Elevated exposures to persistent endocrine disrupting compounds impact the sperm methylome in regions associated with autism spectrum disorder

Authors

Angela G. Maggio, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC, United States.
Henry T. Shu, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC, United States.
Benjamin I. Laufer, Genome Center, Perinatal Origins of Disparities Center, Environmental Health Sciences Center, Medical Microbiology and Immunology, MIND Institute, UC Davis School of Medicine, Davis, CA, United States.
Chongfeng Bi, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC, United States.
Yinglei Lai, Department of Statistics, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, United States.
Janine M. LaSalle, Genome Center, Perinatal Origins of Disparities Center, Environmental Health Sciences Center, Medical Microbiology and Immunology, MIND Institute, UC Davis School of Medicine, Davis, CA, United States.
Valerie W. Hu, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, DC, United States.

Document Type

Journal Article

Publication Date

1-1-2022

Journal

Frontiers in genetics

Volume

13

DOI

10.3389/fgene.2022.929471

Keywords

DNA methylation; Faroe Islands; autism; endocrine disrupting compounds; sperm

Abstract

Environmental exposures to endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) such as the organochlorines have been linked with various diseases including neurodevelopmental disorders. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a highly complex neurodevelopmental disorder that is considered strongly genetic in origin due to its high heritability. However, the rapidly rising prevalence of ASD suggests that environmental factors may also influence risk for ASD. In the present study, whole genome bisulfite sequencing was used to identify genome-wide differentially methylated regions (DMRs) in a total of 52 sperm samples from a cohort of men from the Faroe Islands (Denmark) who were equally divided into high and low exposure groups based on their serum levels of the long-lived organochlorine 1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)ethylene (DDE), a primary breakdown product of the now banned insecticide dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT). Aside from being considered a genetic isolate, inhabitants of the Faroe Islands have a native diet that potentially exposes them to a wide range of seafood neurotoxicants in the form of persistent organic pollutants (POPs). The DMRs were mapped to the human genome using Bismark, a 3-letter aligner used for methyl-seq analyses. Gene ontology, functional, and pathway analyses of the DMR-associated genes showed significant enrichment for genes involved in neurological functions and neurodevelopmental processes frequently impacted by ASD. Notably, these genes also significantly overlap with autism risk genes as well as those previously identified in sperm from fathers of children with ASD in comparison to that of fathers of neurotypical children. These results collectively suggest a possible mechanism involving altered methylation of a significant number of neurologically relevant ASD risk genes for introducing epigenetic changes associated with environmental exposures into the sperm methylome. Such changes may provide the potential for transgenerational inheritance of ASD as well as other disorders.

APA Citation

Maggio, Angela G.; Shu, Henry T.; Laufer, Benjamin I.; Bi, Chongfeng; Lai, Yinglei; LaSalle, Janine M.; and Hu, Valerie W., "Elevated exposures to persistent endocrine disrupting compounds impact the sperm methylome in regions associated with autism spectrum disorder" (2022). GW Authored Works. Paper 1487.
https://hsrc.himmelfarb.gwu.edu/gwhpubs/1487

Department

Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine