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Presented by:

Zhibin Wang, PhD 

Laboratory of Environmental Epigenomes, Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 

Abstract:

Environmental factors play a key role in the pathogenesis of many human diseases. Many toxicants are non-mutagens (i.e., not altering DNA sequence) for disease; therefore, these toxicants are expected to impact human health through epigenetic mechanisms, which remain a mystery for many toxicant exposure-involved disease. Exposure to toxicants including Bisphenol A and pesticide rotenone is linked to diseases including Parkinson’s disease, cancers, obesity and type 2 diabetes. We have used both in vitro cell lines and in vivo animal models to demonstrate the changes of epigenetic marks and its subsequent effect on gene expression. For example, our global DNA methylomic analyses reveal bipolar distribution of methylation patterns, which may intriguingly explain phenotypic differences among littermates from the same exposed mother.