Investigating the DNA methylation profile of e-cigarette use

• Published in: Clinical epigenetics 2021-12, Vol.13 (1), p.183, Article 183
• Main Authors: Richmond, Rebecca C, Sillero-Rejon, Carlos, Khouja, Jasmine N, Prince, Claire, Board, Alexander, Sharp, Gemma, Suderman, Matthew, Relton, Caroline L, Munafò, Marcus, Gage, Suzanne H
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Age; Aging; Biomarkers; Blood; Body mass index; Cancer; Chronic effects; Cigarette smoking; Consent; Cytosine; Deoxyribonucleic acid; DNA; DNA methylation; DNA Methylation - drug effects; Ecstasy; Educational attainment; Electronic cigarettes; Epigenetics; Epigenome; Ethics; Evaluation; Female; Genetic testing; Guanine; Health aspects; Humans; Investigations; Laboratories; Lung cancer; Lung carcinoma; Male; Methylation; Mortality; Nicotine; Phosphates; Pyrimidines; Quality control; Questionnaires; Saliva; Smokers; Smoking; Squamous cell carcinoma; Surveys and Questionnaires; Vaping; Vaping - adverse effects; Vaping - physiopathology
• ISSN: 1868-7075; 1868-7083; 1868-7083; 1868-7075
• DOI: 10.1186/s13148-021-01174-7

Little evidence exists on the health effects of e-cigarette use. DNA methylation may serve as a biomarker for exposure and could be predictive of future health risk. We aimed to investigate the DNA methylation profile of e-cigarette use. Among 117 smokers, 117 non-smokers and 116 non-smoking vapers, we evaluated associations between e-cigarette use and epigenome-wide methylation from saliva. DNA methylation at 7 cytosine-phosphate-guanine sites (CpGs) was associated with e-cigarette use at p