The Implications of DNA Methylation for Toxicology: Toward Toxicomethylomics, the Toxicology of DNA Methylation

Identifying agents that have long-term deleterious impact on health but exhibit no immediate toxicity is of prime importance. It is well established that long-term toxicity of chemicals could be caused by their ability to generate changes in the DNA sequence through the process of mutagenesis. Several assays including the Ames test and its different modifications were developed to assess the mutagenic potential of chemicals (Ames, B. N., Durston, W. E., Yamasaki, E., and Lee, F. D. (1973a). Carcinogens are mutagens: a simple test system combining liver homogenates for activation and bacteria for detection. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 70, 2281-2285; Ames, B. N., Lee, F. D., and Durston, W. E. (1973b). An improved bacterial test system for the detection and classification of mutagens and carcinogens. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 70, 782-786). These tests have also been employed for assessing the carcinogenic potential of compounds. However, the DNA molecule contains within its chemical structure two layers of information. The DNA sequence that bears the ancestral genetic information and the pattern of distribution of covalently bound methyl groups on cytosines in DNA. DNA methylation patterns are generated by an innate program during gestation but are attuned to the environment in utero and throughout life including physical and social exposures. DNA function and health could be stably altered by exposure to environmental agents without changing the sequence, just by changing the state of DNA methylation. Our current screening tests do not detect agents that have long-range impact on the phenotype without altering the genotype. The realization that long-range damage could be caused without changing the DNA sequence has important implications on the way we assess the safety of chemicals, drugs, and food and broadens the scope of definition of toxic agents.