Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41474634›Full record

ArticleAging2025

Age-specific DNA methylation alterations in sperm at imprint control regions may contribute to the risk of autism spectrum disorder in offspring.

Eugenia Casella, Jana Depovere, Chantal Delger, Mariia Butynets, Philipp Antczak, Thomas Price, Randy L Jirtle, Susan K Murphy, Cathrine Hoyo, Adelheid Soubry

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Aging, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. 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

10 authors.

Eugenia CasellaDepartment of Human Genetics, Epigenetic Epidemiology Lab, Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, University of Leuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium.
Jana DepovereDepartment of Human Genetics, Epigenetic Epidemiology Lab, Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, University of Leuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium.
Chantal DelgerDepartment of Human Genetics, Epigenetic Epidemiology Lab, Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, University of Leuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium.
Mariia ButynetsDepartment of Human Genetics, Epigenetic Epidemiology Lab, Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, University of Leuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium.
Philipp AntczakDepartment II of Internal Medicine, University of Cologne, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital Cologne, Cologne 50937, Germany.
Thomas PriceDivision of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27701, USA.
Randy L JirtleDepartment of Biological Sciences, Center for Human Health and the Environment, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27633, USA.
Susan K MurphyDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Division of Reproductive Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC 27701, USA.
Cathrine HoyoDepartment of Biological Sciences, Center for Human Health and the Environment, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27633, USA.
Adelheid SoubryDepartment of Human Genetics, Epigenetic Epidemiology Lab, Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, University of Leuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium.

Funding

Prenatal stress and diet, and the fetal epigenomeR01MD017696 · NIMHD · NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY RALEIGH · PI Cathrine Hoyo · 2022 to 2026
$3.2M
Novel imprint control regions (ICRs) responsive to environmental exposuresR01ES032462 · NIEHS · NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY RALEIGH · PI HOYO, CATHRINE · 2021 to 2025
$3.0M
NIEHS NIH HHS R01 ES032462NIMHD NIH HHS R01 MD017696
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Research findings suggest that advanced paternal age is associated with an increased risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children. The biological process behind this father-to-child inheritance of a disease may be driven by sperm epigenetic marks. This has been suggested earlier, but the identification of epigenomic regions responsible for these age-related responses have not been further elaborated. To identify sperm-specific marks, we conducted an epigenome-wide association study in sperm from 63 men, using the Illumina 450K array. Linear regression modeling was applied to identify differentially methylated CpGs (DMCs) by age; we controlled for body mass index, patient status, and multiple testing. We found 14,622 statistically significant age-related DMCs; most (69%) were inversely correlated. We identified 95 imprinted genes and emphasized 747 age-related DMCs adjacent to an imprint control region (ICR). Altered methylation patterns in ICRs may result in disturbed expression of imprinted genes and are suspected to be at the origin of several diseases in offspring, including neurodevelopmental disorders. Mapping our results to other databases revealed the following set of imprinted genes linked to ASD:

Indexed as

Autism Spectrum DisorderDNA MethylationGenomic ImprintingSpermatozoaAdultChildCpG IslandsEpigenesis, GeneticGenetic Predisposition to DiseaseHumansMaleMiddle AgedPaternal AgeYoung Adult450Kautismepigenomeimprintingsperm

Identifiers

PMID41474634
PMCPMC13147729

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Registered trials

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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.