0-3 Centre for the at-Risk Infant, Scientific Institute IRCCS Eugenio Medea, Bosisio Parini, LC, Italy.
0-3 Centre for the at-Risk Infant, Scientific Institute IRCCS Eugenio Medea, Bosisio Parini, LC, Italy.
Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2018 Jan;84:262-271. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2017.08.020. Epub 2017 Sep 1.
Behavioral epigenetics is revealing new pathways that lead individuals from early adversity exposures to later-in-life detrimental outcomes. Preterm birth constitutes one of the major adverse events in human development. Preterm infants are hospitalized in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) where they are exposed to life-saving yet pain-inducing procedures and to protective care. The application of behavioral epigenetics to the field of preterm studies (i.e., Preterm Behavioral Epigenetics, PBE) is rapidly growing and holds promises to provide valid insights for research and clinical activity. Here, the evidence of the epigenetic correlates of prenatal adversities, NICU-related environment and development of preterm infants is systematically reviewed. The findings suggest that a number of prenatal adverse (e.g., maternal depression and stress) and post-natal (e.g., NICU-related pain-related stress) events affect the developmental trajectories of preterm infants and children via epigenetic alterations of imprinted and stress-related genes. Nonetheless, the potential epigenetic vestiges of early care and protective interventions in NICU have not been investigated yet and this represents a fascinating challenge for future PBE research.
行为表观遗传学揭示了新的途径，使个体从早期逆境暴露到以后的生活中产生有害的结果。早产是人类发育过程中的主要不良事件之一。早产婴儿在新生儿重症监护病房（NICU）住院，在那里他们接受救命但又引起疼痛的治疗，并接受保护性护理。行为表观遗传学在早产儿研究领域的应用（即早产儿行为表观遗传学，PBE）正在迅速发展，并有望为研究和临床活动提供有价值的见解。在这里，系统地回顾了产前逆境、NICU 相关环境和早产儿发育的表观遗传相关性的证据。研究结果表明，许多产前不良事件（如产妇抑郁和压力）和产后事件（如与 NICU 相关的疼痛相关压力）通过印迹和应激相关基因的表观遗传改变影响早产儿和儿童的发育轨迹。尽管如此，NICU 中早期护理和保护干预的潜在表观遗传痕迹尚未得到研究，这是未来 PBE 研究的一个迷人挑战。
