Associations among phthalate exposure, DNA methylation of TSLP, and childhood allergy

Abstract

Background Dysregulation of thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) expressions is linked to asthma and allergic disease. Exposure to phthalate esters, a widely used plasticizer, is associated with respiratory and allergic morbidity. Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) causes TSLP upregulation in the skin. In addition, phthalate exposure is associated with changes in environmentally induced DNA methylation, which might cause phenotypic heterogeneity. This study examined the DNA methylation of the TSLP gene to determine the potential mechanism between phthalate exposure and allergic diseases. Results Among all evaluated, only benzyl butyl phthalate (BBzP) in the settled dusts were negatively correlated with the methylation levels of TSLP and positively associated with children’s respiratory symptoms. The results revealed that every unit increase in BBzP concentration in the settled dust was associated with a 1.75% decrease in the methylation level on upstream 775 bp from the transcription start site (TSS) of TSLP (β = − 1.75, p = 0.015) after adjustment for child’s sex, age, BMI, parents’ smoking status, allergic history, and education levels, PM2.5, formaldehyde, temperature; and relative humidity. Moreover, every percentage increase in the methylation level was associated with a 20% decrease in the risk of morning respiratory symptoms in the children (OR 0.80, 95% CI 0.65–0.99). Conclusions Exposure to BBzP in settled dust might increase children’s respiratory symptoms in the morning through decreasing TSLP methylation. Therefore, the exposure to BBzP should be reduced especially for the children already having allergic diseases.

A novel immune score model predicting the prognosis and immunotherapy response of breast cancer

“…In addition, CCL24 expression is elevated in some tumour tissues and plasma and can be used as a potential therapeutic marker for tumour diagnosis. TSLP belongs to the IL-2 cytokine family of type I cytokines and is important for the initiation and maintenance of Th2-mediated chronic inflammatory responses 17 . FLT3 represents a member of the class III receptor tyrosine kinase family, and somatic mutation and amplification of FLT3 is an important phenomenon associated with tumour development in solid tumours 18 .…”

Impact of mold growth on di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate emission from moist wallpaper

“…DEHP is distributed in many indoor environmental media, including air, airborne particles, dust, and furniture surfaces (Kashyap and Agarwal 2018;Liu and Zhang 2016). Of all phthalate esters, DEHP demonstrates the highest abundance in indoor air and dust (Huang et al 2020;Lee et al 2021;Wang et al 2021). However, in indoor environments, DEHP is mainly present in the particle phase rather than in the gas phase owing to its low volatility (Chi et al 2017;Kashyap and Agarwal 2018;Liu and Zhang 2016).…”

Lifestyle Habits and Exposure to BPA and Phthalates in Women of Childbearing Age from Northern Italy: A Pilot Study

“…Phthalates are also known as a class of EDCs with estrogenic and antiandrogenic effects [16]. Phthalates or their metabolites mainly affect the human endocrine and reproductive system, leading to developmental and reproductive impairment [17], growth retardation [18,19], neurodevelopmental problems [20], allergies and asthma [21].…”