Genetic and epigenetic influence on the response to environmental particulate matter.

ABSTRACT: Ambient air pollution, including particulate matter (PM) and gaseous pollutants, represents important environmental exposures that adversely affect human health. Because of their heritable and reversible nature, epigenetic modifications provide a plausible link between the environment and alterations in gene expression that might lead to disease. Epidemiologic evidence supports that environmental exposures in childhood affect susceptibility to disease later in life, supporting the belief that epigenetic changes can affect ongoing development and promote disease long after the environmental exposure has ceased. Indeed, allergic disorders often have their roots in early childhood, and early exposure to PM has been strongly associated with the subsequent development of asthma. The purpose of

SUBMITTER: Ji H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3268704 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature