Short-term airborne particulate matter exposure alters the epigenetic landscape of human MAPK kinase pathway genes in vivo

Background Exposure to air particulate matter is known to elevate blood biomarkers of inflammation and to increase cardiopulmonary morbidity and mortality. Major components of particulate matter include black carbon due to traffic and sulfates from coal-‐burning power plants. DNA methylation is known to be sensitive to these environmental toxins and to mediate environmental effects on clinical outcomes via regulation of gene expression. The underlying mechanisms are thought to include major inflammatory pathways, yet the details remain unclear. Methods We sought to elucidate how short-‐term exposure to air pollution components, singly and/or in combination, alters blood DNA methylation in certain inflammation-‐associated signaling networks, MAPK and NF-‐κB, which may transmit the environmental signal (s) and activate the inflammatory pathway in vivo. To this end, we utilized a custom-‐integrated …