Grasping Epigenetics
Grasping Epigenetics: We’ll embark on a fascinating journey into the realm of epigenetics, unraveling the intricate mechanisms by which environmental factors shape gene expression and influence health outcomes. Specifically, we’ll study:
The ABCs of (Epi)genetics: Acquaint participants with key terms and concepts in genetics and epigenetics, including DNA, genes, chromosomes, and epigenetic modifications such as methylation, acetylation, and histone modification.
Introduction to Epigenetic Mechanisms: Explore the fundamental mechanisms underlying epigenetic regulation, including modifications to DNA and histone proteins, and their role in modulating gene expression and cellular function.
Environmental Epigenetics: Investigate how external factors, such as diet, stress, toxins, and socio-environmental factors, influence epigenetic modifications and contribute to health and disease susceptibility across the lifespan.
Early Life Experiences and Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD): Examine the concept of DOHaD, exploring how early life experiences, including prenatal and postnatal environments, can shape epigenetic patterns and have lasting effects on health outcomes in adulthood.
Epigenetics in Cancer and Neurological Disorders: Delve into the emerging field of neuroepigenetics and the role of epigenetic dysregulation in cancer and neurological disorders, shedding light on potential therapeutic targets and interventions.
Ethical Considerations: Reflect on the ethical implications of epigenetic research and applications, considering issues such as consent, privacy, and equity in the context of personalized medicine and environmental health.
Community Implementation:
Educating Communities: Equip participants with the knowledge and communication tools to effectively educate communities on the impact of environmental factors on prenatal and postnatal health, empowering them to make informed decisions and advocate for healthier environments.
Addressing Community Challenges: Collaboratively identify and address community-specific challenges related to epigenetics, fostering partnerships and initiatives aimed at promoting health equity, environmental justice, and community resilience.
The videolectures that follow are parts of the MOOCs I (Olga Gouni) developed as part of my work in COST Action programmes I participated in.
Over the last few years, new words have entered our vocabulary. The advances in the field of understanding human experience has led us to create new terms to accomodate the new. Epigenetics is one of them. In short, epigenetics is the study of how our behaviors and environment interact causing changes that affect the way our genes work. These epigenetic changes are reversible and do not change our DNA sequence, but they can change how our body reads a DNA sequence. We would say it is an issue of interpretation. The way we interpret our reality defines the quality of health we enjoy.
But is Epigenetics a new story? Perhaps you get surprised to know that it is NOT. Watch the short introduction before sharing more.
Bruce H. Lipton, PhD is one of the biologists who has worked in the field,bridging non-academics with the science behind epigenetics. Listen to him below.
Bruce Lipton Explains Epigenetics.
The following short video by Moshe Szyf (a TED talk) allows a better understanding within the field.
Epigenetics – our bodies’ way to change the destiny written in our DNA by Moshe Szyf
DNA methylation is an epigenetic mechanism involving the transfer of a methyl group onto the C5 position of the cytosine to form 5-methylcytosine. DNA methylation regulates gene expression by recruiting proteins involved in gene repression or by inhibiting the binding of transcription factor(s) to DNA… DNA methylation is essential for silencing retroviral elements, regulating tissue-specific gene expression, genomic imprinting, and X chromosome inactivation. Prof Rosita Gabbianelli introduces us to the basic concepts in the field of Epigenetics and helps us better understand how DNA methylation works, what histone modification means as well as Acetylation or the reverse process and provides the Ariadne thread in the labyrinth of this new science.
DNA Methylation, Histone Modification and Other … Stories
Behavioral Epigenetics (Robert Sapolsky)
Behavioral epigenetics is defined as the study of how epigenetic alterations induced by experience and environmental stress may affect behavior. It studies epigenetic alterations due to environmental enrichment. Generally, molecular processes underlying epigenetic regulation in behavioral epigenetics include DNA methylation, post-translational histone modifications, noncoding RNA activity, and other unknown molecular processes.
On April 12, 2010, Robert Sapolsky introduces a two-part series exploring the controversial scientific practice of inferring behavior to genetics. He covers classical techniques in behavior genetics and flaws, the significance of environmental factors, non genetic inheritance of traits, and multigenerational effects and relationship to epigenetic differences.
Behavioral Epigenetics (Robert Sapolsky)
Two days later, Robert Sapolsky continues his series addressing the link between behavior and genetics. He covers the complex endeavor of gene isolation and variability and heritability and wrongly eliminated environmental influences in heritability tests — finding that genes and environment are infinitely interconnected and co-dependent on each other.
Behavioral Epigenetics II
Determinants of Epigenetic Changes (Rosita Gabbianelli and Olga Gouni)
DNA methylation patterns are influenced by the underlying genetic sequence, stochastic changes, socio-economic or cultural environmental factors and other epigenetic mechanisms, resulting in differing methylation patterns across populations, age, tissue and loci. Prof Rosita Gabbianelli discusses the importance of such factors and the responsibility of all involved in decision making to reduce -if not eliminate- what causes problems, and empower those factors that contribute to health.
Early Caregiving and Epigenetics in Humans (Michael Meaney)
The video features Michael J. Meaney as he presented in Oct 27, 2014 Ricciuti Lecture titled How the early social environment influences the structure and function of the genome in the offspring.
Michael J. Meaney, CM, CQ, FRSC, is a professor at McGill University specializing in biological psychiatry, neurology, and neurosurgery. He is primarily known for his research on stress, maternal care, and gene expression and he is considered to be one of the key pioneers in the field. In this lecture, he shows how the experience of the child is “biologically embedded” and serves to influence health and capacity over the lifespan. As he says, our brain is directly regulated by our social environment. This is apparent in our DNA which is potentially stable determining the life quality of the child as (s)he grows up and becomes an adult. You can download the ppt used by Michael Meaney in this lecture here M.Meaney_EarlyEnvironReg_PPT_20Sept2013_171875_28973_v4 Download
The following presentation comes fro Dr Susanne King: Prenatal Maternal Traumatic Stress from Population Level Disasters & Effects on the Unborn Child
Periods of Sensitivity: Epigenetic control of the stress response (Prof Jonathan Turner)
Introduction to Longitudinal Studies
More on Epigenetics A
More on Epigenetics B
Παρακαλούνται οι συμμετέχοντες στην Εληνική γλώσσα να μελετούν το υλικό που υπάρχει στα Αγγλικά επίσης. Δίνονται στοιχεία που είναι σημαντικά.
Συζήτηση πάνω στην Επιγενετική 1Α
Συζήτηση πάνω στην Επιγενετική 1Β
Συζήτηση πάνω στην Επιγενετική 1C
From Epigenesis to Epigenetics (the slides)
Epigenesis and Preformationism
Behavioral Epigenetics The Last Nail in the Coffin of Genetic Determinism
A Basic Vocabulary in Epigenetics
The enzymes that establish, recognize and remove DNA methylation are broken into 3 classes: writers, erasers and readers. Writers are the enzymes that catalyze the addition of methyl groups onto cytosine residues. Erasers modify and remove the methyl group. Readers recognize and bind to methyl groups to influence gene expression… (Moore et al., 2013)
The readers are specialized domain containing proteins that identify and interpret those modification. They can be broadly classified into four groups: chromatin architectural proteins, chromatin remodeling enzymes, chromatin modifiers, and adaptor proteins that recruit other machinery involved in gene expression. chromatin architectural proteins, bind to nucleosomes and can either directly induce chromatin compaction or alternatively act as a shield to prevent the binding of proteins involved in RNA transcription. Chromatin remodeling enzymes prompt a more open chromatin architecture. Adaptor proteins recruit factors that are linked to DNA metabolism processes including transcription, DNA damage repair, DNA recombination, DNA replication and RNA processing. Finally, many other proteins that contain reader domains cannot directly influence chromatin architecture, but instead serve to recruit secondary chromatin modifiers to further modify chromatin or to reverse an existing chromatin modification.
Specific protein complexes, known as histone-modifying complexes catalyze addition or removal of various chemical elements on histones. These enzymatic modifications include acetylation, methylation, phosphorylation and uniquitination They affect the binding affinity between histones and DNA, and thus loosening or tightening the condensed DNA wrapped around histones, e.g., Methylation of specific lysine residues in H3 and H4 causes further condensation of DNA around histones, and thereby prevents binding of transcription factors to the DNA that lead to gene repression. On the contrary, histone acetylation relaxes chromatin condensation and exposes DNA for TF binding, leading to increased gene expression.
DNA Methylation and its Basic Function
Epigenetics: Principles and Practice
Epigenetic Rules
Translation of epigenetic rules of individual behavior into ethnographic patterns
Epigenetics and Psychology
Behavioral Epigenetics: Perspectives Based on Experience-Dependent Epigenetic Inheritance
Behavioral Epigenetics: How Nurture Shapes Nature
Genetic Determinants of Epigenetic Patterns: Providing Insight into Disease
Epigenetic Programming by Maternal Behavior in the Human Infant
Epigenetics and Child Health: Basic Principles
The early-life years represent a period of particular susceptibility to epigenetic alteration, as active changes in DNA methylation and histone marks are occurring as part of developmental programs and in response to environmental cues, which notably include psychosocial stimulation and maternal behavior. Memory formation and storage, response to stress in adult life, behavior, and manifestation of neurodegenerative conditions can all be imprinted in the organism by epigenetic modifications that contribute to shape the brain during prenatal or early postnatal life. Moreover, if these epigenetic alterations are preserved in the germ line, changes induced in one generation are likely inherited by future offspring. Programming by transgenerational inheritance thus represents a central mechanism by which environmental conditions may influence disease risk across multiple generations.
As novel techniques emerge and as genome-wide profiling of disease-associated methylomes is achieved, epigenetic marks open a new source for biomarker discovery. (Desplats, P. (2015). Perinatal Programming of Neurodevelopment: Epigenetic Mechanisms and the Prenatal Shaping of the Brain. In: Antonelli, M. (eds) Perinatal Programming of Neurodevelopment. Advances in Neurobiology, vol 10. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4939-1372-5_16)
Read the following paper
(2019) A review of epigenetic contributions
to post-traumatic stress disorder
, Dialogues in Clinical Neuroscience, 21:4, 417-428, DOI: 10.31887/DCNS.2019.21.4/kressler
On The Leningrad Siege, Dutch Famine and Quebec Ice-Storm
Abstract: During the Second World War Leningrad suffered the greatest demographic catastrophe ever experienced by one city in the history of mankind. Estimates of its scale vary widely and the exact number of dead will never be known; but the data examined in the present volume show that there were at least three-quarters of a million civilian deaths in Leningrad during the siege, with half a million people dying in the winter of 1941-42 alone. When to these are added military deaths in nearly three years of fighting near Leningrad, the total death toll is well over a million.1 Devastated though other cities were in the course of the war — Dresden and Hamburg, Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Stalingrad and Warsaw — none saw death on such a scale as Leningrad. And unlike these, Leningrad did not suffer its huge loss of life in the course of military action. It was not combat, bombing or shelling which caused the massive number of deaths. The great majority of those who perished in Leningrad died directly or indirectly of hunger. They were victims of the German blockade which Hitler ordered in September 1941 to force the city’s capitulation by denying its population the means of survival — by starving it into surrender. Cut off from land contact with the rest of the country, and with food reserves and supplies catastrophically reduced, Leningrad was subjected to famine in the winter of 1941-42 on a scale unprecedented in a modern urban society.
Citation: Barber, J. (2005). Introduction: Leningrad’s Place in the History of Famine. In: Barber, J., Dzeniskevich, A. (eds) Life and Death in Besieged Leningrad, 1941–44. Studies in Russian and East European History and Society. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403938824_1
Transgenerational and intergenerational effects of early childhood famine exposure in the cohort of offspring of Leningrad Siege survivors
Citation: Tolkunova, K., Usoltsev, D., Moguchaia, E. et al. Transgenerational and intergenerational effects of early childhood famine exposure in the cohort of offspring of Leningrad Siege survivors. Sci Rep 13, 11188 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-023-37119-8
Cohort profile: the Dutch famine birth cohort (DFBC)— a prospective birth cohort study in the Netherlands
Citation: Bleker LS, de Rooij SR, Painter RC, Ravelli AC, Roseboom TJ. Cohort profile: the Dutch famine birth cohort (DFBC)- a prospective birth cohort study in the Netherlands. BMJ Open. 2021 Mar 4;11(3):e042078. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-042078. PMID: 33664071; PMCID: PMC7934722.
Decreased amygdala-sensorimotor connectivity mediates the association between prenatal stress and broad autism phenotype in young adults: Project Ice Storm
Citation: Li X, Naveed Iqbal Qureshi M, Laplante DP, Elgbeili G, Paquin V, Lee Jones S, King S, Rosa-Neto P. Decreased amygdala-sensorimotor connectivity mediates the association between prenatal stress and broad autism phenotype in young adults: Project Ice Storm. Stress. 2024 Jan;27(1):2293698. doi: 10.1080/10253890.2023.2293698. Epub 2023 Dec 22. PMID: 38131654.
ETHICAL ISSUES
Ethical considerations in epigenetics primarily revolve around the potential implications of epigenetic research and interventions on individuals, families, and society as a whole. Some key ethical issues include:
- Privacy and Informed Consent: Epigenetic research often involves collecting and analyzing biological samples, such as DNA and tissue samples, which raises concerns about privacy and informed consent. Researchers must ensure that participants fully understand the purpose of the study, the potential risks and benefits, and how their data will be used and protected.
- Stigmatization and Discrimination: Epigenetic findings may reveal information about an individual’s health status, susceptibility to diseases, or exposure to environmental factors. There is a risk that this information could lead to stigmatization or discrimination based on genetic or epigenetic profiles, particularly in areas such as employment, insurance, and social relationships.
- Equity and Access: As epigenetic research advances, there is a need to ensure equitable access to genetic and epigenetic testing, as well as any resulting interventions or treatments. There may be disparities in access based on factors such as socioeconomic status, geography, or ethnicity, which could exacerbate existing health inequalities.
- Genetic Modification and Enhancement: The potential for epigenetic interventions to modify gene expression raises ethical questions about the use of such technologies for purposes beyond treating or preventing disease. This includes concerns about the ethical boundaries of genetic enhancement, such as using epigenetic interventions to enhance cognitive abilities or physical traits.
- Environmental Justice: Epigenetics research has highlighted the role of environmental factors in shaping gene expression and health outcomes. Ethical considerations include addressing environmental injustices and advocating for policies that promote environmental health and equity, particularly in marginalized communities disproportionately affected by environmental hazards.
- Long-Term Implications: Epigenetic modifications acquired during early development or in response to environmental exposures may have long-term implications for health and disease across the lifespan and even across generations. Ethical considerations include understanding and mitigating potential intergenerational effects and ensuring that research findings are used responsibly to promote public health and well-being.
While epigenetics holds promise for improving health outcomes and understanding disease, there are potential unethical ways in which its findings could be misused. Some examples include:
- Genetic Discrimination: Employers, insurers, or other entities could misuse epigenetic information to discriminate against individuals based on their genetic or epigenetic profiles. This could lead to unfair treatment in employment, insurance coverage, or access to services.
- Eugenics and Genetic Enhancement: Epigenetic interventions could be used to select or modify traits in offspring for non-medical purposes, leading to concerns about eugenics and the creation of “designer babies.” This raises ethical questions about the boundaries of genetic enhancement and the potential for exacerbating social inequalities.
- Exploitative Research Practices: Researchers may conduct epigenetic studies without obtaining proper informed consent or adequately protecting participants’ privacy and confidentiality. This could lead to exploitation of vulnerable populations and violations of research ethics principles.
- Genetic Profiling and Surveillance: Governments or other authorities could misuse epigenetic information for surveillance purposes or to monitor certain populations based on their genetic or epigenetic characteristics. This could infringe on individuals’ rights to privacy and autonomy.
- Bioweapons Development: Epigenetic modifications could potentially be used as a form of bioweaponry to target specific populations or individuals based on their genetic vulnerabilities. This raises serious ethical concerns about the use of science for harmful purposes and the potential for genetic warfare.
- Environmental Injustice: Epigenetic research has highlighted the role of environmental factors in shaping gene expression and health outcomes. However, there is a risk that this information could be used to justify environmental injustices or neglect of communities disproportionately affected by environmental hazards.
It’s important for researchers, policymakers, and society as a whole to be vigilant against these unethical uses of epigenetic information and to ensure that epigenetics is used responsibly and ethically to benefit individuals and communities. This includes implementing safeguards such as strong ethical guidelines, regulations, and oversight mechanisms to advance individuals’ rights and well-being.
PART A: Study any 5 papers of the ones above. Then, extract 10 quotes and provide them together with the relevant citation. Finally, focus on one point that inspires you most and reflect on how this could be used to benefit the community. Write a short description of the project conceived. Follow the structure:
1. Quote I focuesd on (with citation)
2. Designed Project title
3. Short Description
4. Anticipated Benefit for the Community
5. Resources Needed
6. Network needed
Email your homework to info@cosmoanelixis.gr. Thank you.
PART B: Write a children’s story based on any of the following storylines: Email the stories to info@cosmoanelixis.gr
- “The Tale of Two Twins” Summary: Twins born with identical genes lead different lives, demonstrating how their choices and environments shape their health and well-being.
- “The Secret of Grandma’s Garden” Summary: A grandmother shares her gardening wisdom, revealing how she cares for her plants and teaches her grandchildren about the importance of nurturing both plants and people.
- “The Mystery of the Changing Leaves” Summary: In a magical forest, leaves change color based on the season and environmental factors, illustrating how external influences can alter genetic expression.