Researchers receive $ 435K to study how environmental factors affect the genes that cause autism -
During the last decade, research on autism was mainly focused on finding genes that may "cause" autism. However, little information on gene-environment interactions that may increase the risk of autism.
Valerie Hu, Ph.D., Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences at George Washington University, was awarded $ 435K from the National Institute of health sciences environment to study how environmental factors affect retinoic gene linked to receptor-alpha acid orphan (RORA), which has been shown to be an important regulator of several important neurological genes in those autism
"you may have a genetic predisposition for lung cancer, but if you've never smoked, you may never develop cancer on the other hand, you could smoke like a chimney and live a long life .. - if you are genetically susceptible, you can never get cancer, "said Hu. "As cancers, where genes and environment play a role in susceptibility, brain diseases, such as autism, can be considered in terms of genes and environmental interactions."
Hu and colleagues recently reported that more RORA regulates 2,500 genes,. more than 400 of these genes are considered as candidate genes for autism previous research by the lab Hu also found that male and female sex hormones regulate RORA in opposite directions, which suggests that it may play a role in the sex bias in autism. Hu believes that endocrine disruptors (PE), many environmental pollutants that interfere with hormone signaling, may interfere with the normal RORA expression, leading to increased risk for autism.
Hu will study how RORA expression changes as a result of exposure to various EDCs found in the environment, such as BPA in plastics and atrazine found in weed killer. Such chemicals are proved to interfere with the endocrine system to very low levels. It will then examine how exposure to endocrine disruptors impact on neuronal processes.
Hu provides that the information obtained through these studies will allow public health policies to protect the public against exposure to environmental agents that can promote developmental disorders and neurological disorders, which can also reflect the increasing prevalence of autism, as well as to stimulate the development of treatment protocols to counter the effects of exposure to these compounds.
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