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Abstract Human height is strongly influenced by genetics but the contribution of modifiable epigenetic factors is under-explored, particularly in low and middle-income countries (LMIC). We investigate links between blood DNA methylation and child height in four LMIC cohorts (n = 1927) and identify a robust association at three CpGs in the suppressor of cytokine signaling 3 (SOCS3) gene which replicates in a high-income country cohort (n = 879). SOCS3 methylation (SOCS3m)—height associations are independent of genetic effects. Mendelian randomization analysis confirms a causal effect of SOCS3m on height. In longitudinal analysis, SOCS3m explains a maximum 9.5% of height variance in mid-childhood while the variance explained by height polygenic risk score increases from birth to 21 years. Children’s SOCS3m is associated with prenatal maternal folate and socio-economic status. In-vitro characterization confirms a regulatory effect of SOCS3m on gene expression. Our findings suggest epigenetic modifications may play an important role in driving child height in LMIC.

Tacrolimus is an immunosuppressive drug widely used in organ or tissue transplantation. Furthermore, its anti-inflammatory effects are employed in treatments for psoriasis, uveitis, and vernal keratoconjunctivitis. According to the structural characteristics of tacrolimus, different transformations can be occurred on the drug and produces degradation products. Thus, stability and stress tests have a key role in the quality of tacrolimus with a narrow therapeutic index. Up to now, different studies have been developed for the study of tacrolimus stability under different conditions, and the degradation products were detected by different analytical instruments. Therefore, in the current study, available studies about tacrolimus degradation were collected and categorized into five main parts including acidic hydrolysis, alkaline hydrolysis, thermal, oxidative, and photolytic for better survey. The known degradation products with their chemical structures were also discussed in this study. Moreover, the analytical methods that are applied for drug characterization during stability tests were explained.