Open AccessOocyte age and preconceptual alcohol use are highly correlated with epigenetic imprinting of a noncoding RNA ( nc886 )
Author(s) -
Brittany L. Carpenter,
Tanaka K Remba,
Stacey L. Thomas,
Zachary Madaj,
Lucy Brink,
Rochelle L. Tiedemann,
Hein J. Odendaal,
Peter A. Jones
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.011
H-Index - 771
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.2026580118
Subject(s) - genomic imprinting , imprinting (psychology) , epigenetics , epigenome , biology , dna methylation , oocyte , genetics , gene , gene expression , embryo
Significance Genomic imprinting is essential for human development and occurs in germ cells before fertilization. The noncoding RNA,nc886 , is the only known example of more than 100 such human genes which shows variable frequencies of maternal imprinting. Here, we show that the DNA methylation imprint is present in oocytes and that the probability of imprinting increases as a function of maternal age. Importantly, we demonstrate that alcohol consumption but not cigarette smoking is associated with a lower frequency of imprinting. While most studies focus on the postconceptional developmental time, our work indicates that maternal age and exposures the year prior to pregnancy may alter the epigenome and therefore the developing child.