Project R-6385

Placental molecular signatures of prenatal exposure predictive of environmental effects on neurodevelopment in early life. (Research)

Increasing evidence suggests that prenatal exposure to environmental factors can induce changes which may "program" the fetus leading to alteration of its susceptibility for diseases later in life. Changes in the genome, transcriptome, epigenome and proteome with long-lasting effects on setting off the neuroendocrine control systems, energy homeostasis, and metabolism are postulated to play a key role in fetal programming. For the development of the fetal brain, the placenta plays a crucial role and seems to be a good candidate organ to reflect in utero exposures. Therefore, the general hypothesis of my project is to explore changes in underlying pathways associated with prenatal exposure to particulate matter air pollution which may reflect specific genomic, transcriptomic and epigenetic mechanistic alterations in placental tissue possibly contributing to perturbations in neurocognitive development. A variety of molecular tools will be applied on placental tissue biopts of the ENVIRONAGE birth cohort (n=500), such as single nucleotide polymorphisms, and transcriptomic and epigenetic markers. Potential targets are genes of the transient-receptor-potential gene family and genes of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor, dopaminergic and serotonergic pathways associated with neurodevelopment. Unraveling these early life pathways and events is of great importance for a more effective prevention of harmful effects of environmental and lifestyle exposures during a vulnerable period in life.

01 October 2015 - 17 March 2020