Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33849548›Full record

ArticleEnvironmental health : a global access science source2021

DNA methylation in the adipose tissue and whole blood of Agent Orange-exposed Operation Ranch Hand veterans: a pilot study.

Matthew R Rytel, Rondi Butler, Melissa Eliot, Joseph M Braun, E Andres Houseman, Karl T Kelsey

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Environmental health : a global access science source, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.2field-weighted citation impact, top 52% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. The Aryl Hydrocarbon Receptor, Epigenetics and the Aging Process.The journal of nutrition, health & aging · 2023
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Matthew R RytelDepartment of Epidemiology, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, RI, 02912, USA. matthew_rytel@alumni.brown.edu.ORCID 0000-0002-8316-1576
Rondi ButlerDepartment of Epidemiology, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, RI, 02912, USA.
Melissa EliotDepartment of Epidemiology, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, RI, 02912, USA.
Joseph M BraunDepartment of Epidemiology, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, RI, 02912, USA.
E Andres HousemanStatistical Bioinformatics, GlaxoSmithKline, 1250 S Collegeville Rd, Collegeville, PA, 19426, USA.
Karl T KelseyDepartment of Epidemiology, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, RI, 02912, USA.
Brown University · USGlaxoSmithKline (United States) · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundBetween 1962 and 1971, the US Air Force sprayed Agent Orange across Vietnam, exposing many soldiers to this dioxin-containing herbicide. Several negative health outcomes have been linked to Agent Orange exposure, but data is lacking on the effects this chemical has on the genome. Therefore, we sought to characterize the impact of Agent Orange exposure on DNA methylation in the whole blood and adipose tissue of veterans enrolled in the Air Force Health Study (AFHS).

methodsWe received adipose tissue (n = 37) and whole blood (n = 42) from veterans in the AFHS. Study participants were grouped as having low, moderate, or high TCDD body burden based on their previously measured serum levels of dioxin. DNA methylation was assessed using the Illumina 450 K platform.

resultsEpigenome-wide analysis indicated that there were no FDR-significantly methylated CpGs in either tissue with TCDD burden. However, 3 CpGs in the adipose tissue (contained within SLC9A3, LYNX1, and TNRC18) were marginally significantly (q < 0.1) hypomethylated, and 1 CpG in whole blood (contained within PTPRN2) was marginally significantly (q < 0.1) hypermethylated with high TCDD burden. Analysis for differentially methylated DNA regions yielded SLC9A3, among other regions in adipose tissue, to be significantly differentially methylated with higher TCDD burden. Comparing whole blood data to a study of dioxin exposed adults from Alabama identified a CpG within the gene SMO that was hypomethylated with dioxin exposure in both studies.

conclusionWe found limited evidence of dioxin associated DNA methylation in adipose tissue and whole blood in this pilot study of Vietnam War veterans. Nevertheless, loci in the genes of SLC9A3 in adipose tissue, and PTPRN2 and SMO in whole blood, should be included in future exposure analyses.

Indexed as

Agent OrangeChemical Warfare AgentsDefoliants, ChemicalDNA MethylationVeteransVietnam ConflictAdaptor Proteins, Signal TransducingAdipose TissueAgedAged, 80 and overCpG IslandsEnvironmental ExposureHumansIntracellular Signaling Peptides and ProteinsMaleMiddle AgedAdaptor Proteins, Signal TransducingAgent OrangeChemical Warfare AgentsDefoliants, ChemicalIntracellular Signaling Peptides and ProteinsLYNX1 protein, humanPolychlorinated DibenzodioxinsPTPRN2 protein, humanReceptor-Like Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases, Class 8SLC9A3 protein, humanSodium-Hydrogen Exchanger 3TNRC18 protein, humanAdiposeAgent OrangeBloodDioxinDNA methylationEpigenetics

Identifiers

PMID33849548
PMCPMC8045317
OpenAlexW3154291365

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.