How Maternal Smoking Changes DNA
The damage maternal smoking cause to a baby’s health is lifelong. The University of Southern California found that maternal smoking cause genetic changes through an epigenetic factor called DNA methylation .
DNA methylation is the process where small chemical compounds are added to DNA, and the manner how these chemicals attach to the DNA can cause the gene to be switched on and off, resulting in a change in gene expression even though the DNA sequence remain the same.
The changes in DNA methylation found were in the area of cancer and developmental related genes.
“During pregnancy, there is a natural process of methylation reprogramming where small chemical compounds are removed from the DNA bases and then reattached a short while later, so it’s reasonable to think that an environmental exposure could alter DNA methylation during this period, “says co-author Hyang-Min Byun.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090824182447.htm
