About this Research Topic
Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) emphasizes the effects of prenatal or perinatal environmental exposures in determining later-life human health and disease. While this concept is supported by a variety of experimental and epidemiological studies, the explicit mechanisms of long-term effects of early-life exposures are not well described. Epigenetic changes such as DNA methylation, histone modifications, and non-coding RNAs are suggested as a potential regulator of long-term health effects of environmental exposures. Multiple studies provide evidence to suggest that epigenetic modifications can be affected by environmental exposures early in life that impact later health. For instance, exposure to lead (Pb) in early developmental stages can cause the overexpression of genes related to neurodegenerative diseases that result in epigenetic changes later in life.
With recent technological advancements in genomic research, several next-generation sequencing-based omics techniques can be used to detect genome-wide epigenetic changes. These techniques include ChIP-seq (Chromatin Immunoprecipitation) and DNase1-seq (DNase I hypersensitive sites-sequencing) for detecting DNA-protein interactions, ATAC-seq (Assay for Transposase-Accessible Chromatin using sequencing) for discovering chromatin accessibility, ChiRP-seq (Chromatin Isolation by RNA Purification) for identifying DNA-RNA interactions, and WGBS (Whole Genome Bisulfite Sequencing)/ERRBS (Enhanced Reduced Representation Bisulfite Sequencing) for distinguishing DNA methylation changes. With the aforementioned techniques, it is possible to detect and characterize the epigenetic changes caused by environmental exposures and discover potential molecular mechanisms involved in regulating gene expression that cause adverse health effects in later life.
In this special issue, we are aiming to provide an overview of how epigenetic changes can be influenced by environmental exposures and how to improve the understanding of epigenetics in long-term toxicity of environmental exposures. Investigators may contribute original research articles and review articles that related to:
1) Transgenerational epigenetic studies.
2) DNA methylation or histone modification changes caused by specific environmental exposures.
3) Non-coding RNAs (miRNAs, piRNAs, siRNAs, lncRNAs, etc.) with environmental exposures.
4) Identification of environmental exposure target genes.
5) Interaction identification between epigenetics changes and diseases.
With recent technological advancements in genomic research, several next-generation sequencing-based omics techniques can be used to detect genome-wide epigenetic changes. These techniques include ChIP-seq (Chromatin Immunoprecipitation) and DNase1-seq (DNase I hypersensitive sites-sequencing) for detecting DNA-protein interactions, ATAC-seq (Assay for Transposase-Accessible Chromatin using sequencing) for discovering chromatin accessibility, ChiRP-seq (Chromatin Isolation by RNA Purification) for identifying DNA-RNA interactions, and WGBS (Whole Genome Bisulfite Sequencing)/ERRBS (Enhanced Reduced Representation Bisulfite Sequencing) for distinguishing DNA methylation changes. With the aforementioned techniques, it is possible to detect and characterize the epigenetic changes caused by environmental exposures and discover potential molecular mechanisms involved in regulating gene expression that cause adverse health effects in later life.
In this special issue, we are aiming to provide an overview of how epigenetic changes can be influenced by environmental exposures and how to improve the understanding of epigenetics in long-term toxicity of environmental exposures. Investigators may contribute original research articles and review articles that related to:
1) Transgenerational epigenetic studies.
2) DNA methylation or histone modification changes caused by specific environmental exposures.
3) Non-coding RNAs (miRNAs, piRNAs, siRNAs, lncRNAs, etc.) with environmental exposures.
4) Identification of environmental exposure target genes.
5) Interaction identification between epigenetics changes and diseases.
Keywords: Epigenetics, toxicology, transgenerational, DOHaD, toxicoepigenetics, DNA methylation, histone modifications, non-coding RNA
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
