Association of grandmaternal smoking during pregnancy with DNA methylation of grandchildren: The Isle of Wight study

Authors

Rui Luo, University of Memphis
Hongmei Zhang, University of MemphisFollow
Nandini Mukherjee, University of Memphis
Wilfried Karmaus, University of Memphis
Veeresh Patil, David Hide Asthma and Allergy Research Centre
Hasan Arshad, David Hide Asthma and Allergy Research CentreFollow
Fawaz Mzayek, University of Memphis

Abstract

Lay abstract This study aimed to assess how grandmaternal smoking during pregnancy can affect the health of grandchildren. Underlying mechanisms may include epigenetic modifications. To address this topic, the authors investigated the intergenerational effects of grandmaternal smoking during pregnancy on the DNA methylation of grandchildren at birth based on the Isle of Wight birth Cohort. Twenty-three CpG sites were differentially methylated in grandchildren because of grandmaternal smoking during pregnancy, and eight of these were associated with changes in expression levels of 13 neighboring genes. Thus, grandmaternal smoking during pregnancy has an intergenerational effect on the DNA methylation profile of grandchildren independent of maternal smoking during pregnancy.

Publication Title

Epigenomics

Recommended Citation

Luo, R., Zhang, H., Mukherjee, N., Karmaus, W., Patil, V., Arshad, H., & Mzayek, F. (2021). Association of grandmaternal smoking during pregnancy with DNA methylation of grandchildren: The Isle of Wight study. Epigenomics, 13 (18), 1473-1483. https://doi.org/10.2217/epi-2020-0433