Linking genetic and environmental factors in amphibian disease risk

SummaryAims– Genetics can offer new resources to epidemiology. This review will consider recent findings regarding the link between stress and depression as an example to illustrate the added value of employing genetics in epidemiological studies.Methods– Systematic review of medical and psychological databases.Results– Genetic and environmental factors may correlate. This suggests the potential for genetic mediation of the exposure to the environment. Gene-environment correlations can help epidemiologists to better understand causal pathways and suggest effective therapeutic strategies. Genetic and environmental factors may also interact. This suggests the potential for genetic modification of environmental effects on disease risk. Gene-environment interactions can help epidemiologists to identify vulnerable individuals and strata-specific environmental effects.Conclusions– New models of disease based on the interplay between genes and environments are providing epidemiology with a new set of testable hypotheses that will advance our understanding of mental health and illness.Declaration of Interest:Dr. Danese is holder of the Wellcome Trust Research Training Fellowship in Clinical Science.

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Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance of diabetes risk as a consequence of early nutritional imbalances

Proceedings of The Nutrition Society ◽

10.1017/s0029665115004231 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 75 (1) ◽

pp. 78-89 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

Josep C. Jimenez-Chillaron ◽

Marta Ramon-Krauel ◽

Silvia Ribo ◽

Ruben Diaz

Keyword(s):

Environmental Factors ◽

Physical Inactivity ◽

Metabolic Diseases ◽

Disease Risk ◽

Epigenetic Inheritance ◽

Transgenerational Inheritance ◽

Parental Nutrition ◽

Inheritance Of Diabetes ◽

Genetic And Environmental Factors

In today's world, there is an unprecedented rise in the prevalence of chronic metabolic diseases, including obesity, insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes (T2D). The pathogenesis of T2D includes both genetic and environmental factors, such as excessive energy intake and physical inactivity. It has recently been suggested that environmental factors experienced during early stages of development, including the intrauterine and neonatal periods, might play a major role in predisposing individuals to T2D. Furthermore, several studies have shown that such early environmental conditions might even contribute to disease risk in further generations. In this review, we summarise recent data describing how parental nutrition during development increases the risk of diabetes in the offspring. We also discuss the potential mechanisms underlying transgenerational inheritance of metabolic disease, with particular emphasis on epigenetic mechanisms.

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Gene-Environment Interaction: A Genetic-Epidemiological Approach

Journal of Medical Biochemistry ◽

10.2478/v10011-010-0021-z ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 29 (3) ◽

pp. 131-134 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Tatjana Pekmezović

Keyword(s):

Environmental Factors ◽

Genetic Epidemiology ◽

Disease Risk ◽

Environmental Exposures ◽

Molecular Medicine ◽

Environment Interaction ◽

Gene Environment Interaction ◽

Gene Environment ◽

Genetic And Environmental Factors ◽

Epidemiological Approach

Gene-Environment Interaction: A Genetic-Epidemiological ApproachClassical epidemiology addresses the distribution and determinants of diseases in populations, and the factors associated with disease causation, with the aim of preventing disease. Both genetic and environmental factors may contribute to susceptibility, and it is still unclear how these factors interact in their influence on risk. Genetic epidemiology is the field which incorporates concepts and methods from different disciplines including epidemiology, genetics, biostatistics, clinical and molecular medicine, and their interaction is crucial to understanding the role of genetic and environmental factors in disease processes. The study of gene-environment interaction is central in the field of genetic epidemiology. Gene-environment interaction is defined as »a different effect of an environmental exposure on disease risk in persons with different genotypes,« or, alternatively, »a different effect of a genotype on disease risk in persons with different environmental exposures.« Five biologically plausible models are described for the relations between genotypes and environmental exposures, in terms of their effects on disease risk. Therefore, the study of gene-environment interaction is important for improving accuracy and precision in the assessment of both genetic and environmental factors, especially in disorders of less defined etiology. Genetic epidemiology is also applied at the various levels of disease prevention.

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Variably methylated regions in the newborn epigenome: environmental, genetic and combined influences

10.1101/436113 ◽

2018 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Darina Czamara ◽

Gökçen Eraslan ◽

Jari Lahti ◽

Christian M. Page ◽

Marius Lahti-Pulkkinen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Dna Methylation ◽

Environmental Factors ◽

Genetic Variants ◽

Disease Risk ◽

Association Studies ◽

Information Criterion ◽

Genome Wide Association Studies ◽

Complex Disorders ◽

Genetic And Environmental Factors ◽

Genomic Regions

AbstractBackgroundEpigenetic processes, including DNA methylation (DNAm), are among the mechanisms allowing integration of genetic and environmental factors to shape cellular function. While many studies have investigated either environmental or genetic contributions to DNAm, few have assessed their integrated effects. We examined the relative contributions of prenatal environmental factors and genotype on DNA methylation in neonatal blood at variably methylated regions (VMRs), defined as consecutive CpGs showing the highest variability of DNAm in 4 independent cohorts (PREDO, DCHS, UCI, MoBa, N=2,934).ResultsWe used Akaike’s information criterion to test which factors best explained variability of methylation in the cohort-specific VMRs: several prenatal environmental factors (E) including maternal demographic, psychosocial and metabolism related phenotypes, genotypes in cis (G), or their additive (G+E) or interaction (GxE) effects. G+E and GxE models consistently best explained variability in DNAm of VMRs across the cohorts, with G explaining the remaining sites best. VMRs best explained by G, GxE or G+E, as well as their associated functional genetic variants (predicted using deep learning algorithms), were located in distinct genomic regions, with different enrichments for transcription and enhancer marks. Genetic variants of not only G and G+E models, but also of variants in GxE models were significantly enriched in genome wide association studies (GWAS) for complex disorders.ConclusionGenetic and environmental factors in combination best explain DNAm at VMRs. The CpGs best explained by G, G+E or GxE are functionally distinct. The enrichment of GxE variants in GWAS for complex disorders supports their importance for disease risk.

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Reductionist thinking and animal models in neuropsychiatric research

Behavioral and Brain Sciences ◽

10.1017/s0140525x18001231 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 42 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Nicole M. Baran

Keyword(s):

Animal Models ◽

Mental Disorders ◽

Environmental Factors ◽

Neuropsychiatric Disorders ◽

Model Organisms ◽

Developmental Genetic ◽

Term Study ◽

Genetic And Environmental Factors ◽

Mechanisms Of Plasticity

AbstractReductionist thinking in neuroscience is manifest in the widespread use of animal models of neuropsychiatric disorders. Broader investigations of diverse behaviors in non-model organisms and longer-term study of the mechanisms of plasticity will yield fundamental insights into the neurobiological, developmental, genetic, and environmental factors contributing to the “massively multifactorial system networks” which go awry in mental disorders.

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