Children whose mothers and grandmothers smoked during pregnancy are more likely to suffer from childhood asthma and researchers may have just figured out why. A new study shows changes in a process called DNA methylation, that occurs before birth, may be a root cause. DNA methylation can alter a gene’s typical function, and the altered genes can be passed along from parent to child. For this study, researchers observed DNA methylation-related changes in the AXL gene in children exposed to maternal smoking in utero. This specific gene plays a major role in many human cancers and in immune response.
