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Cadmium exposure and MEG3 methylation differences between Whites and African Americans in the NEST Cohort.

Publication ,  Journal Article
House, JS; Hall, J; Park, SS; Planchart, A; Money, E; Maguire, RL; Huang, Z; Mattingly, CJ; Skaar, D; Tzeng, JY; Darrah, TH; Vengosh, A ...
Published in: Environ Epigenet
July 2019

Cadmium (Cd) is a ubiquitous environmental pollutant associated with a wide range of health outcomes including cancer. However, obscure exposure sources often hinder prevention efforts. Further, although epigenetic mechanisms are suspected to link these associations, gene sequence regions targeted by Cd are unclear. Aberrant methylation of a differentially methylated region (DMR) on the MEG3 gene that regulates the expression of a cluster of genes including MEG3, DLK1, MEG8, MEG9 and DIO3 has been associated with multiple cancers. In 287 infant-mother pairs, we used a combination of linear regression and the Getis-Ord Gi* statistic to determine if maternal blood Cd concentrations were associated with offspring CpG methylation of the sequence region regulating a cluster of imprinted genes including MEG3. Correlations were used to examine potential sources and routes. We observed a significant geographic co-clustering of elevated prenatal Cd levels and MEG3 DMR hypermethylation in cord blood (P = 0.01), and these findings were substantiated in our statistical models (β = 1.70, se = 0.80, P = 0.03). These associations were strongest in those born to African American women (β = 3.52, se = 1.32, P = 0.01) compared with those born to White women (β = 1.24, se = 2.11, P = 0.56) or Hispanic women (β = 1.18, se = 1.24, P = 0.34). Consistent with Cd bioaccumulation during the life course, blood Cd levels increased with age (β = 0.015 µg/dl/year, P = 0.003), and Cd concentrations were significantly correlated between blood and urine (ρ > 0.47, P < 0.01), but not hand wipe, soil or house dust concentrations (P > 0.05). Together, these data support that prenatal Cd exposure is associated with aberrant methylation of the imprint regulatory element for the MEG3 gene cluster at birth. However, neither house-dust nor water are likely exposure sources, and ingestion via contaminated hands is also unlikely to be a significant exposure route in this population. Larger studies are required to identify routes and sources of exposure.

Duke Scholars

Published In

Environ Epigenet

DOI

EISSN

2058-5888

Publication Date

July 2019

Volume

5

Issue

3

Start / End Page

dvz014

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • 3105 Genetics
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
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House, J. S., Hall, J., Park, S. S., Planchart, A., Money, E., Maguire, R. L., … Hoyo, C. (2019). Cadmium exposure and MEG3 methylation differences between Whites and African Americans in the NEST Cohort. Environ Epigenet, 5(3), dvz014. https://doi.org/10.1093/eep/dvz014
House, John S., Jonathan Hall, Sarah S. Park, Antonio Planchart, Eric Money, Rachel L. Maguire, Zhiqing Huang, et al. “Cadmium exposure and MEG3 methylation differences between Whites and African Americans in the NEST Cohort.Environ Epigenet 5, no. 3 (July 2019): dvz014. https://doi.org/10.1093/eep/dvz014.
House JS, Hall J, Park SS, Planchart A, Money E, Maguire RL, et al. Cadmium exposure and MEG3 methylation differences between Whites and African Americans in the NEST Cohort. Environ Epigenet. 2019 Jul;5(3):dvz014.
House, John S., et al. “Cadmium exposure and MEG3 methylation differences between Whites and African Americans in the NEST Cohort.Environ Epigenet, vol. 5, no. 3, July 2019, p. dvz014. Pubmed, doi:10.1093/eep/dvz014.
House JS, Hall J, Park SS, Planchart A, Money E, Maguire RL, Huang Z, Mattingly CJ, Skaar D, Tzeng JY, Darrah TH, Vengosh A, Murphy SK, Jirtle RL, Hoyo C. Cadmium exposure and MEG3 methylation differences between Whites and African Americans in the NEST Cohort. Environ Epigenet. 2019 Jul;5(3):dvz014.
Journal cover image

Published In

Environ Epigenet

DOI

EISSN

2058-5888

Publication Date

July 2019

Volume

5

Issue

3

Start / End Page

dvz014

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • 3105 Genetics