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Maternal cadmium, iron and zinc levels, DNA methylation and birth weight.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Vidal, AC; Semenova, V; Darrah, T; Vengosh, A; Huang, Z; King, K; Nye, MD; Fry, R; Skaar, D; Maguire, R; Murtha, A; Schildkraut, J; Murphy, S; Hoyo, C
Published in: BMC Pharmacol Toxicol
July 15, 2015

BACKGROUND: Cadmium (Cd) is a ubiquitous and environmentally persistent toxic metal that has been implicated in neurotoxicity, carcinogenesis and obesity and essential metals including zinc (Zn) and iron (Fe) may alter these outcomes. However mechanisms underlying these relationships remain limited. METHODS: We examined whether maternal Cd levels during early pregnancy were associated with offspring DNA methylation at regulatory sequences of genomically imprinted genes and weight at birth, and whether Fe and Zn altered these associations. Cd, Fe and Zn were measured in maternal blood of 319 women ≤ 12 weeks gestation. Offspring umbilical cord blood leukocyte DNA methylation at regulatory differentially methylated regions (DMRs) of 8 imprinted genes was measured using bisulfite pyrosequencing. Regression models were used to examine the relationships among Cd, Fe, Zn, and DMR methylation and birth weight. RESULTS: Elevated maternal blood Cd levels were associated with lower birth weight (p = 0.03). Higher maternal blood Cd levels were also associated with lower offspring methylation at the PEG3 DMR in females (β = 0.55, se = 0.17, p = 0.05), and at the MEG3 DMR in males (β = 0.72, se = 0.3, p = 0.08), however the latter association was not statistically significant. Associations between Cd and PEG3 and PLAGL1 DNA methylation were stronger in infants born to women with low concentrations of Fe (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest the association between pre-natal Cd and offspring DNA methylation at regulatory sequences of imprinted genes may be sex- and gene-specific. Essential metals such as Zn may mitigate DNA methylation response to Cd exposure. Larger studies are required.

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Published In

BMC Pharmacol Toxicol

DOI

EISSN

2050-6511

Publication Date

July 15, 2015

Volume

16

Start / End Page

20

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Zinc
  • Young Adult
  • Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid
  • Pregnancy
  • Maternal Exposure
  • Male
  • Iron
  • Infant
  • Humans
  • Folic Acid
 

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Vidal, A. C., Semenova, V., Darrah, T., Vengosh, A., Huang, Z., King, K., … Hoyo, C. (2015). Maternal cadmium, iron and zinc levels, DNA methylation and birth weight. BMC Pharmacol Toxicol, 16, 20. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40360-015-0020-2
Vidal, Adriana C., Viktoriya Semenova, Thomas Darrah, Avner Vengosh, Zhiqing Huang, Katherine King, Monica D. Nye, et al. “Maternal cadmium, iron and zinc levels, DNA methylation and birth weight.BMC Pharmacol Toxicol 16 (July 15, 2015): 20. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40360-015-0020-2.
Vidal AC, Semenova V, Darrah T, Vengosh A, Huang Z, King K, et al. Maternal cadmium, iron and zinc levels, DNA methylation and birth weight. BMC Pharmacol Toxicol. 2015 Jul 15;16:20.
Vidal, Adriana C., et al. “Maternal cadmium, iron and zinc levels, DNA methylation and birth weight.BMC Pharmacol Toxicol, vol. 16, July 2015, p. 20. Pubmed, doi:10.1186/s40360-015-0020-2.
Vidal AC, Semenova V, Darrah T, Vengosh A, Huang Z, King K, Nye MD, Fry R, Skaar D, Maguire R, Murtha A, Schildkraut J, Murphy S, Hoyo C. Maternal cadmium, iron and zinc levels, DNA methylation and birth weight. BMC Pharmacol Toxicol. 2015 Jul 15;16:20.
Journal cover image

Published In

BMC Pharmacol Toxicol

DOI

EISSN

2050-6511

Publication Date

July 15, 2015

Volume

16

Start / End Page

20

Location

England

Related Subject Headings

  • Zinc
  • Young Adult
  • Regulatory Sequences, Nucleic Acid
  • Pregnancy
  • Maternal Exposure
  • Male
  • Iron
  • Infant
  • Humans
  • Folic Acid