US EPA

729398 

Journal Article 

Review 

Epigenetic gene regulation: Linking early developmental environment to adult disease 

Dolinoy, DC; Weidman, JR; Jirtle, RL 

2007 

1 

Reproductive Toxicology
ISSN: 0890-6238
EISSN: 1873-1708 

23 

3 

297-307 

English 

17046196 

10.1016/j.reprotox.2006.08.012 

WOS:000246646800006 

Traditional studies on the combined effects of genetics and the environment on individual variation in disease susceptibility primarily focus on single nucleotide polymorphisms that influence toxicant uptake and metabolism. A growing body of evidence, however, suggests that epigenetic mechanisms of gene regulation, such as DNA methylation and chromatin modification, are also influenced by the environment, and play an important role in the fetal basis of adult disease susceptibility. Studying the influence of early environmental exposures on metastable epialleles and imprinted genes offers insight into the mechanisms affecting the fetal epigenome and subsequent adult disease susceptibility. In this review, we introduce the reader to the field of environmental epigenomics, provide information on the important epigenetic control mechanisms and epigenetic phenomena in mammals, and summarize the current body of literature on nutritional and environmental influences affecting the epigenome. 

developmental origins of adult disease; DNA methylation; epigenetics; metastable epialleles; imprinted genes; viable yellow agouti (A(vy)) mouse