Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology · 3 authors, 8 centres
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This editorial introduces a research topic on the long-lasting biological effects of epigenetic modifications induced by environmental or experimental exposures. It highlights preclinical studies showing intergenerational effects in rodents from pesticide and heavy metal exposure.
This editorial introduces a collection of studies on epigenetic inheritance, focusing on preclinical research in rodents. It summarizes work showing that in utero exposure to the insecticide thiacloprid in rats can cause spermatogenesis defects in male offspring at doses below the established no-observed-adverse-effect level, with mechanistic links to reduced histone modifications and DNA damage. Another study in mice found that adult male exposure to cadmium leads to altered profiles of tRNA-derived small RNAs in sperm, which may modulate ion transport in offspring tissues. The editorial also reviews the role of long noncoding RNAs in cancer mitophagy and discusses the complex, sometimes unpredictable legacy of transient DNMT3L expression on stem cell differentiation and in vivo bone phenotypes. The overall theme is that epigenetic perturbations can have persistent, transgenerational consequences, posing challenges for drug safety assessment and highlighting the potency of epigenetic inheritance mechanisms.
