Table 1 Summary of epidemiological findings for a potential epigenetic link between xenobiotic environmental exposures and chronic disease
Condition/exposure | Stage | Gene/element | Epigenetic outcome | Tissue/cells | Age at detection | Function/pathway | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
PAHs | Prenatal | ACSL3 | Hypermethylation | Umbilical cord leukocyte | Neonate | Asthma pathogenesis | [6] |
BPA | Prenatal | COMT, SULT2A1 | Hypermethylation | Liver | Fetal | Xenobiotic metabolism | [11] |
| Â | Prenatal | MWAS | Differential DNA methylation | Placenta, kidney, liver | Fetal | Metabolism | [12] |
Cadmium | Prenatal | MWAS | Differential DNA methylation | Cord blood | 4.5Â years | Girls: organ development, morphology, mineralization; boys: apoptosis | [15] |
| Â | Periconception | LINE-1 | Hypomethylation | Cord blood | Adult | Mutability | [17] |
Arsenic | Early gestation | MWAS | Differential DNA methylation | Cord blood | Neonate | Boys: carcinogenesis | [20] |
| Â | Prenatal | MWAS | Differential DNA methylation | Cord blood | Neonate | Stress, apoptosis, inflammation | [21] |
| Â | Prenatal | MWAS | Differential DNA methylation | Cord blood | Neonate | Binding sites of transcription factors | [23] |
Mercury | Prenatal | MWAS | Differential DNA methylation | Cord blood | Neonate | Immune system functions | [14] |
| Â | Prenatal | MWAS | Differential DNA methylation | Placenta | Neonate | Neurobehavioral pathways | [25] |
Lead | Prenatal | Alu, LINE-1 | Hypomethylation | Umbilical cord leukocytes | Neonate | Mutability | [26] |
Manganese | Fetal | MWAS | Differential DNA methylation | Placenta | Neonate | Fetal growth, cancer, neurodevelopment | [27] |
Nicotine | Prenatal | AluYb8, LINE-1 | Hypomethylation | Buccal cells | Infant | Mutability | [34] |
| Â | Prenatal | IGF2 | Hypermethylation | Umbilical cord blood | Infant | Growth, development | [35] |
| Â | Prenatal | Sat2 | Hypomethylation | Peripheral blood granulocytes | Adult | Mutability | [36] |
| Â | Prenatal | MWAS | Differential DNA methylation | Cord blood | Neonate | Development, detoxification | [32] |
| Â | Prenatal | MYO1G CNTNAP2 | Hypomethylation Hypermethylation | Blood | Adolescent | Cell elasticity and migration brain development | [33] |
| Â | Prenatal | BDNF-6 exon | Hypermethylation | Blood | Adolescent | Neuronal maturation | [38] |
| Â | Prenatal | AHRR | Hypomethylation | Blood, placenta, peripheral blood mononuclear cells, buccal epithelium | Neonatal | Cell growth and differentiation | [39] |
| Â | Prenatal | RUNX3 | Differential methylation | Placenta | Neonatal | Transcription factors | [40] |
| Â | Perinatal | miR-16, miR-21, miR-146a | Downregulation | Placenta | Neonate | Growth and developmental processes | [41] |
Cannabis | Prenatal | DRD2 | Downregulation | Ventral striatum | Fetal | Dopamine receptor | [45] |
| Â | Prenatal | Opioid-related genes | Impaired regulation | Distinct brain circuits | Fetal | Cognitive and emotional behaviors | [46] |
Alcohol | Prenatal | LINE-1, AluYb8 | Differential methylation | Placenta | Neonatal | Mutability | [49] |
| Â | Prenatal | MWAS | Differential methylation | Buccal cells | Childhood | Glutamatergic synapses, protocadherins, hippo signaling | [50] |