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DNA Methylation–Based Biomarkers of Environmental Exposures for Human Population Studies

  • Topical Collection on Environmental Epigenetics (A Cardenas and A Kupsco, Section Editors)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Purpose of Review

This manuscript orients the reader to the underlying motivations of environmental biomarker development for human population studies and provides the foundation for applying these novel biomarkers in future research. In this review, we focus our attention on the DNA methylation–based biomarkers of (i) smoking, among adults and pregnant women, (ii) lifetime cannabis use, (iii) alcohol consumption, and (iv) cumulative exposure to lead.

Recent Findings

Prior environmental exposures and lifestyle modulate DNA methylation levels. Exposure-related DNA methylation changes can either be persistent or reversible once the exposure is no longer present, and this combination of both persistent and reversible changes has essential value for biomarker development. Here, we present available biomarkers representing past and cumulative exposures using individual DNA methylation profiles.

Summary

In the present work, we describe how the field of environmental epigenetics can leverage machine learning algorithms to develop exposure biomarkers and reduce problems of misreporting exposures or limited access technology. We emphasize the crucial role of the individual DNA methylation profiles in those predictions, providing a summary of each biomarker, and highlighting their advantages, and limitations. Future research can cautiously leverage these DNA methylation–based biomarkers to understand the onset and progression of diseases.

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Funding

EC was supported by the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) (R01MD013310) and by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) (P30ES023515, U2CES026444, and UH3OD023337). JCN was supported by a NIH/NIA Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Award (1 F31AG056124-01A1).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Cambridge, MA, USA

    Jamaji C. Nwanaji-Enwerem

  2. Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Jamaji C. Nwanaji-Enwerem

  3. Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 17 E 102nd St. West 3rd Floor, New York, NY, 10029, USA

    Elena Colicino

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  1. Jamaji C. Nwanaji-Enwerem
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Correspondence to Elena Colicino.

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Nwanaji-Enwerem, J.C., Colicino, E. DNA Methylation–Based Biomarkers of Environmental Exposures for Human Population Studies. Curr Envir Health Rpt 7, 121–128 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40572-020-00269-2

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