NIH R01 · 2025
Impact of Phthalate Exposure on Telomere Biology in Utero
This proposal posits that phthalates, which are widely considered endocrine disrupting chemicals, interfere with human telomere biology in utero, leading to shortening of telomeres in the placenta and newborn. Specifically, it is hypothesized that phthalates alter the activity of telomerase through actions on hTERT, which encodes the catalytic subunit of the enzyme. As telomere length (TL) is largely determined at birth, prenatal exposure to phthalates could reset one’s lifelong TL trajectory with potential health effects during adulthood. Southern blotting (SB) and the Telomeres Shortest Length Assay (TeSLA) will be used to examine associations between prenatal phthalate exposure and TL…
From the public funding record at NIH RePORTER. Describes the funded project, not the reviews below.