EPIGET-Epidemiology, Epigenetics and Toxicology Lab, Department of Clinical Sciences and Community Health, Università degli Studi di Milano, via San Barnaba 8, 20122, Milan, Italy.
Clin Epigenetics. 2019 Aug 30;11(1):129. doi: 10.1186/s13148-019-0726-x.
Exposure to airborne particulate matter (PM) has been associated with detrimental health effects. DNA methylation represents the most well-studied epigenetic factor among the possible mechanisms underlying this association. Interestingly, changes of DNA methylation in response to environmental stimuli are being considered for their role in the pathogenic mechanism, but also as mediators of the body adaptation to air pollutants.Several studies have evaluated both global and gene-specific methylation in relation to PM exposure in different clinical conditions and life stages. The purpose of the present literature review is to evaluate the most relevant and recent studies in the field in order to analyze the available evidences on long- and short-term PM exposure and DNA methylation changes, with a particular focus on the different life stages when the alteration occurs. PM exposure modulates DNA methylation affecting several biological mechanisms with marked effects on health, especially during susceptible life stages such as pregnancy, childhood, and the older age.Although many cross-sectional investigations have been conducted so far, only a limited number of prospective studies have explored the potential role of DNA methylation. Future studies are needed in order to evaluate whether these changes might be reverted.
暴露于空气中的颗粒物（PM）已被认为与健康危害有关。在可能导致这种关联的潜在机制中，DNA 甲基化是研究最充分的表观遗传因素。有趣的是，人们正在考虑 DNA 甲基化的变化作为对环境刺激的反应，以了解其在发病机制中的作用，以及作为身体适应空气污染物的中介。已有多项研究评估了与不同临床条件和生命阶段的 PM 暴露相关的全基因组和特定基因的甲基化。本文献综述的目的是评估该领域中最相关和最新的研究，以分析关于 PM 暴露和 DNA 甲基化变化的现有证据，特别关注发生变化的不同生命阶段。PM 暴露会调节 DNA 甲基化，从而影响多种生物机制，对健康产生显著影响，尤其是在怀孕期间、儿童期和老年期等易感生命阶段。尽管迄今为止已经进行了许多横断面研究，但只有少数前瞻性研究探索了 DNA 甲基化的潜在作用。需要进一步开展研究，以评估这些变化是否可以逆转。
