The Effect of the Amount and Timing of Folic Acid Supplementation During the Life Course on the Epigenetic Regulation of Cancer Determining Genes

<p>Mandatory Folic Acid (FA) fortification of staple foods<br>in a number of countries and periconceptional supplementation has led to increased levels of FA intake. There is ongoing controversy over the effect of FA supplementation on cancer risk, with high levels of FA (≥400ug/day) associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. FA is thought to infer cancer risk through modulation of the epigenome. Here, we investigated whether variations in FA intake<br>during adulthood induced persistent changes in the<br>expression of the tumour suppressor gene Brca1 and<br>the pluripotency gene Oct-4, which play key roles in<br>DNA repair and cellular differentiation.</p

DNA methylation of SIRT1, the longevity gene, in blood from children at 5–7 years exhibits temporal stability and predicts adiposity in adolescence

<p>Our preliminary findings show that the methylation status of specific CpG loci in the peroxisomal proliferator-gamma-co-activator-(PGC)-1α promoter in blood at age 5-7 years predicted later adiposity in the children age 14 years. PGC1α is a downstream effector of Sirtuin 1 (SIRT1), a gene which has been shown to influence lifespan in a range of species and which is known to regulate energy metabolism in different tissues.</p> <p>We, therefore, have investigated the temporal stability of specific CpG loci within the promoter of SIRT1 during childhood and whether the CpG loci that exhibited temporal stability predicted adiposity.</p