DMMC Course: EPIGENETICS: FROM MECHANISMS TO MEDICINES

1730-1830 Monday 25 June 2007. O’Reilly Hall, University College Dublin.

Male-line Transgenerational Responses: a New Aspect of Human Inheritance?
Prof Marcus Pembrey (UCL Institute of Child Health, UK)

Transgenerational effects of maternal nutrition or other environmental ‘exposures’ are well recognised but not down the male line, where epigenetic inheritance or some other novel inheritance mechanism would have to be postulated. We report epidemiological evidence of sex-specific, male-line transgenerational responses to food supply and smoking during childhood in the father or paternal ancestors that influence early growth and longevity in the descendants (Pembrey et al EJHG 2006;14:159. Senn 2006 & Bygren et al EJHG 2006;14:1149). We hypothesise that these transmissions are mediated by the Y chromosome and, possibly, also the X.