Neonatal AVPR1a Methylation and In-Utero Exposure to Maternal Smoking

Nichole Nidey; Katherine Bowers; Lili Ding; Hong Ji; Robert T Ammerman; Kimberly Yolton; E Melinda Mahabee-Gittens; Alonzo T Folger

doi:10.3390/toxics11100855

Neonatal AVPR1a Methylation and In-Utero Exposure to Maternal Smoking

Toxics. 2023 Oct 13;11(10):855. doi: 10.3390/toxics11100855.

Authors

Nichole Nidey¹, Katherine Bowers², Lili Ding², Hong Ji³, Robert T Ammerman⁴, Kimberly Yolton⁵, E Melinda Mahabee-Gittens⁶, Alonzo T Folger²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Epidemiology, University of Iowa College of Public Health, Iowa City, IA 52242, USA.
² Division of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA.
³ Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Cell Biology, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA.
⁴ Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA.
⁵ Division of General and Community Pediatrics, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA.
⁶ Division of Emergency Medicine, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, OH 45229, USA.

Abstract

(1) Introduction: Epigenetic changes have been proposed as a biologic link between in-utero exposure to maternal smoking and health outcomes. Therefore, we examined if in-utero exposure to maternal smoking was associated with infant DNA methylation (DNAm) of cytosine-phosphate-guanine dinucleotides (CpG sites) in the arginine vasopressin receptor 1A AVPR1a gene. The AVPR1a gene encodes a receptor that interacts with the arginine vasopressin hormone and may influence physiological stress regulation, blood pressure, and child development. (2) Methods: Fifty-two infants were included in this cohort study. Multivariable linear models were used to examine the effect of in-utero exposure to maternal smoking on the mean DNAm of CpG sites located at AVPR1a. (3) Results: After adjusting the model for substance use, infants with in-utero exposure to maternal smoking had a reduction in DNAm at AVPR1a CpG sites by -0.02 (95% CI -0.03, -0.01) at one month of age. In conclusion, in-utero exposure to tobacco smoke can lead to differential patterns of DNAm of AVPR1a among infants. Conclusions: Future studies are needed to identify how gene expression in response to early environmental exposures contributes to health outcomes.

Keywords: AVPR1a; DNA methylation; epigenetics; maternal smoking.

Abstract

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