The epigenetic effects of prenatal folate supplementation on male CD1 mouse fetuses exposed in utero to arsenic

Public Deposited
Analytics

Downloadable Content

Download PDF
Request Version for Screen Reader
Last Modified
  • March 21, 2019
Creator
  • Tsang, Verne
    • Affiliation: Gillings School of Global Public Health, Department of Nutrition
Abstract
  • Inorganic arsenic (iAs) is a common drinking water contaminant and transplacental carcinogen in mice, and possibly in humans. Recent animal studies suggest the mechanism of iAs carcinogenesis may include competition for S-adenosylmethionine required for both iAs and fetal DNA methylation, causing aberrant gene expression and cancer in adulthood. We exposed mouse dams to 0 or 85ppm iAs in drinking-water while feeding them a diet containing either 2.2 or 11mg/kg of folate. At gestational day (GD) 18, we examined DNA methylation patterns in fetal livers using CpG-island microarrays. Our results show that compared to folate supplementation alone, combined exposure to iAs and folate dramatically increased the number of CpG islands with altered methylation patterns. The most affected genes were associated with the cancer, neurological development, and cell signaling networks. This data raises concern about the efficiency and potential risks associated with folate supplementation in human populations chronically exposed to iAs.
Date of publication
DOI
Resource type
Rights statement
  • In Copyright
Note
  • "... in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in the Department of Nutrition (Biochemistry)."
Advisor
  • Drobna, Zuzana
  • Styblo, Miroslav
Degree granting institution
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Language
Publisher
Place of publication
  • Chapel Hill, NC
Access right
  • Open access
Date uploaded
  • March 18, 2013

Relations

Parents:

This work has no parents.

Items

Thumbnail Title Date Uploaded Visibility Actions
file details 2019-04-09 Public Download