Environnement périnatal : marques épigénétiques et déterminisme des maladies métaboliques de l'adulte. Preuves de concept

It is now becoming increasingly accepted that environmental compounds can produce changes in the genome that in spite of not altering DNA sequence can produce important, permanent and transgenerational alterations in the phenotype. Epigenetic changes, in particular DNA methylation and histone acetylation/methylation, provide a “memory” of developmental plastic responses to early environment and are central to the generation of phenotypes and their stability throughout the life course. Their effects may only become manifest later in life, e.g., in terms of altered responses to environmental challenges.