Abstract
Prenatal exposure to mercury in utero causes abnormal foetal growth and adverse outcomes. DNA methylation is currently considered a possible mechanism through which this occurs. However, few studies have investigated the association between prenatal exposure to mercury and DNA methylation in detail. This study aimed to clarify the relationship between prenatal exposure to total mercury (Hg) and DNA methylation and its associations with sex-specific characteristics in male and female offspring. In a birth cohort study known as the Chiba study of Mother and Child Health, the DNA methylation status in cord tissue and Hg concentrations in cord serum were examined. A total of 67 participants (27 males and 40 females) were analysed based on Spearman's correlations, adjusted by a false discovery rate of the sex of each offspring. Only one methylated locus was positively correlated with Hg concentrations in cord serum in male offspring, but not in female offspring, and was annotated to the haloacid dehalogenase-like hydrolase domain-containing protein 1 (HDHD1) gene on chromosome X. This locus was located in the intron of the HDHD1 gene body and is a binding site for the zinc finger protein CCCTC-binding factor. One of the other loci, located in HDHD1, was highly methylated in the group with higher mercury concentrations, and this locus was in the gene body of HDHD1. Our results suggest that prenatal exposure to Hg might affect the epigenetic status of male foetuses.
Highlights
Mercury is a ubiquitous global environmental contaminant; it exists in elemental, organic and inorganic forms and can be found in humans, plants and animals all around the world
Ninety-four participants from the Chiba Study of Mother and Child Health (C-MACH) cohort study at the Onodera Ladies Clinic in Chiba were included in the present study because their umbilical cord quality was considered appropriate for DNA methylation array analysis
As a result, the correlation between the status of DNA methylation and the concentration of Hg was still significant (Table 2; Model 2). In this exploratory study of 67 Japanese infants, serum mercury concentrations at birth were associated with the DNA methylation of a single CpG site in cord tissue obtained from male infants only
Summary
Mercury is a ubiquitous global environmental contaminant; it exists in elemental, organic and inorganic forms and can be found in humans, plants and animals all around the world. All forms of mercury cause toxicity, such as gastrointestinal toxicity, neurotoxicity and nephrotoxicity; methylmercury (MeHg) is one of the most toxic forms of this element.[1,2] Exposure to MeHg typically occurs upon consuming fish and other seafood.[3]. It has been reported that the total concentration of mercury in the blood can be an indicator of MeHg, and total mercury rather than MeHg has been measured in several epidemiological studies.[7]
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