Author: Maccani JZ, Koestler DC, Lester B, Houseman EA, Armstrong DA, Kelsey KT, Marsit CJ.
Source: Environ Health Perspect.
Year: 2015
Comment:
The researchers conclude, "EMID2 hypomethylation may represent a novel mechanism linking in utero Hg exposure and adverse infant neurobehavioral outcomes."
Abstract / Excerpt:
“We identified 339 loci with an average methylation difference > 0.125 between any two toenail Hg tertiles. Variation among these loci was subsequently found to be associated with a high-risk neurodevelopmental profile (omnibus p-value = 0.007) characterized by the NNNS. Ten loci had p < 0.01 for the association between methylation and the high-risk NNNS profile. Six of 10 loci reside in the EMID2 gene and were hypomethylated in the 16 high-risk profile infants’ placentas. Methylation at these loci was moderately correlated (correlation coefficients range, -0.33 to -0.45) with EMID2 expression.”
Citation:
Maccani JZ, Koestler DC, Lester B, Houseman EA, Armstrong DA, Kelsey KT, Marsit CJ. Environ Health Perspect. 2015 ;123(7):723-9. doi: 10.1289/ehp.1408561. Epub 2015 Mar 6.