TY - JOUR
T1 - Alcohol effects on the epigenome in the germline
T2 - Role in the inheritance of alcohol-related pathology
AU - Chastain, Lucy G.
AU - Sarkar, Dipak K.
N1 - Funding Information:
This work is partly supported by NIH grants R37AA08757, R01AA011591 to DKS, and F32AA023434 grant to LC. We would like to thank Aaron DeLaRosa for his assistance in illustrating the figures.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Elsevier Inc.
PY - 2017/5/1
Y1 - 2017/5/1
N2 - Excessive alcohol exposure has severe health consequences, and clinical and animal studies have demonstrated that disruptions in the epigenome of somatic cells, such as those in brain, are an important factor in the development of alcohol-related pathologies, such as alcohol-use disorders (AUDs) and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs). It is also well known that alcohol-related health problems are passed down across generations in human populations, but the complete mechanisms for this phenomenon are currently unknown. Recent studies in animal models have suggested that epigenetic factors are also responsible for the transmission of alcohol-related pathologies across generations. Alcohol exposure has been shown to induce changes in the epigenome of sperm of exposed male animals, and these epimutations are inherited in the offspring. This paper reviews evidence for multigenerational and transgenerational epigenetic inheritance of alcohol-related pathology through the germline. We also review the literature on the epigenetic effects of alcohol exposure on somatic cells in brain, and its contribution to AUDs and FASDs. We note gaps in knowledge in this field, such as the lack of clinical studies in human populations and the lack of data on epigenetic inheritance via the female germline, and we suggest future research directions.
AB - Excessive alcohol exposure has severe health consequences, and clinical and animal studies have demonstrated that disruptions in the epigenome of somatic cells, such as those in brain, are an important factor in the development of alcohol-related pathologies, such as alcohol-use disorders (AUDs) and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs). It is also well known that alcohol-related health problems are passed down across generations in human populations, but the complete mechanisms for this phenomenon are currently unknown. Recent studies in animal models have suggested that epigenetic factors are also responsible for the transmission of alcohol-related pathologies across generations. Alcohol exposure has been shown to induce changes in the epigenome of sperm of exposed male animals, and these epimutations are inherited in the offspring. This paper reviews evidence for multigenerational and transgenerational epigenetic inheritance of alcohol-related pathology through the germline. We also review the literature on the epigenetic effects of alcohol exposure on somatic cells in brain, and its contribution to AUDs and FASDs. We note gaps in knowledge in this field, such as the lack of clinical studies in human populations and the lack of data on epigenetic inheritance via the female germline, and we suggest future research directions.
KW - Birth outcome
KW - DNA methylation
KW - Fetal alcohol
KW - Germline transmission
KW - Offspring anxiety behavior
KW - Offspring stress response
KW - Preconception alcohol
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U2 - 10.1016/j.alcohol.2016.12.007
DO - 10.1016/j.alcohol.2016.12.007
M3 - Review article
C2 - 28431793
AN - SCOPUS:85017520760
SN - 0741-8329
VL - 60
SP - 53
EP - 66
JO - Alcohol
JF - Alcohol
ER -