Intergenerational impact of violence exposure during pregnancy on epigenetic change

孕妇所经历的创伤会影响其后代的生理，有时会影响几十年后的未来。创伤的影响可能是由我们基因组的变化引起的，这些变化改变了基因表达和蛋白质产生的方式。这个项目将测试一个假设，即孕妇经历的暴力可能会导致母亲、孩子和孙子的基因组发生变化。这项研究是一项全球性的跨学科合作，将更好地理解人类如何适应逆境，以及这些适应如何在不利条件结束后很长一段时间内持续到未来。这项研究的结果将通过演讲和出版物、学生交流以及面向当地社区和政策制定者的外联活动向公众和科学界传播。该项目将培养一名博士后助理和3-4名本科生，其中许多人来自STEM研究领域中代表性较低的群体。在这项研究中，收集了一组独特的生物样本，并将分析基因组的变化，特别是可以改变基因表达的DNA甲基的增加。招募了三代在不同世代接触过暴力的家庭；具体地说，第一组的祖母在怀孕期间接触暴力，第二组的母亲在怀孕期间接触暴力，第三组是没有接触暴力的对照家庭。来自母亲和两个孩子(一个孩子在子宫中暴露，一个孩子将作为对照)的生物样本将使用尖端方法进行分析，以检测DNA甲基化变化。将测试每一代人中DNA甲基化变化与暴力暴露之间的联系，同时控制暴露时的年龄、样本采集时的年龄、性别以及其他不良暴露，如缺乏食物、水或医疗护理。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Trauma that is experienced by a pregnant woman can affect the physiology of her offspring, sometimes decades into the future. The impact of trauma may be caused by changes to our genome that alter the way in which genes are expressed and proteins are produced. This project will test the hypothesis that violence experienced by a pregnant woman may produce changes in the genomes of the mother, her child, and her grandchild. This study is a global, interdiscriplinary collaboration that will provide a better understanding of how humans adapt to adversity, and how these adaptations may persist far into the future, long after the adverse conditions have ended. The results of this research will be communicated to the public and scientific community through presentations and publications, student exchanges, and outreach activities to local communities and policymakers. This project will train one postdoctoral assistant and 3-4 undergraduate students, many of whom are from groups underrepresented in STEM research fields.In this study, a unique set of biological samples have been collected and will be assayed for changes to the genome, specifically the addition of DNA methyl groups that can change the expression of a gene. Three generation families have been recruited who have been exposed to violence in different generations; specifically, grandmothers in group 1 were exposed while pregnant, mothers in group 2 were exposed while pregnant, and group 3 are control familes who were not exposed. Biological samples from the mothers and two children (one child was exposed in utero and one child will serve as a control) will be analyzed using cutting-edge methods to assay for DNA methylation changes. Associations between changes to DNA methylation and exposure to violence in each generation will be tested, while controlling for age at time of exposure, age at sample collection, sex, and additional adverse exposures, such as lack of food or water or medical care.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.