A biocultural investigation of epigenetics, gene expression and the intergenerational effects of stress in mothers and neonates

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This project will investigate relationships among maternal stress, epigenetic markers, and infant outcomes in a sample of mother-infant pairs in which the mothers experienced extreme stress during pregnancy. The goal of the research is to better understand how epigenetic mechanisms may link stress in one generation and changes in gene expression and later-life outcomes in the next generation. The idea that stress, including psychosocial stress, may be related physiologically to changes in an offspring's outcomes later in life is central to many anthropological models of growth, development, adaptation and plasticity. The research findings also will be potentially informative for understanding the increasing prevalence of stress-related disorders in the United States. This project will support ongoing international research collaborations and integrative graduate training in biological, cultural, and medical anthropology for students from groups underrepresented in STEM fields. One of the most stressful environments today is found in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) where war and post-war conflict has ravaged the country for over 20 years. This project will investigate the role of DNA methylation and gene expression in translating experiences of violence and stress in a sample of mothers into altered well-being outcomes for those mothers and their offspring. The project will therefore advance our understanding of human phenotypic plasticity, a central theme in anthropological, biocultural research. The proposed biocultural approach integrates sophisticated ethnographic, epigenomic, transcriptomic, and hormonal data; a wealth of biological samples, maternal stress exposures and neonate/maternal outcomes have already been collected for 100 mother-infant pairs. The biological samples will be assayed for DNA methylation (Illumina MethylationEPIC BeadChip), gene expression (Agilent SurePrint G3 Human Gene Expression array), and cortisol-based stress measures (ELISA and LC-MS). Associations among maternal stress, DNA methylation, gene expression and neonate/maternal outcomes will be tested using multiple regression analyses, to better understand the biological and molecular mechanisms that underlie adaptive responses to stress. The project will focus on genes involved in the stress process, e.g., HPA axis genes, as well as the entire genome to test for genome-wide effects of stress.