# Analysis of environmentally-sensitive epigenetic machinery during osteogenic differentiation

> **NIH NIH R00** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE · 2023 · $45,454

## Abstract

PROJECT ABSTRACT
Impacts of health-related issues are considered proportional to areas with dense air pollution. Air pollution
composition is based highly on the area of pollution, however, are made up by general pollutants such as gases
from exhaust, particulate matter, and compounds released from burning sources. Although environmental
contaminants have been linked to health conditions in the past, direct work assessing air pollution exposure to
prenatal bone development is inconclusive. Therefore, the purpose of this supplement is to 1) elucidate the
impact of air pollutants on osteogenesis; 2) determine relevant miRNAs related to toxicant exposure and how it
impacts bone development; 3) discern specific endocrine-disrupting chemicals found within air pollution; and 4)
bring back findings to the communities that it may be impacting. This will be accomplished through direct
exposure of pollution to osteogenically-differentiating human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), stained time-lapsed
image quantification of mineralization phenotype, determining alterations of mRNA expression throughout
differentiation, miRNA-sequencing analysis, and GC/MS data to quantify chemicals within samples. The work
proposed within this supplement will be the first study of its kind to demonstrate perturbed osteogenesis in
response to air pollution exposure. Additionally, this work will address the gap in knowledge of the dysregulation
of miRNAs and resulting bone birth defects. In conjunction with an established human in vitro model and miRNA
sequencing analysis, this supplement will continue to advance the evolving fields of molecular toxicology,
reproductive toxicology, developmental toxicology, and bioinformatics, as was described in the parent grant. By
completion of these studies, I expect to determine a causal relationship between prenatal air pollution exposure
and skeletal birth defects. The implications of this work can reach beyond the science community, as these
findings may aid in the development of prenatal check-up scans and help inform exposure policies in relation to
congenital birth defects.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10746311
- **Project number:** 3R00ES032486-03S1
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE
- **Principal Investigator:** Nicole Renee Sparks
- **Activity code:** R00 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $45,454
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2023-05-11 → 2025-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10746311

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10746311, Analysis of environmentally-sensitive epigenetic machinery during osteogenic differentiation (3R00ES032486-03S1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-01 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10746311. Licensed CC0.

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