Samra Haifa Abou, McGrath Jacqueline M, Wehbe Michelle, Clapper Jeffrey
College of Nursing, South Dakota State University, Brookings, SD 57007, USA.
Adv Neonatal Care. 2012 Oct;12 Suppl 5:S2-9. doi: 10.1097/ANC.0b013e318265b4bd.
Adverse experiences early in life have the potential to disrupt normal brain development and create stress response channels in preterm infants that are different from those observed in term infants. Animal models show that epigenetic modifications mediate the effects of maternal separation and environmental stress on susceptibility to disease and psychobehavioral problems later in life. Epigenetic research has the potential to lead to the identification of biological markers, gene expression profiles, and profile changes that occur overtime in response to early-life experiences. Combined with knowledge gained through the use of advanced technologies, epigenetic studies have the promise to refine our understanding about how the brain matures and functions from multiple perspectives including the effect of the environment on brain growth and maturation. Such an understanding will pave the way for care practices that will allow the premature brain to develop to its full capacity and will lead to the best possible outcomes. Neonatal epigenetic research is emerging and rapidly advancing. As scientists overcome biological, technical, and cost-related challenges, such research has a great potential in determining key environmental factors that affect the preterm genome, allowing for targeted interventions. The purpose of this article is to explore existing literature related to epigenetic mechanisms that potentially mediate the effects of the environment on preterm infant brain development.
生命早期的不良经历有可能扰乱正常的大脑发育，并在早产儿中形成与足月儿不同的应激反应通道。动物模型表明，表观遗传修饰介导了母体分离和环境应激对生命后期疾病易感性和心理行为问题的影响。表观遗传学研究有可能导致生物标志物、基因表达谱以及随着时间推移因早期生活经历而发生的谱变化的识别。结合通过使用先进技术获得的知识，表观遗传学研究有望从多个角度完善我们对大脑如何成熟和发挥功能的理解，包括环境对大脑生长和成熟的影响。这样的理解将为护理实践铺平道路，使早产儿大脑能够充分发育并带来尽可能好的结果。新生儿表观遗传学研究正在兴起并迅速发展。随着科学家克服生物学、技术和成本相关的挑战，此类研究在确定影响早产儿基因组的关键环境因素方面具有巨大潜力，从而实现有针对性的干预。本文的目的是探讨与表观遗传机制相关的现有文献，这些机制可能介导环境对早产儿大脑发育的影响。
