Epigenetic Alterations in PAH-Induced Childhood Asthma: An Intervention Using Sulforaphane

DNA methylation holds promise for the early detection of tissue damage, making it crucial for identifying polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-associated epigenetic biomarkers in childhood asthma. Sulforaphane (SFN), as a potential epigenetic modulator, can alleviate the adverse effects of environmental pollutants. This study quantified serum PAHs in 370 children via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, assessed the methylation of target genes using bisulfite sequencing PCR (BSP), and performed mediation analysis to estimate the mediating effects of methylation levels between PAHs and childhood asthma. Murine models exposed to PAHs prenatally or postnatally, with offspring challenged with ovalbumin (OVA), were analyzed for lung DNA methylation. In vitro, HBE cells and HBSMCs treated with benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) and/or SFN were tested for inflammatory cytokines, methylation-related enzymes, and matrix metallopeptidase 9 (<i>MMP9</i>) modifications. The results showed total PAHs were associated with childhood asthma, with mediating effects of long interspersed nuclear element-1 (<i>LINE-1</i>) methylation. Prenatal PAH exposure enriched differentially methylated genes in the extracellular matrix (ECM)-receptor interaction pathway, while postnatal exposure enriched those in purine metabolism, and postnatal exposure also elevated <i>Mmp9</i> expression via hypomethylation. BaP increased the expression of interferon gamma (<i>IFN-γ</i>), interleukin-4 (<i>IL-4</i>), interleukin-17A (<i>IL-17A</i>), transforming growth factor beta 1 (<i>TGF-β</i>), and ten-eleven translocation methylcytosine dioxygenases (<i>TETs</i>), and it upregulated <i>MMP9</i> via enhancer hypomethylation and H3K27ac enrichment, while SFN reversed these effects by downregulating histone methyltransferase (HMT), leading to reduced H3K4me1 and subsequent H3K27ac depletion, thus suppressing <i>MMP9</i> transcription. This study demonstrates that DNA methylation mediates PAH-childhood asthma associations, with distinct patterns in different exposure windows; <i>MMP9</i> could serve as a crucial target for epigenetic modification during lung inflammation induced by PAH exposure, and SFN reverses PAH-induced epigenetic changes, aiding prevention strategies.