Environmental and dietary impacts on Epigenetics

Question 1

What are the main sources of epigenetic modifiers?

Answer 1

Diet
Vitamins
Smoking
Toxic compounds
Maternal grooming

Question 2

Where does folate come from?

Answer 2

Your diet

Question 3

Why is folate important?

Answer 3

Part of the cycle which produces SAM, the methyl carrier used in DNA methylation.

Question 4

What other vitamins are important in the folate cycle?

Answer 4

B12
B6

Question 5

Why do the agouti mice differ?

Answer 5

Over expression of agouti due to lack of DNA methylation, changes the epigenome and therefore the phenotype.

Question 6

Smoking affect on DNA methylation?

Answer 6

Reduces, stopping smoking will allow them to slowly go back to normal.

Never fully normalise.

Question 7

What was the meta analysis value of CpG sites affected by smoking?

Answer 7

2623

upwards of 18760

Question 8

What was the meta analysis value of CpG sites affected by smoking of the mother?

Answer 8

568

upwards of 6073

Question 9

What does DOHaD stand for?

Answer 9

Developmental origins of health
and disease

Question 10

What is DOHaD?

Answer 10

Exposure to specific environments/diet early in life (or in utero) can lead to increase susceptibility to chronic disease later in life

Question 11

What is the dutch hunger winter?

Answer 11

1944

Exposure to famine in holland

Pregnant ladies gave birth to babies with increase risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease when in the 1st/2nd trimester.

181 differently methylated regions identified compared to control group

Question 12

What kind of endocrine disruptors are there?

Answer 12

• Bisphenol A
• Vinclozolin
• Diethylstilbestrol

Question 13

Why are endocrine disruptors so dangerous?

Answer 13

Can be passed through transgenerational inheritance.

Question 14

What kinds of traits due to endocrine disruptors are passed through transgenerational inheritance (exposure in a pregnant mouse)?

Answer 14

Alterations in sperm motility

Association with alteration in DNA methylation

Some loci can escape early developmental re-programming

Question 15

Why do rats lick their babies?

Answer 15

Mothering behaviour

Rat babies which are groomed more have increased expression of GR in hippocampus

Higher DNA methylation

Question 16

What is the effect of early life trauma in humans on DNA methylation?

Answer 16

Glucocorticoid receptor (GR)
methylation has been associated with depression

Early life events (child abuse) lead to
increased risk of disease in adults

Question 17

What is the connection between DNA methylation and ageing?

Answer 17

DNA methylation can predict biological age, life expectancy and susceptibility to chronic disease

Question 18

What are the methylation changes in B cells?

Answer 18

Change naive b cells, no specific antigen.

When exposed to an antigen is becomes a memory cell.

Question 19

What is SIRT1?

Answer 19

A histone deacetylase

Question 20

What happens when you over express SIRT1 in fruit-flies and worms?

Answer 20

Lived longer

Question 21

What is the effect of calorie restriction on life span?

Answer 21

Life span increases.

Question 22

What effects does calories restriction have on mice?

Answer 22

• Improved Mood
• Reduced risk of Brain injury
• Reduced risk of Diabetes
• Reduced risk of Heart disease
• Reduction of Osteoperosis
• Reduction of Liver disease

Question 23

What is the issue with calories restriction in extending mice life span?

Answer 23

Must have SIRT1 gene activated

Question 24

What did reducing SIRT1 by CR do to suffers of machado-joseph disease?

Answer 24

Reduced symptoms