Environmental exposures and epigenetic alterations in common chronic diseases: insights and challenges
Year: 2026
Type: review
Abstract: Exposure to environmental factors including contaminants and social conditions is implicated in a substantial proportion of common non-communicable diseases, and data from model systems repeatedly demonstrate that the process from environmental contributions to common chronic disease risk is mediated through maladaptive epigenetic responses. The field of environmental epigenetics leverages multiple disciplines to advance our understanding of environmental impacts on epigenomic processes to enhance etiologic investigation, guide biomarker discovery, and identify mechanisms of action that ultimately lead to behavioral and or therapeutic interventions. This article discusses examples of emerging research on the links between three common life course exposures linked to common non-communicable diseases, and their associated epigenetic modifications, with a major focus on DNA methylation-the most studied in humans. It also outlines current challenges when interpreting the accumulating body of knowledge, including the lack of consensus on regions reported to be targeted by these environmental exposures. Finally, given that the strongest predictors of epigenetic states are age and cell/tissue type, strategies to build novel platforms using existing technologies to surmount some of these challenges are discussed. Together, these advances in environmental epigenetics are paving the way for groundbreaking developments toward improved precision in developing prevention and intervention strategies to reduce common non-communicable disease morbidity and mortality.
Source: Current Zoology
DOI: 10.1093/eep/dvag014
Language: English
Subfield: Molecular Biology
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
Funders: National Science and Technology Council, Support for Pioneering Research Initiated by the Next Generation, AstraZeneca UK, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Boston University, Division of Cancer Prevention, National Cancer Institute, Åke Wiberg Stiftelse, National Sun Yat-sen University, Fundación Cellex, Pennsylvania State University, Queen Mary University of London, Universidad de Málaga, Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development, Wellcome Trust, Deutsches Zentrum für Herz-Kreislaufforschung, Compute Canada, Centre in Green Chemistry and Catalysis, Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades, Innovative Research Group Project of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, Centres de Recerca de Catalunya, GHR Foundation, International Centre for Theoretical Sciences, Finnish Cancer Institute, International Max Planck Research School for Environmental, Cellular and Molecular Microbiology, Jiangsu Pharmaceutical Association, Leverhulme Trust, University of Galway, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Chulalongkorn University, Ministry of Higher Education, Malaysia, State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs, Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, National Research Foundation of Korea, Hjärnfonden, Vetenskapsrådet, Hrvatska Zaklada za Znanost, Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province, Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Naresuan University, Österreichische Forschungsförderungsgesellschaft, Natural Science Foundation of Heilongjiang Province, Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red en Bioingeniería, Biomateriales y Nanomedicina, Syöpäjärjestöt, Natural Science Foundation of Henan Province, Corporación Tecnológica de Andalucía, Forskningsrådet om Hälsa, Arbetsliv och Välfärd, Okazaki National Research Institutes, Universidad de Valladolid, Yunnan Provincial Department of Education, Alzheimerfonden, The Wellcome Trust DBT India Alliance, Erik och Edith Fernströms Stiftelse för Medicinsk Forskning, Amt der Steiermärkischen Landesregierung, Medizinische Universität Graz, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Kardiologie-Herz und Kreislaufforschung., Anhui Provincial Department of Science and Technology, Xunta de Galicia, University of the East, Biocenter Finland, Uniwersytet Medyczny w Białymstoku, National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Horizon 2020 Framework Programme, Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Natural Environment Research Council, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, European Regional Development Fund, Agencia Estatal de Investigación, National Key Research and Development Program of China, Overseas Expertise Introduction Project for Discipline Innovation, NIHR Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Korea Institute of Planning and Evaluation for Technology in Food, Agriculture and Forestry, Departamento de Educación, Cultura y Deporte, Gobierno de Aragón, Henan Provincial Science and Technology Research Project, Center for Innovative Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Chulalongkorn University, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, National Human Genome Research Institute, NIH Office of the Director, National Institute of General Medical Sciences, Division of Materials Research, Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure, Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems, Division of Chemistry, National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, H2020 European Research Council, HORIZON EUROPE Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions
OpenAlex ID: W7154687781