DNA methylation of insulin-like growth factor 2 and H19 cluster in cord blood and prenatal air pollution exposure to fine particulate matter

BACKGROUND: The IGF2 (insulin-like growth factor 2) and H19 gene cluster plays an important role during pregnancy as it promotes both foetal and placental growth. We investigated the association between cord blood DNA methylation status of the IGF2/H19 gene cluster and maternal fine particulate matter exposure during fetal life. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study investigating the association between prenatal PM(2.5) exposure and newborn DNA methylation of the IGF2/H19. METHODS: Cord blood DNA methylation status of IGF2/H19 cluster was measured in 189 mother-newborn pairs from the ENVIRONAGE birth cohort (Flanders, Belgium). We assessed the sex-specific association between residential PM(2.5) exposure during pregnancy and the methylation level of CpG loci mapping to the IGF2/H19 cluster, and identified prenatal vulnerability by investigating susceptible time windows of exposure. We also addressed the biological functionality of DNA methylation level in the gene cluster. RESULTS: Prenatal PM(2.5) exposure was found to have genetic region-specific significant association with IGF2 and H19 during specific gestational weeks. The association was found to be sex-specific in both gene regions. Functionality of the DNA methylation was annotated by the association to fetal growth and cellular pathways. CONCLUSIONS: The results of our study provided evidence that prenatal PM(2.5) exposure is associated with DNA methylation in newborns’ IGF2/H19. The consequences within the context of fetal development of future phenotyping should be addressed. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12940-020-00677-9.