Environmental forces that shape early development: What we know and still need to know

Understanding health requires more than knowledge of the genome. Environmental factors regulate gene function through epigenetics. Collectively, environmental exposures have been called the "exposome." Caregivers are instrumental in shaping exposures in a child's initial years. Maternal dietary patterns, physical activity, degree of weight gain,...

Plasticity of lifelong calorie-restricted C57BL/6J mice in adapting to a medium-fat diet intervention at old age

Calorie restriction (CR) is a dietary regimen that supports healthy aging. In this study, we investigated the systemic and liver-specific responses caused by a diet switch to a medium-fat (MF) diet in 24-month-old lifelong, CR-exposed mice. This study aimed to increase the knowledge base on dietary alterations of gerontological relevance. Nine...

Changes in DNA methylation induced by multi-walled carbon nanotube exposure in the workplace

This study was designed to assess the epigenetic alterations in blood cells, induced by occupational exposure to multi-wall carbon nanotubes (MWCNT). The study population comprised of MWCNT-exposed workers (n=24) and unexposed controls (n=43) from the same workplace. We measured global DNA methylation/hydroxymethylation levels on the 5th...

Dietary methyl donors, methyl metabolizing enzymes, and epigenetic regulators: Diet-gene interactions and promoter CpG island hypermethylation in colorectal cancer

Dietary methyl donors might influence DNA methylation during carcinogenesis of colorectal cancer (CRC). Among 609 CRC cases and 1,663 subcohort members of the Netherlands Cohort Study on diet and cancer (n = 120,852), we estimated CRC risk according to methyl donor intake across genotypes of folate metabolizing enzymes and methyltransferases....

Maternal transmission of risk for atherosclerosis

In this review, we briefly summarize the possible signals crossing the placental barrier and discuss the molecular mechanisms of epigenetic programming in the developing fetus leading to increased athero-susceptibility of the vessel wall. © 2008 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Associations of dietary methyl donor intake with MLH1 promoter hypermethylation and related molecular phenotypes in sporadic colorectal cancer

Intake of dietary factors that serve as methyl group donors may influence promoter hypermethylation in colorectal carcinogenesis. We investigated whether dietary folate, vitamin B2 and vitamin B6, methionine and alcohol were associated with mutL homologue 1 (MLH1) hypermethylation and the related molecular phenotypes of MLH1 protein expression,...

Alcohol consumption and mutations or promoter hypermethylation of the von Hippel-Lindau gene in renal cell carcinoma

Alcohol consumption has been associated with a decreased risk for renal cell cancer in several studies. We investigated whether alcohol is associated with (epi)genetic changes of the von Hippel-Lindau (VHL) gene in renal cell cancer. The Netherlands Cohort Study (NLCS) on Diet and Cancer started in 1986 (n = 120,852) and uses the case-cohort...

Effects of dietary folate and alcohol intake on promoter methylation in sporadic colorectal cancer: The Netherlands cohort study on diet and cancer

Sporadic colorectal cancer (CRC) is characterized by genetic and epigenetic changes such as regional DNA hypermethylation and global DNA hypomethylation. Epidemiological and animal studies suggest that aherrant DNA methylation is associated with low dietary folate intake, which is aggravated by high alcohol intake. The relationship between...

The effect of organic nitrogen sources on recombinant glucoamylase production by Aspergillus niger in chemostat culture

Aspergillus niger B1, a recombinant strain carrying 20 extra copies of the native glucoamylase gene, was grown in glucose-limited chemostat cultures supplemented with various organic nitrogen sources (dilution rate 0.12 ± 0.01 h-1, pH 5.4). In cultures supplemented with L-alanine, L-methionine, casamino acids, or peptone, specific glucoamylase ...

Induction of somatic mutations but not methylated DNA adducts in λlacZ transgenic mice by dichlorvos

In order to examine the in vivo genotoxic activity of dichlorvos, λlacZ transgenic mice (Muta(TM)Mouse) were treated i.p. with single (4.4 or 11 mg/kg) or multiple (5x11 mg/kg) doses of this agent and sacrificed 4 h or 14 days post-treatment for DNA adduct measurement or mutant frequency analysis, respectively. Neither methylated DNA adducts nor...

Methyl bromide causes DNA methylation in rats and mice but fails to induce somatic mutations in λlacZ transgenic mice

Following single or multiple oral treatments of rats or λlacZ transgenic mice with methyl bromide, methylated DNA adducts (N7- and/or O6-methylguanine) were found at comparable levels in various tissues, including among others the glandular stomach, the forestomach and the liver. Multiple rat treatment resulted in substantial decreases in the...

Vitamins and cancer

The prospect that high intake of certain vitamins may confer protection against cancer has drawn substantial attention during the last decades. This paper gives a concise update of the role of a number of promising vitamins in prevention of cancer. Vitamin A and its analogues have an important role in cellular processes related to carcinogenesis...

mRNA levels and methylation patterns of the tyrosine aminotransferase gene in aging inbred rats

We have examined the mRNA levels and methylation patterns of the liver-specific tyrosine aminotransferase (TAT) gene in inbred female rats aged 6, 24 and 36 months. Northern hybridization analysis of total RNA showed a 65% decrease in the steady state transcript level of TAT in the liver of 24- and 36-month old rats as compared to 6-month old...