Prenatal environmental determinants of aromatase brain-promoter methylation in cord blood: chemical, airborne, pharmacological, and nutritional factors.

Prenatal environmental determinants of aromatase brain-promoter methylation in cord blood: chemical, airborne, pharmacological, and nutritional factors.

Tanner, Samuel; Drummond, Katherine; Thomson, Sarah; Vacy, Kristina; Symeonides, Christos; Novakovic, Boris; Mansell, Toby; O'Hely, Martin; Saffery, Richard; Tang, Mimi L K; Sly, Peter D; Vuillermin, Peter; Boon, Wah Chin; Jung, Chol-Hee; Park, Daniel; Ponsonby, Anne-Louise
environmental epigenetics 2026 Vol. 12 pp. dvag027
13
samuel2026prenatal

Abstract

Aromatase, an enzyme encoded by the gene , plays central roles in neurodevelopment. In the brain, its function is to convert androgens into neuroestrogens, ensuring balanced hormonal signalling. Both animal experiments and human studies have shown that, in males, disruption of aromatase, either genetically or epigenetically, can increase symptoms of autism. Prenatal exposure to bisphenol A (BPA), a common plastic chemical, can increase levels of DNA methylation-a key epigenetic modification-at the brain-specific promoter, P1.f, reducing expression. However, the extent to which other neurodevelopmentally relevant environmental exposures influence P1.f methylation remains unclear. Here, in the Barwon Infant Study (BIS) birth cohort ( = 906), we analysed the association between 25 prenatal exposures (from five classes previously linked to neurodevelopmental outcomes: manufactured chemicals, air pollution, and pharmacological, nutrition and sunlight-related factors) and methylation of the P1.f promoter using Weighted Quantile Sum (WQS) regression. We found that the WQS mixture index, a weighted combination of the prenatal exposures, was positively associated with higher P1.f methylation (Adjusted Mean Difference (AMD) = 0.71 (95% CI 0.11, 1.32), = 0.021), indicating reduced brain aromatase activity. Prenatal exposures with the strongest contribution to the mixture effect included bisphenols (including BPA), reduced sunlight, household mould, phthalates, low folate intake, and air pollution. These findings highlight epigenetic modification of the aromatase gene as a biologically plausible, convergent mechanism through which multiple environmental risk factors for autism may exert effects.

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