Transciptomics signatures of in utero exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in relation to the developmental origins of disease; the ENVIRONAGE birth cohort (R-5528)

The impact of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on human health has been of worldwide concern as they are abundant environmental and food-borne pollutants. PAHs are developmental toxins, carcinogens and immunotoxicants capable of crossing the placental barrier. The unborn child is at greater risk than the adult from these exposure. In utero exposure has been associated with increased risk of adverse birth outcomes and damage to the genome, but we believe it also has an impact on disease development later in life. It has been proposed that fetal responses to toxicants may result in changes of a persistent nature, possibly leading to predisposition to develop cancer and immune related diseases through modulation of the fetal transcriptome. The transcriptome, also referred to as gene expression profiling, reflects the genes that are being activelyexpressed at any given time. The ENVIRONAGE (ENVIRmental influence on AGEing in early life) birth cohort currently consists of 620 mother-newborn pairs and enrollment is still ongoing while structured follow-up measures of health outcomes have been initiated. I will investigate early effects at the molecular level in association with prenatal exposure to PAHs. Towards this end, I study gene expression changes induced by prenatal exposure to PAHs in cancer and immune related pathways to unravel the meaning of these pathways on fetal growth, immune functionality and potential cancer risk in early life.

Keywords:Gen expression

Disciplines:General biology, Plant biology