Early environmental effects on epigenetic regulation in humans

Abstract

We all know our environment affects our risk of disease. But importantly, the health consequences of environmental exposures depend not only on their severity but also on their timing relative to developmental milestones. The developmental origins hypothesis is based on the fact that certain early environmental exposures alter developmental trajectories, causing permanent changes in physiology and risk of disease. Of several potential mechanisms of such ‘metabolic imprinting’ proposed a decade ago, early environmental influences on epigenetic regulation have received increasing attention.