The prenatal nicotine exposure leads to epigenetic alterations in nervous system signaling genes in the rat [MeDIP]

Background. Prenatal exposure to nicotine has been documented to impose numerous deleterious effects on fetal development. However, the epigenetic changes promoted by nicotine exposure on germ cell are still not well understood. Objectives. In this study, we focused on elucidating the impact of prenatal nicotine exposure on regulatory epigenetic mechanisms important for the germ cells development. s important for the germ cells development Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to nicotine during pregnancy and male progeny was analyzed at age of 11 weeks. A genome-wide DNA methylation was analyzed using MEDIP-seq.