Prenatal mercury concentration is associated with changes in DNA methylation at TCEANC2 in newborns.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Human exposure to the widespread environmental contaminant mercury is a known risk factor for common diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular disease and neurological disorders through poorly characterized mechanisms. Evidence suggests mercury exposure may alter DNA methylation levels, but to date, the effects in early life on a genome-wide scale have not been investigated.

Methods

A study sample of 141 newborns was recruited in Baltimore, MD, USA and total mercury and methylmercury were measured in cord blood samples. We quantified genome-wide DNA methylation data using CHARM 2.0, an array-based method, and used region-finding analyses to identify concentration-associated differentially methylated regions (DMRs). To test for replication of these identified DMRs in

SUBMITTER: Bakulski KM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4588863 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature