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Review
. 2022 Feb 15:13:831221.
doi: 10.3389/fgene.2022.831221. eCollection 2022.

The Promise of DNA Methylation in Understanding Multigenerational Factors in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Affiliations
Review

The Promise of DNA Methylation in Understanding Multigenerational Factors in Autism Spectrum Disorders

Julia S Mouat et al. Front Genet. .

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a group of neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by impairments in social reciprocity and communication, restrictive interests, and repetitive behaviors. Most cases of ASD arise from a confluence of genetic susceptibility and environmental risk factors, whose interactions can be studied through epigenetic mechanisms such as DNA methylation. While various parental factors are known to increase risk for ASD, several studies have indicated that grandparental and great-grandparental factors may also contribute. In animal studies, gestational exposure to certain environmental factors, such as insecticides, medications, and social stress, increases risk for altered behavioral phenotypes in multiple subsequent generations. Changes in DNA methylation, gene expression, and chromatin accessibility often accompany these altered behavioral phenotypes, with changes often appearing in genes that are important for neurodevelopment or have been previously implicated in ASD. One hypothesized mechanism for these phenotypic and methylation changes includes the transmission of DNA methylation marks at individual chromosomal loci from parent to offspring and beyond, called multigenerational epigenetic inheritance. Alternatively, intermediate metabolic phenotypes in the parental generation may confer risk from the original grandparental exposure to risk for ASD in grandchildren, mediated by DNA methylation. While hypothesized mechanisms require further research, the potential for multigenerational epigenetics assessments of ASD risk has implications for precision medicine as the field attempts to address the variable etiology and clinical signs of ASD by incorporating genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors. In this review, we discuss the promise of multigenerational DNA methylation investigations in understanding the complex etiology of ASD.

Keywords: DNA methylation; autism spectrum disorder; epigenetics; metabolism; multigenerational; neurodevelopment; precision medicine; transgenerational.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Multigenerational effects following gestational and non-gestational exposures. Multigenerational includes intergenerational effects from direct exposure to an environmental result and transgenerational effects from indirect exposure (i.e. the generations beyond the directly-exposed generations).
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
An alternative mechanism for adverse health effects, such as ASD in the F2 generation, whereby an intermediate phenotype, such as metabolic dysfunction, in F1 mediated the F0 exposure and F2 phenotype.

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