Human transgenerational responses to early-life experience: potential impact on development, health and biomedical research
2014 (English)In: Journal of Medical Genetics, ISSN 0022-2593, E-ISSN 1468-6244, Vol. 51, no 9, p. 563-572Article, review/survey (Refereed) Published
Resource type
Text
Abstract [en]
Mammalian experiments provide clear evidence of male line transgenerational effects on health and development from paternal or ancestral early-life exposures such as diet or stress. The few human observational studies to date suggest (male line) transgenerational effects exist that cannot easily be attributed to cultural and/or genetic inheritance. Here we summarise relevant studies, drawing attention to exposure sensitive periods in early life and sex differences in transmission and offspring outcomes. Thus, variation, or changes, in the parental/ancestral environment may influence phenotypic variation for better or worse in the next generation(s), and so contribute to common, non-communicable disease risk including sex differences. We argue that life-course epidemiology should be reframed to include exposures from previous generations, keeping an open mind as to the mechanisms that transmit this information to offspring. Finally, we discuss animal experiments, including the role of epigenetic inheritance and non-coding RNAs, in terms of what lessons can be learnt for designing and interpreting human studies. This review was developed initially as a position paper by the multidisciplinary Network in Epigenetic Epidemiology to encourage transgenerational research in human cohorts.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2014. Vol. 51, no 9, p. 563-572
Keywords [en]
Epigenetics, epigenetic epidemiology, miRNAs, overkalix, transgenerational
National Category
Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:rkh:diva-2148DOI: 10.1136/jmedgenet-2014-102577PubMedID: 25062846OAI: oai:DiVA.org:rkh-2148DiVA, id: diva2:901789
Note
Network in Epigenetic Epidemiology: Collaborators LOB, MP, RS, John Carstensen, Department of Medical and Health Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden. Sören Edvinsson, 1. Demographic Data Base, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden, 2. Centre for Population Studies, Umeå University, Umeå Sweden. Tomas Faresjö, Department of Medicine and Health, Unit of Community Medicine/General Practice, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden. Paul Franks, 1. Genetic and Molecular Epidemiology Unit, Lund University Diabetes Center, Department of Clinical Sciences, Skåne University Hospital, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden, 2. Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA, 3. Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, Section for Medicine, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden. Jan-Åke Gustafsson, 1.Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden, 2. Center for Nuclear Receptors and Cell Signaling, University of Houston, Texas, USA. Gunnar Kaati, Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden. B.I.B.Lindahl, Department of Philosophy, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden, Johnny Ludvigsson, Department of Paediatrics, Unit of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden. L. H. Lumey, Department of Epidemiology, Mailman School of Public health, Columbia University, New York, New York, USA. Bitte Modin, Centre for Health Equity Studies (CHESS), Stockholm University/Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. Hans Nilsson, Department for Studies of Social Change and Culture, Linköping University, Sweden. Michael Sjöström, Department of Biosciences and Nutrition, Karolinska Institutet, Huddinge, Sweden. Petter Tinghög, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Karolinska Institutet, Solna, Sweden, Denny Vågerö, Centre of Health and Equity Studies (CHESS), Stockholm University/Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden.
2016-02-092016-02-082022-09-15Bibliographically approved