Grant: Catalyst Grant: Environments, Genes and Chronic Disease

This project seeks to examine the effects of early-life exposures on allergic disease in a group of 350 children that we have been following since before birth. At age 2 we will measure outdoor traffic-related air pollution and indoor levels of environmental chemicals at the homes of the children. At the same time we will collect blood samples. We propose to investigate a mechanism called epigenetics as a mediator of gene-environment interactions. Epigenetic modifications are changes that affect gene expression that do not involve changes in the DNA code. Epigenetic modifications are highly dependent on both environment and cell type. We propose to look at epigenetics in dendritic cells, a specific cell type that lies at the interface between the individual and the environment. Dendritic cells encounter both pollutants and potential allergens and influence the immune response. We will test the hypothesis that distinct epigenetic patterns, potentially induced by the environment, are associated with health outcomes and the development of allergies.