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Limited access to brain tissues in humans difficulty identifying early-life adversity biomarkers

Past Research findings:

1. Early-life exposures are linked to epigenetic disruptions2. BPA has been shown to disrupt neurodevelopment in both animals and humans3. BDNF gene encoding brain-derived neurotrophic factor is essential in in

neurodevelopment

The main idea:Develop series of assays to test whether the methylation of the BNDF gene could serve as biomarker for early life adversity

Mice maintained in a caged environment- access to food, water, and normal light cycles

Variable group: treated with BPA in dissolved in corn oil Control group: treated with only corn oil

Allowed to mate → mice that became pregnant were placed in a new cage for the gestation period

Day 1-6: Mother-infant interactions monitored and maternal behavior was noted: Licking, grooming, arched-back nursing

Day 28: 6 male and 6 female offspring were killed, whole brains extracted gene expression of neurotrophic factorsDNA methylation in hippocampus

Day 60: Object Recognition Test to Assess Behavior (Assessing Hippocampus)assess the time it takes exploring object and its preference for novel object

whole brains and whole-blood samples:Assess correlation between methylation in blood→ hippocampus

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