Exposure to aflatoxin B1 in utero is associated with DNA methylation in white blood cells of infants in The Gambia

Background: Exposure to environmental toxins during embryonic development may lead to epigenetic changes that influence disease risk in later life. Aflatoxin is a contaminant of staple foods in sub-Saharan Africa, is a known human liver carcinogen and has been associated with stunting in infants. Me...

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Autores principales: Hernández Vargas, H., Castelino, J., Silver, M.J., Domínguez Salas, Paula, Cros, M.P., Durand, G., Calvez-Kelm, F. Le, Prentice, A.M., Wild, C.P., Moore, S.E., Hennig, B.J., Herceg, Z., Yun Yun Gong, Routledge, M.N.
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: Oxford University Press 2015
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/65379
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author Hernández Vargas, H.
Castelino, J.
Silver, M.J.
Domínguez Salas, Paula
Cros, M.P.
Durand, G.
Calvez-Kelm, F. Le
Prentice, A.M.
Wild, C.P.
Moore, S.E.
Hennig, B.J.
Herceg, Z.
Yun Yun Gong
Routledge, M.N.
author_browse Calvez-Kelm, F. Le
Castelino, J.
Cros, M.P.
Domínguez Salas, Paula
Durand, G.
Hennig, B.J.
Herceg, Z.
Hernández Vargas, H.
Moore, S.E.
Prentice, A.M.
Routledge, M.N.
Silver, M.J.
Wild, C.P.
Yun Yun Gong
author_facet Hernández Vargas, H.
Castelino, J.
Silver, M.J.
Domínguez Salas, Paula
Cros, M.P.
Durand, G.
Calvez-Kelm, F. Le
Prentice, A.M.
Wild, C.P.
Moore, S.E.
Hennig, B.J.
Herceg, Z.
Yun Yun Gong
Routledge, M.N.
author_sort Hernández Vargas, H.
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Background: Exposure to environmental toxins during embryonic development may lead to epigenetic changes that influence disease risk in later life. Aflatoxin is a contaminant of staple foods in sub-Saharan Africa, is a known human liver carcinogen and has been associated with stunting in infants. Methods: We have measured aflatoxin exposure in 115 pregnant women in The Gambia and examined the DNA methylation status of white blood cells from their infants at 2–8 months old (mean 3.6 ± 0.9). Aflatoxin exposure in women was assessed using an ELISA method to measure aflatoxin albumin (AF-alb) adducts in plasma taken at 1–16 weeks of pregnancy. Genome-wide DNA methylation of infant white blood cells was measured using the Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation450beadchip. Results: AF-alb levels ranged from 3.9 to 458.4 pg/mg albumin. We found that aflatoxin exposure in the mothers was associated to DNA methylation in their infants for 71 CpG sites (false discovery rate < 0.05), with an average effect size of 1.7% change in methylation. Aflatoxin-associated differential methylation was observed in growth factor genes such as FGF12 and IGF1, and immune-related genes such as CCL28, TLR2 and TGFBI. Moreover, one aflatoxin-associated methylation region (corresponding to the miR-4520b locus) was identified. Conclusions: This study shows that maternal exposure to aflatoxin during the early stages of pregnancy is associated with differential DNA methylation patterns of infants, including in genes related to growth and immune function. This reinforces the need for interventions to reduce aflatoxin exposure, especially during critical periods of fetal and infant development.
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spelling CGSpace653792023-12-08T19:36:04Z Exposure to aflatoxin B1 in utero is associated with DNA methylation in white blood cells of infants in The Gambia Hernández Vargas, H. Castelino, J. Silver, M.J. Domínguez Salas, Paula Cros, M.P. Durand, G. Calvez-Kelm, F. Le Prentice, A.M. Wild, C.P. Moore, S.E. Hennig, B.J. Herceg, Z. Yun Yun Gong Routledge, M.N. animal diseases health Background: Exposure to environmental toxins during embryonic development may lead to epigenetic changes that influence disease risk in later life. Aflatoxin is a contaminant of staple foods in sub-Saharan Africa, is a known human liver carcinogen and has been associated with stunting in infants. Methods: We have measured aflatoxin exposure in 115 pregnant women in The Gambia and examined the DNA methylation status of white blood cells from their infants at 2–8 months old (mean 3.6 ± 0.9). Aflatoxin exposure in women was assessed using an ELISA method to measure aflatoxin albumin (AF-alb) adducts in plasma taken at 1–16 weeks of pregnancy. Genome-wide DNA methylation of infant white blood cells was measured using the Illumina Infinium HumanMethylation450beadchip. Results: AF-alb levels ranged from 3.9 to 458.4 pg/mg albumin. We found that aflatoxin exposure in the mothers was associated to DNA methylation in their infants for 71 CpG sites (false discovery rate < 0.05), with an average effect size of 1.7% change in methylation. Aflatoxin-associated differential methylation was observed in growth factor genes such as FGF12 and IGF1, and immune-related genes such as CCL28, TLR2 and TGFBI. Moreover, one aflatoxin-associated methylation region (corresponding to the miR-4520b locus) was identified. Conclusions: This study shows that maternal exposure to aflatoxin during the early stages of pregnancy is associated with differential DNA methylation patterns of infants, including in genes related to growth and immune function. This reinforces the need for interventions to reduce aflatoxin exposure, especially during critical periods of fetal and infant development. 2015-08 2015-05-04T08:47:59Z 2015-05-04T08:47:59Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/65379 en Open Access Oxford University Press Hernandez-Vargas, H., Castelino, J., Silver, M.J., Dominguez-Salas, P., Cros, M.-P., Durand, G., Calvez-Kelm, F. Le, Prentice, A.M., Wild, C.P., Moore, S.E., Hennig, B.J., Herceg, Z., Yun Yun Gong and Routledge, M.N. 2015. Exposure to aflatoxin B1 in utero is associated with DNA methylation in white blood cells of infants in The Gambia. International Journal of Epidemiology 44(4): 1238-1248.
spellingShingle animal diseases
health
Hernández Vargas, H.
Castelino, J.
Silver, M.J.
Domínguez Salas, Paula
Cros, M.P.
Durand, G.
Calvez-Kelm, F. Le
Prentice, A.M.
Wild, C.P.
Moore, S.E.
Hennig, B.J.
Herceg, Z.
Yun Yun Gong
Routledge, M.N.
Exposure to aflatoxin B1 in utero is associated with DNA methylation in white blood cells of infants in The Gambia
title Exposure to aflatoxin B1 in utero is associated with DNA methylation in white blood cells of infants in The Gambia
title_full Exposure to aflatoxin B1 in utero is associated with DNA methylation in white blood cells of infants in The Gambia
title_fullStr Exposure to aflatoxin B1 in utero is associated with DNA methylation in white blood cells of infants in The Gambia
title_full_unstemmed Exposure to aflatoxin B1 in utero is associated with DNA methylation in white blood cells of infants in The Gambia
title_short Exposure to aflatoxin B1 in utero is associated with DNA methylation in white blood cells of infants in The Gambia
title_sort exposure to aflatoxin b1 in utero is associated with dna methylation in white blood cells of infants in the gambia
topic animal diseases
health
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/65379
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