG CELLS: MODULATION BY PHYSICAL EXERCISE. THE POTENTIAL OF BEHAVIORAL STRESS TO AFFECT EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS OF NON-ENCEPHALIC TISSUES IS STILL UNDERESTIMATED. IN THE PRESENT STUDY WE EVALUATED THE EFFECTS OF CHRONIC BEHAVIORAL STRESS ON THE DNA METHYLATION PROFILE OF RAT LUNG CELLS. FURTHERMORE, WE EVALUATED THE POTENTIAL OF PHYSICAL EXERCISE TO MODULATE THE CHANGES EVOKED BY BEHAVIORAL STRESS IN LUNG CELLS. MALE WISTAR RATS WERE DIVIDED INTO FOUR EXPERIMENTAL GROUPS: (1) ANIMALS SUBMITTED TO CHRONIC RESTRAINT STRESS (CRS) (ST GROUP) DURING THE PERIOD OF THE 67TH-80TH POSTNATAL DAY (PND); (2) ANIMALS SUBMITTED TO PHYSICAL EXERCISE (EX GROUP) DURING THE 53RD-79TH PND; (3) ANIMALS SUBMITTED TO SWIMMING DURING THE 53RD-79TH PND AND TO CRS DURING THE 67TH-80TH PND (EX-ST GROUP); AND (4) ANIMALS NOT SUBMITTED TO STRESS OR SWIMMING PROTOCOLS (CTL). GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION WAS QUANTIFIED USING AN ELISA-BASED APPROACH AND GENE EXPRESSION WAS EVALUATED BY REAL TIME PCR. A DECREASED GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION PROFILE WAS OBSERVED IN THE ST GROUP, HOWEVER PHYSICAL EXERCISE DEMONSTRATED PROTECTION OF LUNG CELLS FROM THIS STRESS-RELATED HYPOMETHYLATION. INCREASED EXPRESSION OF THE DNMT1 GENE WAS EVIDENCED IN THE ST GROUP, WHEREAS PHYSICAL EXERCISE WAS SHOWN TO PROTECT LUNG CELLS FROM THIS STRESS-RELATED EFFECT IN THE EX-ST GROUP. COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE ST AND EX GROUPS REVEALED OPPOSITE EFFECTS ON THE EXPRESSION OF DNMT3A AND DNMT3B; HOWEVER, A STRESS-RELATED INCREASE IN EXPRESSION OF DNMT3A AND DNMT3B WAS NOT SEEN IN THE EX-ST GROUP. OUR DATA SHOWED THAT BEHAVIORAL STRESS INDUCED SIGNIFICANT CHANGES IN THE DNA METHYLATION PROFILE OF RAT LUNG CELLS AND THAT THIS COULD BE MODULATED BY PHYSICAL EXERCISE. 2017 4 1537 31 DNA METHYLATION IN ADOLESCENTS WITH ANXIETY DISORDER: A LONGITUDINAL STUDY. ANXIETY DISORDERS (AD) TYPICALLY MANIFEST IN CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS AND MIGHT PERSIST INTO ADULTHOOD. HOWEVER, THERE ARE STILL FEW DATA CONCERNING EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS ASSOCIATED WITH ONSET, PERSISTENCE OR REMISSION OF AD OVER TIME. WE INVESTIGATED A COHORT OF ADOLESCENTS AND YOUNG ADULTS AT BASELINE (AGE; 13.19 +/- 2.38) AND AFTER 5 YEARS AND CLASSIFIED THEM ACCORDING TO THE AD DIAGNOSIS AND THEIR LONGITUDINAL TRAJECTORIES INTO 4 GROUPS: (1) TYPICALLY DEVELOPING COMPARISONS (TDC; CONTROL GROUP, N = 14); (2) INCIDENT (AD IN THE SECOND EVALUATION ONLY, N = 11); (3) PERSISTENT (AD IN BOTH EVALUATIONS, N = 14) AND (4) REMITTENT (AD IN THE FIRST EVALUATION ONLY, N = 8). DNA METHYLATION WAS EVALUATED WITH THE INFINIUM HUMANMETHYLATION450 BEADCHIP FROM SALIVA SAMPLES COLLECTED AT BOTH EVALUATIONS. GENE SET ENRICHMENT ANALYSIS WAS APPLIED TO CONSIDER BIOLOGICAL PATHWAYS. WE FOUND DECREASED DNA METHYLATION IN TDC GROUP WHILE THE CHRONIC CASES OF AD PRESENTED HYPERMETHYLATION IN CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT PATHWAYS. MOREOVER, WE SHOWED THAT THIS PERSISTENT GROUP ALSO PRESENTED HYPERMETHYLATION WHILE THE OTHER THREE GROUPS WERE ASSOCIATED WITH HYPOMETHYLATION IN NERVOUS SYSTEM DEVELOPMENT PATHWAY. INCIDENCE AND REMISSION GROUPS WERE ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED AND DECREASED METHYLATION IN NEURON DEVELOPMENT PATHWAYS, RESPECTIVELY. LARGER STUDIES ARE LIKELY TO DETECT SPECIFIC GENES RELEVANT TO AD. 2018 5 5722 48 SISTER CHROMATID EXCHANGE AND PROLIFERATIVE RATE INDEX IN THE LONGITUDINAL RISK ASSESSMENT OF OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE TO PESTICIDES. AT PRESENT, THERE ARE MORE THAN 1,000 CHEMICALS CLASSIFIED AS PESTICIDES AND MANY REPORTS HAVE SHOWN THAT SOME OF THEM HAVE GENOTOXIC PROPERTIES. IN THE PRESENT LONGITUDINAL STUDY, POSSIBLE GENETIC DAMAGE ON A POPULATION OF WORKERS OCCUPATIONALLY EXPOSED TO A MIXTURE OF PESTICIDES BY USING SISTER CHROMATID EXCHANGE (SCE) ANALYSIS HAS BEEN EVALUATED. AS AN ADDITIONAL CYTOGENETIC PARAMETER, THE PROPORTION OF LYMPHOCYTES THAT UNDERGO ONE, TWO OR THREE CELL DIVISIONS AS WELL AS PROLIFERATIVE RATE INDEX HAVE BEEN DETERMINED. THIS STUDY WAS PERFORMED ON THE EXPOSED GROUP OF WORKERS EMPLOYED IN PESTICIDE PRODUCTION, SIMULTANEOUSLY EXPOSED TO A COMPLEX MIXTURE OF PESTICIDES (ATRAZINE, ALACHLOR, CYANAZINE, 2,4-DICHLOROPHENOXYACETIC ACID, AND MALATHION). THE BLOOD SAMPLES OF THE EXPOSED SUBJECTS WERE COLLECTED IN THREE DIFFERENT PERIODS: BEFORE THE BEGINNING OF THE NEW PESTICIDE PRODUCTION PERIOD, AFTER 8 MONTHS OF EVERYDAY WORK IN THE PESTICIDE PRODUCTION, AND 8 MONTHS AFTER THE REMOVAL OF SUBJECTS OUT OF THE PRODUCTION. IN ALL THREE SAMPLINGS, THE MEAN VALUE OF SCE AND NUMBER OF CELLS WITH HIGH SISTER CHROMATID EXCHANGE FREQUENCY (HFC) IN THE EXPOSED GROUP WAS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER IN THE COMPARISON WITH THE CONTROL GROUP. THERE WERE NO DIFFERENCES IN THE PROLIFERATIVE RATE INDEX (PRI) BETWEEN THE CONTROL AND EXPOSED GROUP, REGARDLESS OF THE SAMPLING PERIOD. IN BOTH GROUPS EXAMINED, THE MAJORITY OF LYMPHOCYTES WERE FOUND IN THE SECOND CELL DIVISION, FOLLOWING CULTIVATION. THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT THE INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF SCE FOUND IN THE EXPOSED SUBJECTS IS NOT THE RESULT OF EITHER CYTOTOXIC OR EPIGENETIC ACTION OF PESTICIDE MIXTURE, BUT CHRONIC OCCUPATIONAL EXPOSURE TO MIXTURE OF PESTICIDES. 2002 6 6084 30 THE EFFECT OF TRAINING ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL TOXICANT BISPHENOL-A EXPOSURE IN PREGNANCY ON MATERNAL URINE BISPHENOL-A LEVEL. PURPOSE: BISPHENOL A (BPA) IS AN ENVIRONMENTAL TOXIN, CLEARLY CAPABLE OF INITIATING EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS, LEADING TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF NUMEROUS HUMAN ILLNESSES SUCH AS METABOLIC, REPRODUCTIVE, AND BEHAVIOURAL ABNORMALITIES. IT ALSO CAUSES OXIDATIVE STRESS, WHICH HAS BEEN SHOWN TO BE ALLEVIATED BY SELENIUM SUPPLEMENTATION. THE PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF TRAINING OF BPA EXPOSURE DURING PREGNANCY ON URINE BPA LEVELS. METHODS: THIS RESEARCH ENROLLED 30 PREGNANT WOMEN WHO WERE IN THEIR FIRST TRIMESTER AND WERE FREE OF CHRONIC ILLNESS. WOMEN WERE ASKED QUESTIONS ON THEIR SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC FEATURES, ANTHROPOMETRIC MEASURES, OBSTETRIC CHARACTERISTICS, BPA AWARENESS LEVEL, BPA EXPOSURE AND THE HEALTH PRACTICES IN PREGNANCY SCALE AS A PRE-TEST AND POST-TEST. THE INITIAL URINE SAMPLES WERE TAKEN FROM WOMEN IN THEIR FIRST TRIMESTER AND STORED IN BPA-FREE BAGS. THEN, TRAINING WAS DELIVERED TO ENCOURAGE BPA EXPOSURE REDUCTION AND MATERNAL HEALTH AWARENESS. FIRST-TRIMESTER FACE-TO-FACE INSTRUCTION AND BROCHURE DISTRIBUTION WERE FOLLOWED BY REFRESHER, REMINDER, AND FOLLOW-UP TRAININGS DURING THE SECOND AND THIRD TRIMESTERS. URINE SAMPLES FROM WOMEN IN THEIR SECOND AND THIRD TRIMESTERS WERE OBTAINED AGAIN. THE LEVELS OF BPA IN URINE WERE MEASURED USING THE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY-MASS SPECTROMETRY ON 90 SAMPLES. EACH PERSON'S URINE CONCENTRATION DIFFERS, THUS THE CREATININE LEVEL IN ALL SAMPLES WAS ALSO CALCULATED AND COMPARED TO THE BPA CONTENT, AND THE RESULTS WERE EVALUATED. RESULTS: OUR STUDY SHOWN THAT BPA EXPOSURE MAY BE LOWERED BY TRAINING. IT HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATED THAT REDUCING BPA EXPOSURE AND INCREASING KNOWLEDGE CAN RESULT IN AN IMPROVEMENT IN HEALTH STATUS. ADDITIONALLY, IT HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATED THAT TRAININGS GREATLY MINIMIZE EXPOSURE-CAUSING BEHAVIOURS. CONCLUSION: IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT WHILE THE DURATION OF A SINGLE TRAINING DOES NOT MAKE A MEANINGFUL EFFECT, THE CONTINUING OF REMINDER TRAININGS DID MAKE A SUBSTANTIAL DIFFERENCE IN THE URINE BPA LEVEL. 2022 7 5189 32 PRENATAL ARSENIC EXPOSURE INDUCES IMMUNOMETABOLIC ALTERATION AND RENAL INJURY IN RATS. ARSENIC (AS) EXPOSURE IS PROGRESSIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE (CKD), A LEADING PUBLIC HEALTH CONCERN PRESENT WORLDWIDE. THE ADVERSE EFFECT OF AS EXPOSURE ON THE KIDNEYS OF PEOPLE LIVING IN AS ENDEMIC AREAS HAVE NOT BEEN EXTENSIVELY STUDIED. FURTHERMORE, THE IMPACT OF ONLY PRENATAL EXPOSURE TO AS ON THE PROGRESSION OF CKD ALSO HAS NOT BEEN FULLY CHARACTERIZED. IN THE PRESENT STUDY, WE EXAMINED THE EFFECT OF PRENATAL EXPOSURE TO LOW DOSES OF AS 0.04 AND 0.4 MG/KG BODY WEIGHT (0.04 AND 0.4 PPM, RESPECTIVELY) ON THE PROGRESSION OF CKD IN MALE OFFSPRING USING A WISTAR RAT MODEL. INTERESTINGLY, ONLY PRENATAL AS EXPOSURE WAS SUFFICIENT TO ELEVATE THE EXPRESSION OF PROFIBROTIC (TGF-BETA1) AND PROINFLAMMATORY (IL-1ALPHA, MIP-2ALPHA, RANTES, AND TNF-ALPHA) CYTOKINES AT 2-DAY, 12- AND 38-WEEK TIME POINTS IN THE EXPOSED PROGENY. FURTHER, ALTERATION IN ADIPOGENIC FACTORS (GHRELIN, LEPTIN, AND GLUCAGON) WAS ALSO OBSERVED IN 12- AND 38-WEEK OLD MALE OFFSPRING PRENATALLY EXPOSED TO AS. AN ALTERED LEVEL OF THESE FACTORS COINCIDES WITH IMPAIRED GLUCOSE METABOLISM AND HOMEOSTASIS ACCOMPANIED BY PROGRESSIVE KIDNEY DAMAGE. WE OBSERVED A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE DEPOSITION OF EXTRACELLULAR MATRIX COMPONENTS AND GLOMERULAR AND TUBULAR DAMAGE IN THE KIDNEYS OF 38-WEEK-OLD MALE OFFSPRING PRENATALLY EXPOSED TO AS. FURTHERMORE, THE OVEREXPRESSION OF TGF-BETA1 IN KIDNEYS CORRESPONDS WITH HYPERMETHYLATION OF THE TGF-BETA1 GENE-BODY, INDICATING A POSSIBLE INVOLVEMENT OF PRENATAL AS EXPOSURE-DRIVEN EPIGENETIC MODULATIONS OF TGF-BETA1 EXPRESSION. OUR STUDY PROVIDES EVIDENCE THAT PRENATAL AS EXPOSURE TO MALES CAN ADVERSELY AFFECT THE IMMUNOMETABOLISM OF OFFSPRING WHICH CAN PROMOTE KIDNEY DAMAGE LATER IN LIFE. 2022 8 2776 40 EXTRAUTERINE GROWTH RESTRICTION ON PULMONARY VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL DYSFUNCTION IN ADULT MALE RATS: THE ROLE OF EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS. OBJECTIVE: EARLY POSTNATAL LIFE IS CONSIDERED AS A CRITICAL TIME WINDOW FOR THE DETERMINATION OF LONG-TERM METABOLIC STATES AND ORGAN FUNCTIONS. EXTRAUTERINE GROWTH RESTRICTION (EUGR) CAUSES THE DEVELOPMENT OF ADULT-ONSET CHRONIC DISEASES, INCLUDING PULMONARY HYPERTENSION. HOWEVER, THE EFFECTS OF NUTRITIONAL DISADVANTAGES DURING THE EARLY POSTNATAL PERIOD ON PULMONARY VASCULAR CONSEQUENCES IN LATER LIFE ARE NOT FULLY UNDERSTOOD. OUR STUDY WAS DESIGNED TO TEST WHETHER EPIGENETICS DYSREGULATION MEDIATES THE CELLULAR MEMORY OF THIS EARLY POSTNATAL EVENT. METHODS AND RESULTS: TO TEST THIS HYPOTHESIS, WE ISOLATED PULMONARY VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL CELLS BY MAGNETIC-ACTIVATED CELL SORTING FROM EUGR AND CONTROL RATS. A POSTNATAL INSULT, NUTRITIONAL RESTRICTION-INDUCED EUGR CAUSED DEVELOPMENT OF AN INCREASED PULMONARY ARTERY PRESSURE AT 9 WEEKS OF AGE IN MALE SPRAGUE-DAWLEY RATS. METHYL-DNA IMMUNE PRECIPITATION CHIP, GENOME-SCALE MAPPING STUDIES TO SEARCH FOR DIFFERENTIALLY METHYLATED LOCI BETWEEN CONTROL AND EUGR RATS, REVEALED SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN CYTOSINE METHYLATION BETWEEN EUGR AND CONTROL RATS. EUGR CHANGES THE CYTOSINE METHYLATION AT APPROXIMATELY 500 LOCI IN MALE RATS AT 9 WEEKS OF AGE, PRECEDING THE DEVELOPMENT OF PULMONARY HYPERTENSION AND THESE REPRESENT THE CANDIDATE LOCI FOR MEDIATING THE PATHOGENESIS OF PULMONARY VASCULAR DISEASE THAT OCCURS LATER IN LIFE. GENE ONTOLOGY ANALYSIS ON DIFFERENTIALLY METHYLATED GENES SHOWED THAT HYPERMETHYLATED GENES IN EUGR ARE VASCULAR DEVELOPMENT-ASSOCIATED GENES AND HYPOMETHYLATED GENES IN EUGR ARE LATE-DIFFERENTIATION-ASSOCIATED AND SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION GENES. WE VALIDATED CANDIDATE DYSREGULATED LOCI WITH THE QUANTITATIVE ASSAYS OF CYTOSINE METHYLATION AND GENE EXPRESSIONS. CONCLUSION: THESE RESULTS DEMONSTRATE THAT EPIGENETICS DYSREGULATION IS A STRONG MECHANISM FOR PROPAGATING THE CELLULAR MEMORY OF EARLY POSTNATAL EVENTS, CAUSING CHANGES IN THE EXPRESSION OF GENES AND LONG-TERM SUSCEPTIBILITY TO PULMONARY HYPERTENSION, AND FURTHER PROVIDING A NEW INSIGHT INTO THE PREVENTION AND TREATMENT OF EUGR-RELATED PULMONARY HYPERTENSION. 2014 9 3914 34 LIFETIME STRESS ACCELERATES EPIGENETIC AGING IN AN URBAN, AFRICAN AMERICAN COHORT: RELEVANCE OF GLUCOCORTICOID SIGNALING. BACKGROUND: CHRONIC PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS IS ASSOCIATED WITH ACCELERATED AGING AND INCREASED RISK FOR AGING-RELATED DISEASES, BUT THE UNDERLYING MOLECULAR MECHANISMS ARE UNCLEAR. RESULTS: WE EXAMINED THE EFFECT OF LIFETIME STRESSORS ON A DNA METHYLATION-BASED AGE PREDICTOR, EPIGENETIC CLOCK. AFTER CONTROLLING FOR BLOOD CELL-TYPE COMPOSITION AND LIFESTYLE PARAMETERS, CUMULATIVE LIFETIME STRESS, BUT NOT CHILDHOOD MALTREATMENT OR CURRENT STRESS ALONE, PREDICTED ACCELERATED EPIGENETIC AGING IN AN URBAN, AFRICAN AMERICAN COHORT (N = 392). THIS EFFECT WAS PRIMARILY DRIVEN BY PERSONAL LIFE STRESSORS, WAS MORE PRONOUNCED WITH ADVANCING AGE, AND WAS BLUNTED IN INDIVIDUALS WITH HIGHER CHILDHOOD ABUSE EXPOSURE. HYPOTHESIZING THAT THESE EPIGENETIC EFFECTS COULD BE MEDIATED BY GLUCOCORTICOID SIGNALING, WE FOUND THAT A HIGH NUMBER (N = 85) OF EPIGENETIC CLOCK CPG SITES WERE LOCATED WITHIN GLUCOCORTICOID RESPONSE ELEMENTS. WE FURTHER EXAMINED THE FUNCTIONAL EFFECTS OF GLUCOCORTICOIDS ON EPIGENETIC CLOCK CPGS IN AN INDEPENDENT SAMPLE WITH GENOME-WIDE DNA METHYLATION (N = 124) AND GENE EXPRESSION DATA (N = 297) BEFORE AND AFTER EXPOSURE TO THE GLUCOCORTICOID RECEPTOR AGONIST DEXAMETHASONE. DEXAMETHASONE INDUCED DYNAMIC CHANGES IN METHYLATION IN 31.2 % (110/353) OF THESE CPGS AND TRANSCRIPTION IN 81.7 % (139/170) OF GENES NEIGHBORING EPIGENETIC CLOCK CPGS. DISEASE ENRICHMENT ANALYSIS OF THESE DEXAMETHASONE-REGULATED GENES SHOWED ENRICHED ASSOCIATION FOR AGING-RELATED DISEASES, INCLUDING CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE, ARTERIOSCLEROSIS, AND LEUKEMIAS. CONCLUSIONS: CUMULATIVE LIFETIME STRESS MAY ACCELERATE EPIGENETIC AGING, AN EFFECT THAT COULD BE DRIVEN BY GLUCOCORTICOID-INDUCED EPIGENETIC CHANGES. THESE FINDINGS CONTRIBUTE TO OUR UNDERSTANDING OF MECHANISMS LINKING CHRONIC STRESS WITH ACCELERATED AGING AND HEIGHTENED DISEASE RISK. 2015 10 5186 31 PREMATURITY IN MICE LEADS TO REDUCTION IN NEPHRON NUMBER, HYPERTENSION, AND PROTEINURIA. THE NEPHRON NUMBER AT BIRTH IS A QUANTITATIVE TRAIT THAT CORRELATES INVERSELY WITH THE RISK OF HYPERTENSION AND CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE LATER IN LIFE. DURING KIDNEY DEVELOPMENT, THE NEPHRON NUMBER IS CONTROLLED BY MULTIPLE FACTORS INCLUDING GENETIC, EPIGENETIC, AND ENVIRONMENTAL MODIFIERS. PREMATURE BIRTH, WHICH REPRESENTS MORE THAN 12% OF ANNUAL LIVE BIRTHS IN THE UNITED STATES, HAS BEEN LINKED TO LOW NEPHRON NUMBER AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF HYPERTENSION LATER IN LIFE. IN THIS REPORT, WE DESCRIBE THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MOUSE MODEL OF PREMATURITY-INDUCED REDUCTION OF NEPHRON NUMBER. PREMATURE MICE, DELIVERED 1 AND 2 DAYS EARLY, HAVE 17.4 +/- 2.3% (N = 6) AND 23.6 +/- 2% (N = 10) FEWER NEPHRONS, RESPECTIVELY, WHEN COMPARED WITH FULL-TERM ANIMALS (12,252 +/- 571 NEPHRONS/KIDNEY, N = 10). AFTER 5 WEEKS OF AGE, THE MICE DELIVERED 2 DAYS PREMATURE SHOW LOWER REAL-TIME GLOMERULAR FILTRATION RATE (GFR, 283 +/- 13 VS 389 +/- 26 MUL/MIN). THE PREMATURE MICE ALSO DEVELOP HYPERTENSION (MEAN ARTERIAL PRESSURE [MAP], 134 +/- 18 VS 120 +/- 14 MM HG) AND ALBUMINURIA (286 +/- 83 VS 176 +/- 59 MUG ALBUMIN/MG CREATININE). THIS MOUSE MODEL PROVIDES A PROOF OF CONCEPT THAT PREMATURITY LEADS TO REDUCED NEPHRON NUMBER AND HYPERTENSION, AND THIS MODEL WILL BE USEFUL IN STUDYING THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF PREMATURITY-INDUCED NEPHRON NUMBER REDUCTIONS AND HYPERTENSION. 2012 11 4072 41 MATERNAL DNA METHYLATION SIGNATURES OF ARSENIC EXPOSURE IS ASSOCIATED WITH ADULT OFFSPRING INSULIN RESISTANCE IN THE STRONG HEART STUDY. EXPOSURE TO LOW TO MODERATE ARSENIC (AS) LEVELS HAS BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES (T2D) AND OTHER CHRONIC DISEASES IN AMERICAN INDIAN COMMUNITIES. PRENATAL EXPOSURE TO AS MAY ALSO INCREASE THE RISK FOR T2D IN ADULTHOOD, AND MATERNAL AS HAS BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH ADULT OFFSPRING METABOLIC HEALTH MEASUREMENTS. WE HYPOTHESIZED THAT T2D-RELATED OUTCOMES IN ADULT OFFSPRING BORN TO WOMEN EXPOSED TO LOW TO MODERATE AS CAN BE EVALUATED UTILIZING A MATERNALLY-DERIVED MOLECULAR BIOSIGNATURE OF AS EXPOSURE. HEREIN, WE EVALUATED THE ASSOCIATION OF MATERNAL DNA METHYLATION WITH INCIDENT T2D AND INSULIN RESISTANCE (HOMEOSTATIC MODEL ASSESSMENT OF INSULIN RESISTANCE [HOMA2-IR]) IN ADULT OFFSPRING. FOR DNA METHYLATION, WE USED 20 DIFFERENTIALLY METHYLATED CYTOSINE-GUANINE DINUCLEOTIDES (CPG) PREVIOUSLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE SUM OF INORGANIC AND METHYLATED AS SPECIES (SIGMAAS) IN URINE IN THE STRONG HEART STUDY (SHS). OF THESE 20 CPGS, WE FOUND SIX CPGS NOMINALLY ASSOCIATED (P < 0.05) WITH HOMA2-IR IN A FULLY ADJUSTED MODEL THAT INCLUDED CLINICALLY RELEVANT COVARIATES AND OFFSPRING ADIPOSITY MEASUREMENTS; A SIMILAR MODEL THAT ADJUSTED INSTEAD FOR MATERNAL ADIPOSITY MEASUREMENTS FOUND THREE CPGS NOMINALLY ASSOCIATED WITH HOMA2-IR, TWO OF WHICH OVERLAPPED THE OFFSPRING ADIPOSITY MODEL. AFTER ADJUSTING FOR MULTIPLE COMPARISONS, CG03036214 REMAINED ASSOCIATED WITH HOMA2-IR (Q < 0.10) IN THE OFFSPRING ADIPOSITY MODEL. THE ODDS RATIO OF INCIDENT T2D INCREASED WITH AN INCREASE IN MATERNAL DNA METHYLATION AT ONE HOMA2-IR ASSOCIATED CPG IN THE MODEL ADJUSTING FOR OFFSPRING ADIPOSITY, CG12116137, WHEREAS ADJUSTING FOR MATERNAL ADIPOSITY HAD A MINIMAL EFFECT ON THE ASSOCIATION. OUR DATA SUGGESTS OFFSPRING ADIPOSITY, RATHER THAN MATERNAL ADIPOSITY, POTENTIALLY INFLUENCES THE EFFECTS OF MATERNAL DNAM SIGNATURES ON OFFSPRING METABOLIC HEALTH PARAMETERS. HERE, WE HAVE PRESENTED EVIDENCE SUPPORTING A ROLE FOR EPIGENETIC BIOSIGNATURES OF MATERNAL AS EXPOSURE AS A POTENTIAL BIOMARKER FOR EVALUATING RISK OF T2D-RELATED OUTCOMES IN OFFSPRING LATER IN LIFE. 2023 12 4528 28 MULTIGENERATIONAL EFFECTS OF CADMIUM ON THE LIFESPAN AND FERTILITY OF DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER. ALTHOUGH THE DAMAGE AND TOLERANCE MECHANISMS OF CD STRESS ARE KNOWN, THE DATA ON GENETIC RISK ARE LIMITED. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO ASSESS THE CHRONIC TOXICITY OF CD, GENETIC RESPONSES, AND MULTIGENERATIONAL EFFECTS IN FIVE GENERATIONS OF DROSOPHILA MELANOGASTER. FOR EACH GENERATION, LIFESPAN AND FERTILITY WERE STATISTICALLY ANALYSED AND THE EXPRESSION OF APOPTOSIS- (P53 AND CASPASE-3) AND EPIGENESIS-RELATED (DDNMT2 AND DMBD2/3) GENES WAS EXAMINED. LIFESPAN AND FERTILITY SIGNIFICANTLY DECLINED UNDER CD STRESS AND THESE EFFECTS WERE MAINTAINED FOR TWO GENERATIONS AND ONE GENERATION, RESPECTIVELY, WHEN CD STRESS WAS REMOVED. THE EXPRESSION OF P53 AND CASPASE-3 WAS SIGNIFICANTLY UP-REGULATED AFTER EXPOSURE, SUGGESTING THAT APOPTOSIS CONTRIBUTES TO THE RESISTANCE MECHANISM. THEIR ALTERED EXPRESSION WAS RETAINED FOR TWO GENERATIONS. FURTHERMORE, HIGH EXPRESSION OF DDNMT2 AND DMBD2/3 ACCOMPANIED CD EXPOSURE, WHICH WAS PASSED ON TO THREE GENERATIONS, SUGGESTING THAT GENETIC MODIFICATIONS IN APOPTOSIS-RELATED GENES ARE CARRIED TO THE OFFSPRING THROUGH EPIGENETIC REGULATION. 2020 13 1823 39 EFFECTS OF EARLY-LIFE STRESS AND HDAC INHIBITION ON MATERNAL BEHAVIOR IN MICE. DESPITE THE WELL-ESTABLISHED FACT THAT MATERNAL CARE PLAYS A PIVOTAL ROLE IN THE OFFSPRING DEVELOPMENT, LITTLE IS KNOWN ABOUT THE EFFECTS OF DISRUPTION OF MATERNAL CARE EARLY IN LIFE ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THIS BEHAVIOR IN THE OFFSPRING. USING BRIEF REPEATED MATERNAL SEPARATION (45 MIN/DAY ON POSTNATAL DAYS 3-6), WHICH REPRESENTS A MODEL OF EARLY LIFE STRESS, WE FOUND BEHAVIORAL CHANGES IN ADULT FEMALE MICE OFFSPRING. THE DECREASE IN HOME CAGE EXPLORATORY BEHAVIOR (BOTH PUP-DIRECTED AND NONPUP-DIRECTED) WAS REVEALED LATER IN ADULTHOOD WITHOUT CHANGES IN MATERNAL CARE LEVEL. MATERNAL SEPARATION COUPLED WITH PAIN EXPOSURE CAUSED BY SUBCUTANEOUS SALINE INJECTION PROCEDURE HAD A CUMULATIVE RESULTING EFFECT, WHICH WAS MANIFESTED IN THE DECREASED LEVEL OF NURSING ASSOCIATED WITH LICKING-GROOMING IN ADULT FEMALES. THE BEHAVIORAL CHANGES FOUND IN ADULT FEMALE OFFSPRING COULD BE TRIGGERED BY IDENTIFIED CHANGES IN THE BEHAVIOR OF THEIR MOTHERS, WHILE ALTERATIONS OF THE LEVEL OF HISTONE H3 ACETYLATION IN THE NEONATAL BRAIN WERE NOT DETECTED. HISTONE DEACETYLASE INHIBITOR SODIUM VALPROATE WAS USED IN ORDER TO STUDY THE POSSIBILITY OF PREVENTING THE EFFECTS OF EARLY LIFE STRESS THROUGH INVOLVEMENT OF EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS. DESPITE THE INCREASE IN THE LEVEL OF HISTONE H3 ACETYLATION IN THE NEONATAL BRAIN CAUSED BY VALPROATE, ITS BEHAVIORAL EFFECTS WERE BARELY DETECTABLE. THESE EFFECTS WERE REFLECTED IN PREVENTION OF THE REDUCTION OF NURSING ASSOCIATED WITH LICKING-GROOMING INDUCED BY MATERNAL SEPARATION, ACCOMPANIED BY PAIN EXPOSURE. THE DATA ARE DISCUSSED IN TERMS OF THE POSSIBLE APPLICATION TO THE STUDIES OF MECHANISMS UNDERLYING LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF HUMAN EARLY LIFE TRAUMA. (PSYCINFO DATABASE RECORD (C) 2019 APA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED). 2019 14 5188 39 PRENATAL ALCOHOL EXPOSURE ALTERS EXPRESSION OF NEUROGENESIS-RELATED GENES IN AN EX VIVO CELL CULTURE MODEL. PRENATAL ALCOHOL EXPOSURE CAN LEAD TO LONG-LASTING CHANGES IN FUNCTIONAL AND GENETIC PROGRAMS OF THE BRAIN, WHICH MAY UNDERLIE BEHAVIORAL ALTERATIONS SEEN IN FETAL ALCOHOL SPECTRUM DISORDER (FASD). ABERRANT FETAL PROGRAMMING DURING GESTATIONAL ALCOHOL EXPOSURE IS A POSSIBLE MECHANISM BY WHICH ALCOHOL IMPARTS TERATOGENIC EFFECTS ON THE BRAIN; HOWEVER, CURRENT METHODS USED TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL ON DEVELOPMENT OFTEN RELY ON EITHER DIRECT APPLICATION OF ALCOHOL IN VITRO OR ACUTE HIGH DOSES IN VIVO. IN THIS STUDY, WE USED OUR ESTABLISHED MODERATE PRENATAL ALCOHOL EXPOSURE (PAE) MODEL, RESULTING IN MATERNAL BLOOD ALCOHOL CONTENT OF APPROXIMATELY 20 MM, AND SUBSEQUENT EX VIVO CELL CULTURE TO ASSESS EXPRESSION OF GENES RELATED TO NEUROGENESIS. PROLIFERATING AND DIFFERENTIATING NEURAL PROGENITOR CELL CULTURE CONDITIONS WERE ESTABLISHED FROM TELENCEPHALIC TISSUE DERIVED FROM EMBRYONIC DAY (E) 15-17 TISSUE EXPOSED TO ALCOHOL VIA MATERNAL DRINKING THROUGHOUT PREGNANCY. GENE EXPRESSION ANALYSIS ON MRNA DERIVED IN VITRO WAS PERFORMED USING A MICROARRAY, AND QUANTITATIVE PCR WAS CONDUCTED FOR GENES TO VALIDATE THE MICROARRAY. STUDENT'S T TESTS WERE PERFORMED FOR STATISTICAL COMPARISON OF EACH EXPOSURE UNDER EACH CULTURE CONDITION USING A 95% CONFIDENCE INTERVAL. ELEVEN PERCENT OF GENES ON THE ARRAY HAD SIGNIFICANTLY ALTERED MRNA EXPRESSION IN THE PRENATAL ALCOHOL-EXPOSED NEURAL PROGENITOR CULTURE UNDER PROLIFERATING CONDITIONS. THESE INCLUDE REDUCED EXPRESSION OF ADORA2A, CXCL1, DLG4, HES1, NPTX1, AND VEGFA AND INCREASED EXPRESSION OF FGF13, NDN, AND SOX3; BIOINFORMATICS ANALYSIS INDICATED THAT THESE GENES ARE INVOLVED IN CELL GROWTH AND PROLIFERATION. DECREASED LEVELS OF DNMT1 AND DNMT3A WERE ALSO FOUND UNDER PROLIFERATING CONDITIONS. UNDER DIFFERENTIATING CONDITIONS, 7.3% OF GENES HAD DECREASED MRNA EXPRESSION; THESE INCLUDE CDK5RAP3, GDNF, HEY2, HEYL, PARD6B, AND PTN, WHICH ARE ASSOCIATED WITH SURVIVAL AND DIFFERENTIATION AS INDICATED BY BIOINFORMATICS ANALYSIS. THIS STUDY IS THE FIRST TO USE CHRONIC LOW TO MODERATE PAE, TO MORE ACCURATELY REFLECT MATERNAL ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION, AND SUBSEQUENT NEURAL PROGENITOR CELL CULTURE TO DEMONSTRATE THAT PAE THROUGHOUT GESTATION ALTERS EXPRESSION OF GENES INVOLVED IN NEURAL DEVELOPMENT AND EMBRYONIC NEUROGENESIS. 2014 15 6794 33 [EFFECT OF BENZO(A)PYRENE ON THE EXPRESSION OF AHR-REGULATED MICRORNA IN FEMALE AND MALE RAT LUNGS]. SMOKING IS THE MAIN RISK FACTOR FOR LUNG CANCER, MAINLY DUE TO PRESENCE OF NITROSAMINES AND POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS, INCLUDING BENZO[A]PYRENE (BP) IN TOBACCO SMOKE COMPOSITION. THE GENOTOXIC EFFECT OF BP IS BASED ON THE HIGH DNA-BINDING ABILITY OF ITS METABOLITES, WHILE THE EPIGENETIC EFFECTS ARE MEDIATED BY A CHANGE IN THE EXPRESSION OF CANCER RELATED GENES OR REGULATORY RNAS. IT HAS BEEN SHOWN THAT WOMEN HAVE A HIGHER RISK TO DEVELOP LUNG CANCER UPON SMOKING RATHER THAN MEN. WE HYPOTHESIZED THAT CROSSTALK BETWEEN SIGNALING PATHWAYS ACTIVATED BY BP AND ESTROGENS COULD UNDERLIE THE SEX-DEPENDENT DIFFERENCES IN MIRNAS EXPRESSION. TO TEST THIS HYPOTHESIS, MALE AND FEMALE RATS WERE SUBJECTED TO SHORT-TERM OR LONG-TERM BP EXPOSURE. USING IN SILICO ANALYSIS, MIRNAS CONTAINING THE ER- AND AHR-BINDING SITES IN THE PROMOTERS OF THE GENES (OR HOST GENES) WERE SELECTED. DURING CHRONIC EXPOSURE OF BP THE EXPRESSION OF MIR-22-3P, -29A-3P, -126A-3P, -193B-5P IN THE LUNGS OF MALE RATS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED, WHILE THE LEVEL OF MIRNA-483-3P WERE DECREASED. EXPRESSION OF MIRNA-483-3P WAS UP-REGULATED DURING CHRONIC BP EXPOSURE IN THE LUNGS OF FEMALE RATS AND THE LEVELS OF OTHER STUDIED MIRNAS WERE UNCHANGED. IN TURN, CHANGES IN THE EXPRESSION OF MIRNAS WERE FOLLOWED BY CHANGES IN THE EXPRESSION OF THEIR TARGET GENES, INCLUDING PTEN, EMP2, IGF1, ITGA6, SLC34A2, AND THE OBSERVED CHANGES IN FEMALE AND MALE RAT LUNGS WERE VARIED. THUS, OUR RESULTS SUGGEST THAT SEX-DEPENDENT EPIGENETIC EFFECTS OF BP MAY BE BASED ON DIFFERENT EXPRESSION OF AHR- AND ER- REGULATED MIRNAS. 2020 16 6594 32 TUMOR-AUGMENTING EFFECTS OF GESTATIONAL ARSENIC EXPOSURE ON F1 AND F2 IN MICE. THE CONSEQUENCES OF EARLY-LIFE EXPOSURE TO CHEMICALS IN THE ENVIRONMENT ARE EMERGING CONCERNS. CHRONIC EXPOSURE TO NATURALLY OCCURRING INORGANIC ARSENIC HAS BEEN KNOWN TO CAUSE VARIOUS ADVERSE HEALTH EFFECTS, INCLUDING CANCERS, IN HUMANS. ON THE OTHER HAND, ANIMAL STUDIES BY DR. M. WAALKES' GROUP REPORTED THAT ARSENITE EXPOSURE OF PREGNANT F0 FEMALES, ONLY FROM GESTATIONAL DAY 8 TO 18, INCREASED HEPATIC TUMORS IN THE F1 (ARSENITE-F1) MALES OF C3H MICE, WHOSE MALES TEND TO DEVELOP SPONTANEOUS HEPATIC TUMORS LATER IN LIFE. SINCE THIS MICE MODEL ILLUMINATED NOVEL UNIDENTIFIED CONSEQUENCES OF ARSENIC EXPOSURE, WE WISHED TO FURTHER INVESTIGATE THE BACKGROUND MECHANISMS. IN THE SAME EXPERIMENTAL MODEL, WE IDENTIFIED A VARIETY OF FACTORS THAT WERE AFFECTED BY GESTATIONAL ARSENIC EXPOSURE, INCLUDING EPIGENETIC AND GENETIC CHANGES, AS POSSIBLE CONSTITUENTS OF MULTIPLE STEPS OF LATE-ONSET HEPATIC TUMOR AUGMENTATION IN ARSENITE-F1 MALES. FURTHERMORE, OUR STUDY DISCOVERED THAT THE F2 MALES BORN TO ARSENITE-F1 MALES DEVELOPED HEPATIC TUMORS AT A SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER RATE THAN THE CONTROL F2 MALES. THE RESULTS IMPLY THAT THE TUMOR AUGMENTING EFFECT IS INHERITED BY ARSENITE-F2 MALES THROUGH THE SPERM OF ARSENITE-F1. IN THIS ARTICLE, WE SUMMARIZED OUR STUDIES ON THE CONSEQUENCES OF GESTATIONAL ARSENITE EXPOSURE IN F1 AND F2 MICE TO DISCUSS NOVEL ASPECTS OF BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF GESTATIONAL ARSENIC EXPOSURE. 2017 17 4089 34 MATERNAL OBESITY PROGRAMS SENESCENCE SIGNALING AND GLUCOSE METABOLISM IN OSTEO-PROGENITORS FROM RAT AND HUMAN. NUTRITIONAL STATUS DURING INTRAUTERINE AND EARLY POSTNATAL LIFE IMPACTS THE RISK OF CHRONIC DISEASES, PRESUMABLY VIA EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS. HOWEVER, EVIDENCE ON THE IMPACT OF GESTATIONAL EVENTS ON REGULATION OF EMBRYONIC BONE CELL FATE IS SPARSE. WE INVESTIGATED THE EFFECTS OF MATERNAL OBESITY ON FETAL OSTEOBLAST DEVELOPMENT IN BOTH RODENTS AND HUMANS. FEMALE RATS WERE FED CONTROL OR AN OBESOGENIC HIGH-FAT DIET (HFD) FOR 12 WEEKS AND MATED WITH MALE RATS FED CONTROL DIETS, AND RESPECTIVE MATERNAL DIETS WERE CONTINUED DURING PREGNANCY. EMBRYONIC RAT OSTEOGENIC CALVARIAL CELLS (EOCCS) WERE TAKEN FROM GESTATIONAL DAY 18.5 FETUSES FROM CONTROL AND HFD DAMS. EOCCS FROM HFD OBESE DAMS SHOWED INCREASES IN P53/P21-MEDIATED CELL SENESCENCE SIGNALING BUT DECREASED GLUCOSE METABOLISM. DECREASED AEROBIC GLYCOLYSIS IN HFD-EOCCS WAS ASSOCIATED WITH DECREASED OSTEOBLASTIC CELL DIFFERENTIATION AND PROLIFERATION. UMBILICAL CORD HUMAN MESENCHYMAL STEM CELLS (MSCS) FROM 24 PREGNANT WOMEN (12 OBESE AND 12 LEAN) ALONG WITH PLACENTAS WERE COLLECTED UPON DELIVERY. THE UMBILICAL CORD MSCS OF OBESE MOTHERS DISPLAYED LESS POTENTIAL TOWARD OSTEOBLASTOGENESIS AND MORE TOWARDS ADIPOGENESIS. HUMAN MSCS AND PLACENTA FROM OBESE MOTHERS ALSO EXHIBITED INCREASED CELL SENESCENCE SIGNALING, WHEREAS MSCS SHOWED DECREASED GLUCOSE METABOLISM AND INSULIN RESISTANCE. FINALLY, WE SHOWED THAT OVEREXPRESSION OF P53 LINKED INCREASED CELL SENESCENCE SIGNALING AND DECREASED GLUCOSE METABOLISM IN FETAL OSTEO-PROGENITORS FROM OBESE RATS AND HUMANS. THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST PROGRAMMING OF FETAL PREOSTEOBLASTIC CELL SENESCENCE SIGNALING AND GLUCOSE METABOLISM BY MATERNAL OBESITY. 2016 18 3414 31 HSD11B2, RUNX3, AND LINE-1 METHYLATION IN PLACENTAL DNA OF HYPERTENSIVE DISORDERS OF PREGNANCY PATIENTS. HYPERTENSIVE DISORDERS OF PREGNANCY (HDSP) REMAIN LEADING CAUSES OF MATERNAL AND PERINATAL MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY. GROWING EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THE INVOLVEMENT OF EPIGENETIC FACTORS, SUCH AS GENE-SPECIFIC AND GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION CHANGES, BOTH IN THE ETIOLOGY AND AS AN EFFECT OF HDSP. IN THIS STUDY, WE INVESTIGATED THE POTENTIAL ASSOCIATION BETWEEN PLACENTAL DNA METHYLATION STATUS IN SELECTED CPGS OF HSD11B2 CORTISOL LEVEL CONTROLLING GENE, RUNX3 TUMOR SUPPRESSOR GENE, AND LONG INTERSPERSED NUCLEOTIDE ELEMENT-1 (LINE-1) REPETITIVE ELEMENTS AND HDSP-PREECLAMPSIA (PE), GESTATIONAL HYPERTENSION (GH), AND CHRONIC HYPERTENSION (CH). METHYLATION-SPECIFIC POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (MSP) AND PYROSEQUENCING (PSQ) WERE USED TO ANALYZE PLACENTAL DNA METHYLATION. PLASMA AND URINE CORTISOL AND CORTISONE LEVELS WERE MEASURED USING HIGH PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY WITH FLUORESCENCE DETECTION (HPLC-FLD), WHEREAS SERUM PROGESTERONE LEVEL WAS DETERMINED BY ELECTROCHEMILUMINESCENCE IMMUNOASSAY. THE MEAN PERCENTAGE OF HSD11B2, RUNX3, AND LINE-1 METHYLATION WAS NOT ALTERED IN THE PLACENTAS OF PATIENTS WITH HDSP, AS COMPARED TO THE CONTROLS. HOWEVER, AMONG PATIENTS FROM PE, GH, AND CH GROUPS, SEVERAL SIGNIFICANT CORRELATIONS WERE OBSERVED BETWEEN THE METHYLATION STATUS OF HSD11B2, RUNX3, OR LINE-1 AND CHILDREN'S BIRTH WEIGHT, GESTATIONAL AGE AT DELIVERY, MOTHER'S AGE, AND BODY MASS INDEX AS WELL AS HORMONES LEVELS. THESE RESULTS INDICATE LACK OF ASSOCIATION BETWEEN METHYLATION STATUS OF HSD11B2, RUNX3, OR LINE-1 REPETITIVE ELEMENTS AND HDSP. HOWEVER, ASSOCIATION OF THESE PARAMETERS WITH SOME CLINICAL VARIABLES MAY SUGGEST THE ROLE OF PLACENTAL DNA METHYLATION IN FETAL DEVELOPMENT AND SHOULD BE FURTHER EXPLORED. 2017 19 6547 38 TRANSCRIPTOMICS OF LONG-TERM MEDITATION PRACTICE: EVIDENCE FOR PREVENTION OR REVERSAL OF STRESS EFFECTS HARMFUL TO HEALTH. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: STRESS CAN OVERLOAD ADAPTIVE MECHANISMS, LEADING TO EPIGENETIC EFFECTS HARMFUL TO HEALTH. RESEARCH ON THE REVERSAL OF THESE EFFECTS IS IN ITS INFANCY. EARLY RESULTS SUGGEST SOME MEDITATION TECHNIQUES HAVE HEALTH BENEFITS THAT GROW WITH REPEATED PRACTICE. THIS STUDY FOCUSED ON POSSIBLE TRANSCRIPTOMIC EFFECTS OF 38 YEARS OF TWICE-DAILY TRANSCENDENTAL MEDITATION((R)) (TM((R))) PRACTICE. MATERIALS AND METHODS: FIRST, USING ILLUMINA((R)) BEADCHIP MICROARRAY TECHNOLOGY, DIFFERENCES IN GLOBAL GENE EXPRESSION IN PERIPHERAL BLOOD MONONUCLEAR CELLS (PBMCS) WERE SOUGHT BETWEEN HEALTHY PRACTITIONERS AND TIGHTLY MATCHED CONTROLS (N = 12, AGE 65). SECOND, THESE MICROARRAY RESULTS WERE VERIFIED ON A SUBSET OF GENES USING QUANTITATIVE POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION (QPCR) AND WERE VALIDATED USING QPCR IN LARGER TM AND CONTROL GROUPS (N = 45, AGE 63). BIOINFORMATICS INVESTIGATION EMPLOYED INGENUITY((R)) PATHWAY ANALYSIS (IPA((R))), DAVID, GENOMATIX, AND R PACKAGES. RESULTS: THE 200 GENES AND LOCI FOUND TO MEET STRICT CRITERIA FOR DIFFERENTIAL EXPRESSION IN THE MICROARRAY EXPERIMENT SHOWED CONTRASTING PATTERNS OF EXPRESSION THAT DISTINGUISHED THE TWO GROUPS. DIFFERENTIAL EXPRESSION RELATING TO IMMUNE FUNCTION AND ENERGY EFFICIENCY WERE MOST APPARENT. IN THE TM GROUP, RELATIVE TO THE CONTROL, ALL 49 GENES ASSOCIATED WITH INFLAMMATION WERE DOWNREGULATED, WHILE GENES ASSOCIATED WITH ANTIVIRAL AND ANTIBODY COMPONENTS OF THE DEFENSE RESPONSE WERE UPREGULATED. THE LARGEST EXPRESSION DIFFERENCES WERE SHOWN BY SIX GENES RELATED TO ERYTHROCYTE FUNCTION THAT APPEARED TO REFLECT A CONDITION OF LOWER ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN THE CONTROL GROUP. RESULTS SUPPORTING THESE GENE EXPRESSION DIFFERENCES WERE OBTAINED WITH QPCR-MEASURED EXPRESSION BOTH IN THE WELL-MATCHED MICROARRAY GROUPS AND IN THE LARGER, LESS WELL-MATCHED GROUPS. CONCLUSIONS: THESE FINDINGS ARE CONSISTENT WITH PREDICTIONS BASED ON RESULTS FROM EARLIER RANDOMIZED TRIALS OF MEDITATION AND MAY PROVIDE EVIDENCE FOR STRESS-RELATED MOLECULAR MECHANISMS UNDERLYING REDUCTIONS IN ANXIETY, POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER (PTSD), CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE (CVD), AND OTHER CHRONIC DISORDERS AND DISEASES. 2021 20 1408 36 DIETARY INTAKE IS ASSOCIATED WITH RESPIRATORY HEALTH OUTCOMES AND DNA METHYLATION IN CHILDREN WITH ASTHMA. BACKGROUND: ASTHMA IS AN INCREASINGLY COMMON CHRONIC DISEASE AMONG CHILDREN, AND DATA POINT TOWARD A COMPLEX MECHANISM INVOLVING GENETIC, ENVIRONMENTAL AND EPIGENETIC FACTORS. EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS SUCH AS DNA HYPO- OR HYPER-METHYLATION HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO OCCUR IN RESPONSE TO ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURES INCLUDING DIETARY NUTRIENTS. METHODS: WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF THE ASTHMA RANDOMIZED TRIAL OF INDOOR WOOD SMOKE (ARTIS) STUDY, WE INVESTIGATED RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN DIET, ASTHMA HEALTH MEASURES, AND DNA METHYLATION. ASTHMA HEALTH MEASURES INCLUDED A QUALITY OF LIFE INSTRUMENT, DIURNAL PEAK FLOW VARIABILITY (DPFV) AND FORCED EXPIRATORY VOLUME IN THE FIRST SECOND (FEV(1)). DIETARY INTAKE WAS ASSESSED WITH A FOOD FREQUENCY QUESTIONNAIRE. METHYLATION LEVELS OF LINE-1 REPETITIVE ELEMENT AND TWO PROMOTER CPG SITES FOR INTERFERON GAMMA (IFNGAMMA, -186 AND -54) FROM BUCCAL CELL DNA WERE MEASURED USING PYROSEQUENCING ASSAYS. RESULTS: DATA WERE COLLECTED ON 32 CHILDREN WITH ASTHMA LIVING IN WESTERN MONTANA WHO WERE RECRUITED TO THE ARTIS STUDY. SELENIUM AND SEVERAL METHYL DONOR DIETARY NUTRIENTS WERE POSITIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH THE ASTHMA QUALITY OF LIFE MEASURE. INTAKE OF METHYL DONATING NUTRIENTS INCLUDING FOLATE WAS POSITIVELY ASSOCIATED LINE-1 METHYLATION AND NEGATIVELY ASSOCIATED WITH IFNGAMMA CPG-186. HIGHER LEVELS OF LINE-1 METHYLATION WERE ASSOCIATED WITH GREATER DPFV. CONCLUSION: WE IDENTIFIED SEVERAL NUTRIENTS THAT WERE ASSOCIATED WITH IMPROVED QUALITY OF LIFE MEASURES AMONG CHILDREN WITH ASTHMA. THE IFNGAMMA PROMOTER CPG SITE -186 BUT NOT -54 WAS ASSOCIATED WITH THE INTAKE OF SELECTED DIETARY NUTRIENTS. HOWEVER, IN THIS SMALL POPULATION OF CHILDREN WITH ASTHMA, THE IFNGAMMA PROMOTER CPG SITES WERE NOT ASSOCIATED WITH RESPIRATORY HEALTH MEASURES SO IT REMAINS UNCLEAR THROUGH WHICH EPIGENETIC MECHANISM THESE NUTRIENTS ARE IMPACTING THE QUALITY OF LIFE MEASURE. THESE FINDINGS ADD TO THE EVIDENCE THAT DIETARY NUTRIENTS, PARTICULARLY FOODS CONTAINING METHYL DONORS, MAY BE IMPORTANT FOR EPIGENETIC REGULATION AS IT PERTAINS TO THE CONTROL OF ASTHMA. TRIAL REGISTRATION CLINCIALTRIALS.GOV NCT00807183. REGISTERED 10 DECEMBER 2008. 2017