How a mother's e-cigarette use might change her baby's brain development
Genomic and Epigenomic Mechanisms of Maternal E-Cigarette induced Abnormal Brain Development
This work looks at whether a mother's e-cigarette use during pregnancy can change gene activity in the developing brain and lead to problems like ADHD, anxiety, or learning and behavior issues.
Quick facts
| Grant type | U01 cooperative agreement |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Loma Linda University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Loma Linda, UNITED STATES) |
| Project ID | NIH-11258038 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
Researchers use a pregnant rat model to mimic e-cigarette exposure during pregnancy and examine the offspring's brains. They will use single-nucleus sequencing and epigenetic tests (including methods like ATAC-seq) to see which genes are turned on or off in different brain cells. The team will look for changes in the balance between excitatory and inhibitory neurons and link those molecular changes to behaviors tied to ADHD, anxiety, and learning problems. Results are meant to point toward biological markers or targets that could help prevent or treat developmental harm from prenatal e-cigarette exposure.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: This work may be most relevant to pregnant people who used e-cigarettes, parents of children with ADHD or developmental delays, and clinicians caring for them.
Not a fit: People without any prenatal nicotine or e-cigarette exposure and those whose conditions are unrelated to prenatal exposures are unlikely to directly benefit from this specific project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could reveal biological changes caused by maternal e-cigarette use that help prevent or treat neurodevelopmental problems in children.
How similar studies have performed: Prior animal and human studies have linked prenatal smoking or nicotine exposure to developmental and behavioral problems, but the detailed genomic and epigenomic mechanisms remain largely unproven.
Where this research is happening
Loma Linda, UNITED STATES
- Loma Linda University — Loma Linda, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Wang, Charles — Loma Linda University
- Study coordinator: Wang, Charles
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.