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Didikoglu A, Nair N, Robinson AC, Roncaroli F, Pendleton N, Payton A, Canal MM. The effect of season of birth on brain epigenome-wide DNA methylation of older adults. J Dev Orig Health Dis 2021;:1-11. [PMID: 34308828 DOI: 10.1017/S2040174421000453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Perinatal light exposure predisposes towards health and behaviour in adulthood. Season of birth is associated with psychiatric, allergic, cardiovascular and metabolic problems. It has been proposed that early-life environmental light disrupts the development of biological rhythms which, in turn, influence later-life health. However, the mechanisms linking perinatal seasonal light to later-life biological rhythm and health in humans are unknown. In this study, we investigated the association between season of birth and epigenome-wide DNA methylation of two postmortem human brain regions (16 hypothalamus, 14 temporal cortex). We did not find statistically significant differences at the whole epigenome level, either because we lacked statistical power or that no association exists. However, when we examined 24 CpG sites that had the highest significance or differential methylation, we identified regions which may be associated with circadian rhythm entrainment, cholinergic neurotransmission and neural development. Amongst methylation of the core clock genes, we identified that hypothalamus Neuronal PAS Domain Protein 2 (NPAS2) gene has hypermethylated regions in long photoperiod-born individuals. In addition, we found nominal associations between season of birth and genes linked to chronotype and narcolepsy. Season of birth-related brain DNA methylation profile was different than a previously reported blood methylation profile, suggesting a tissue-specific mechanism of perinatal light programming. Overall, we are the first to analyse the relationship between season of birth and human brain DNA methylation. Further studies with larger sample sizes are required to confirm an imprinting effect of perinatal light on the circadian clock.
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Lewis P, Hellmich M, Fritschi L, Tikellis G, Morfeld P, Groß JV, Foster RG, Paltiel O, Klebanoff MA, Golding J, Olsen S, Magnus P, Ponsonby AL, Linet MS, Ward MH, Caporaso N, Dwyer T, Erren TC. Perinatal photoperiod and childhood cancer: pooled results from 182,856 individuals in the international childhood cancer cohort consortium (I4C). Chronobiol Int 2020; 37:1034-1047. [PMID: 32233647 DOI: 10.1080/07420528.2020.1740724] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Experimental evidence suggests that perinatal light imprinting of circadian clocks and systems may affect downstream physiology and cancer risk in later life. For humans, the predominant circadian stimulus is the daily light-dark cycle. Herein, we explore associations between perinatal photoperiod characteristics (photoperiod: duration of daylight as determined by time-of-year and location) and childhood cancer risk. We use pooled data on 182,856 mothers and babies from prospective birth cohorts in six countries (Australia, Denmark, Israel, Norway, UK, USA) within the International Childhood Cancer Cohort Consortium (I4C). Cox proportional hazards regression was used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). In line with predicted differential dose-responses, restricted cubic splines indicate a potential non-linear, non-monotonic relationship between perinatal mean daily photoperiod (0-24 h) and childhood cancer risk. In a restricted analysis of 154,121 individuals who experienced third trimester photoperiods exclusively within the 8-16-h range, the relative risk of developing childhood cancer decreased by 9% with every hour increase in third trimester mean daily photoperiod [HR: 0.91 (95%CIs: 0.84-0.99)]. In conclusion, in this first study of perinatal photoperiod and childhood cancer, we detected an inverse ["protective"] linear association between third trimester mean daily photoperiod and childhood cancer risk in the 8-16-h set of the total study population. Limited statistical power impeded the investigation of risks with individuals exposed to more extreme photoperiods. Future studies are needed to confirm differential photoperiod-associated risks and further investigations into the hypothesized circadian imprinting mechanism are warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip Lewis
- Institute and Policlinic for Occupational Medicine, Environmental Medicine and Prevention Research, University Hospital of Cologne , Cologne, Germany
| | - Martin Hellmich
- Institute for Medical Statistics and Computational Biology (IMSB), Faculty of Medicine & University Hospital of Cologne , Cologne, Germany
| | - Lin Fritschi
- School of Public Health, Curtin University , Perth, Western Australia, Australia
| | - Gabriella Tikellis
- Population Epidemiology, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, University of Melbourne , Melbourne, Australia
| | - Peter Morfeld
- Institute and Policlinic for Occupational Medicine, Environmental Medicine and Prevention Research, University Hospital of Cologne , Cologne, Germany
| | - J Valérie Groß
- Institute and Policlinic for Occupational Medicine, Environmental Medicine and Prevention Research, University Hospital of Cologne , Cologne, Germany
| | - Russell G Foster
- Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Sleep and Circadian Neuroscience Institute, OMPI G, Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, University of Oxford , Oxford, UK
| | - Ora Paltiel
- Braun School of Public Health and Community Medicine, Hadassah-Hebrew University , Jerusalem, Israel
| | - Mark A Klebanoff
- Departments of Pediatrics and Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Division of Epidemiology, Ohio State University , Columbus, Ohio, USA.,Center for Perinatal Research, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children's Hospital , Columbus, Ohio, USA
| | - Jean Golding
- Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol , Bristol, UK
| | - Sjurdur Olsen
- Department of Epidemiology Research, Statens Serum Institut , Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Per Magnus
- Centre for Fertility and Health, Norwegian Institute of Public Health , Oslo, Norway
| | - Anne-Louise Ponsonby
- Population Epidemiology, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, University of Melbourne , Melbourne, Australia
| | - Martha S Linet
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, NIH , Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Mary H Ward
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, NIH , Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Neil Caporaso
- Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics, National Cancer Institute, NIH , Bethesda, Maryland, USA
| | - Terence Dwyer
- Population Epidemiology, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, University of Melbourne , Melbourne, Australia.,The George Institute for Global Health, University of Oxford , UK
| | - Thomas C Erren
- Institute and Policlinic for Occupational Medicine, Environmental Medicine and Prevention Research, University Hospital of Cologne , Cologne, Germany
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Lewis P, Erren TC. Perinatal light imprinting of circadian clocks and systems ( PLICCS): A signature of photoperiod around birth on circadian system stability and association with cancer. Chronobiol Int 2017; 34:782-801. [PMID: 28430521 DOI: 10.1080/07420528.2017.1315125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
Recent findings from animal models suggest that plasticity of human circadian clocks and systems may be differentially affected by different paradigms of perinatal photoperiod exposure to the detriment of health in later life, including cancer development. Focusing on the example of cancer, we carry out a series of systematic literature reviews concerning perinatal light imprinting of circadian clocks and systems (PLICCS) in animal models, and concerning the risk of cancer development with the primary determinants of the perinatal photoperiod, namely season of birth or latitude of birth. The results from these systematic reviews provide supporting evidence of the PLICCS and cancer rationale and highlight that investigations of PLICCS in humans are warranted. Overall, we discuss findings from experimental research and insights from epidemiological studies. Considerations as to how to "test" PLICCS in epidemiological studies and as to the potential for non-invasive preventative measures during perinatal periods close our synthesis. If the PLICCS rationale holds true, it opens the exciting prospect for amenable, early-life, preventative measures against cancer development (and other disorders) in later life. Indeed, non-invasive anthropogenic light exposure may have enormous potential to alleviate the public health and economic burden of circadian-related diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip Lewis
- a Institute and Policlinic for Occupational Medicine, Environmental Medicine and Prevention Research , University Hospital of Cologne , Cologne , Germany
| | - Thomas C Erren
- a Institute and Policlinic for Occupational Medicine, Environmental Medicine and Prevention Research , University Hospital of Cologne , Cologne , Germany
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