Childhood events can affect fertility, Israeli scientists say
The study explored the role of epigenetics in reproductive functions. The discipline studies the chemical modification of specific genes or gene-associated proteins of an organism.
By ROSSELLA TERCATINProfessor Philippa Melamed(photo credit: TECHNION)
Can events and experiences that occur during childhood affect human reproductive dynamics later in life? According to a paper recently published in the journal Nature Reviews Endocrinology by a group of Israeli scientists from the Technion faculty of Biology in cooperation with British researchers, the answer is yes.The study explored the role of epigenetics in reproductive functions. The discipline studies the chemical modification of specific genes or gene-associated proteins of an organism. Those modifications do not change the DNA code itself but can still lead to major variations in the observable characteristics of a person and even be conveyed to the following generations, as some studies have shown in the past few years.Early life environment is known to potentially have a great impact on reproductive characteristics, the authors of the paper, Prof. Philippa Melamed, Ph.D. student Ben Bar-Sadeh, Postdoctoral researcher Dr. Sergei Rudnizky, Dr. Lilach Pnueli and Prof. Ariel Kaplan, pointed out.The mechanism highlighted by the study can produce benefits in the sense of allowing individuals to develop some form of adaptation to the situation they find themselves in, but also has negative consequences. Issues like the age of pubertal onset, the duration of the reproductive lifespan for women, the levels of circulating reproductive hormones can all be affected, as well as the predisposition to develop age-related diseases including hormone-dependent cancers.While the scientists documented these possible effects, they also pointed out that further research on the topic is needed to understand the mechanisms better. The results could help physicians to select treatments especially suitable for individual patients.“A multifaceted cross-disciplinary approach is essential for elucidating the involvement of epigenetics in human reproductive function, spanning the grand scale of human cohort ‘big data’ and anthropological studies in unique human populations, through animal models and cell culture experiments, to the exquisitely high resolution of single-molecule biophysical approaches,” Melamed commented in a press release. “This will continue to require collaboration and co-operation.”
