An evolutionary perspective for the exposome
File(s)osae008.pdf (629.89 KB)
Published version
Author(s)
Vineis, Paolo
Dagnino, Sonia
Type
Journal Article
Abstract
The exposome was proposed following the realization that most human diseases have an environmental rather than a genetic (hereditary) origin. Non-communicable diseases are, in fact, the consequence of multiple exposures that activate a sequence of stages in a multistage process that already starts in early life. This attracted attention to both the multiplicity (in fact, potentially the totality) of exposures humans are exposed to since conception and to the life-long perspective of disease causation. In this paper, we examine an extension of the exposome concept that incorporates a Darwinian approach based on the concept of phenotypic plasticity. One of the theses is that interpreting exposome science as “precision environmental research” is only a partial interpretation, largely focused on chemical exposures, while a broadening of the perspective is needed, also in light of the planetary crisis. Such broadening involves the incorporation of basic concepts from evolutionary biology and medicine, including the ability of organisms to adapt to rapidly changing environments. We refer in particular to cancer and “Darwinian carcinogenesis.”
Date Issued
2024
Date Acceptance
2024-10-15
Citation
Exposome, 2024, 4 (1)
ISSN
2635-2265
Publisher
Oxford University Press
Journal / Book Title
Exposome
Volume
4
Issue
1
Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact journals.permissions@oup.com
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact journals.permissions@oup.com
Identifier
https://apps.crossref.org/pendingpub/pendingpub.html?doi=10.1093%2Fexposome%2Fosae008
Publication Status
Published
Article Number
osae008
Date Publish Online
2024-12-04