Heritable consequences of paternal nicotine exposure: From phenomena to mechanisms

Biol Reprod. 2021 Jun 14:ioab116. doi: 10.1093/biolre/ioab116. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTOur understanding of the interactions between genetic and environmental factors in shaping behavioral phenotypes has expanded to include environment-induced epigenetic modifications and the intriguing possibility of their association with heritable behavioral phenotypes. The molecular basis of heritability of phenotypes arising from environment-induced epigenetic modifications is not well defined yet. However, phenomenological evidence in favor of it is accumulating rapidly. The resurgence of interest has led to focus on epigenetic modification of germ cells as a plausible mechanism of heritability. Perhaps partly because of practical reasons such as ease of access to male germ cells compared to female germ cells, attention has turned toward heritable effects of environmental influences on male founders. Public health implications of heritable effects of paternal exposures to addictive substances or to psycho-social factors may be enormous. Considering nicotine alone, over a billion people worldwide use nicotine-containing products, and the majority are men. Historically, the adverse effects of nicotine use by pregnant women received much attention by scientists and public policy experts alike. The implications of nicotine use by men for the physical and mental wellbeing of their children were not at the forefront of research until recently. Here we review progress in the emerging fie...

Source: Biology of Reproduction - June 14, 2021 Category: Reproduction Medicine Authors: Deirdre M McCarthy Pradeep G Bhide Source Type: research