According to a new study published today in the journal Circulation: Cardiovascular Genetics, smoking leaves historical ‘footprint’ on the human genome in the form of DNA methylation (a process in which molecules are added to sections of DNA sequences).
Smoking leaves ‘footprint’ in DNA. Image credit: Pexels.
Smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death worldwide, despite a decline in smoking in many countries as a result of smoking cessation campaigns and legislative action.
Even decades after stopping, former smokers are at long-term risk of developing diseases including some cancers, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and stroke.
While the molecular mechanisms responsible for these long-term effects remain poorly understood, previous studies linking DNA methylation sites to genes involved with coronary heart disease and pulmonary disease suggest it may play an important role.
A team of scientists headed Stephanie London, deputy chief of the Epidemiology Branch at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, conducted a meta-analysis of DNA methylation sites across the human genome using blood samples taken from nearly 16,000 participants from 16 groups of the CHARGE Consortium.
The researchers compared DNA methylation sites in current and former smokers to those who never smoked, and found that:
(i) smoking-associated DNA methylation sites were associated with more than 7,000 genes, or one-third of known human genes;
(ii) for people who stopped smoking, the majority of DNA methylation sites returned to levels seen in never smokers within five years of quitting smoking;
(iii) however, some DNA methylation sites persisted even after 30 years of quitting;
(iv) the most statistically significant methylation sites were linked to genes enriched for association with numerous diseases caused by cigarette smoking, such as cardiovascular diseases and certain cancers.
Dr. London and co-authors suggest that some of these long-lasting methylation sites may be marking genes potentially important for former smokers who are still at increased risk of developing certain diseases.
The discovery of smoking-related DNA methylation sites raises the possibility of developing biomarkers to evaluate a patient’s smoking history, as well as potentially developing new treatments targeted toward these methylation sites.
“These results are important because methylation, as one of the mechanisms of the regulation of gene expression, affects what genes are turned on, which has implications for the development of smoking-related diseases,” Dr. London said.
“Equally important is our finding that even after someone stops smoking, we still see the effects of smoking on their DNA.”
“Our study has found compelling evidence that smoking has a long-lasting impact on our molecular machinery, an impact that can last more than 30 years,” said first author Dr. Roby Joehanes, of Harvard Medical School.
“The encouraging news is that once you stop smoking, the majority of DNA methylation signals return to never smoker levels after five years, which means your body is trying to heal itself of the harmful impacts of tobacco smoking.”
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Roby Joehanes et al. Epigenetic Signatures of Cigarette Smoking. Circulation: Cardiovascular Genetics, published online September 20, 2016; doi: 10.1161/circgenetics.116.001506
This article is based on a press-release issued by the American Heart Association.
