Childhood poverty, stress as adult can affect immune responses

Toronto: Childhood poverty, stress as an adult, besides age, sex and ethnicity affect our genes, which have a bearing on our immune responses, says a Canadian study. The study from the University of British Columbia and Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics (CMMT) looks at how experiences beginning before birth and in the years after can affect the course of a person’s life. [caption id=“attachment_498579” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Research has shown that a person’s life experiences play a role in shaping DNA methylation patterns. Getty Images[/caption] Known as epigenetics, or the study of changes in gene expression, this research examined a process called DNA methylation where a chemical molecule is added to DNA and acts like a dimmer on a light bulb switch, turning genes on or off or setting them somewhere in between. Research has shown that a person’s life experiences play a role in shaping DNA methylation patterns, the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reports. The research team discovered that childhood poverty, but not socioeconomic status as an adult, was correlated with the marks or methylation patterns left on gene, according to a British Columbia statement. “We found biological residue of early life poverty,” said Michael Kobor, associate professor of medical genetics at British Columbia, whose CMMT lab at the Child & Family Research Institute (CFRI) led the research. “This was based on clear evidence that environmental influences correlate with epigenetic patterns,” said Kobor. The amount of stress hormones produced by adults was also linked with variations in DNA methylation. IANS