scholarly journals Early-life social experience affects offspring DNA methylation and later life stress phenotype

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary M. Laubach ◽  
Julia R. Greenberg ◽  
Julie W. Turner ◽  
Tracy M. Montgomery ◽  
Malit O. Pioon ◽  
...  

AbstractStudies in rodents and captive primates suggest that the early-life social environment affects future phenotype, potentially through alterations to DNA methylation. Little is known of these associations in wild animals. In a wild population of spotted hyenas, we test the hypothesis that maternal care during the first year of life and social connectedness during two periods of early development leads to differences in DNA methylation and fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (fGCMs) later in life. Here we report that although maternal care and social connectedness during the den-dependent life stage are not associated with fGCMs, greater social connectedness during the subadult den-independent life stage is associated with lower adult fGCMs. Additionally, more maternal care and social connectedness after den independence correspond with higher global (%CCGG) DNA methylation. We also note differential DNA methylation near 5 genes involved in inflammation, immune response, and aging that may link maternal care with stress phenotype.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zachary M. Laubach ◽  
Julia R. Greenberg ◽  
Julie W. Turner ◽  
Tracy Montgomery ◽  
Malit O. Pioon ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTIn a wild population of spotted hyenas, we tested the hypothesis that maternal care during the first year of life and social connectedness during two periods of early development lead to differences in DNA methylation and fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (fGCMs) later in life. We found that although maternal care and social connectedness during the communal den dependent period were not associated with fGCMs, greater social connectedness after hyenas leave their communal den is associated with lower adult fGCMs. Additionally, more maternal care and social connectedness after leaving the communal den corresponded with higher global (%CCGG) DNA methylation. Finally, we identified multiple DNA methylation biomarkers near genes involved in inflammation that may link maternal care and stress phenotype. Our findings suggest that both maternal care during the first year of life and social connections after leaving the den influence DNA methylation and contribute to a developmentally plastic stress response.


Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 2412
Author(s):  
Sonia González ◽  
Marta Selma-Royo ◽  
Silvia Arboleya ◽  
Cecilia Martínez-Costa ◽  
Gonzalo Solís ◽  
...  

The early life gut microbiota has been reported to be involved in neonatal weight gain and later infant growth. Therefore, this early microbiota may constitute a target for the promotion of healthy neonatal growth and development with potential consequences for later life. Unfortunately, we are still far from understanding the association between neonatal microbiota and weight gain and growth. In this context, we evaluated the relationship between early microbiota and weight in a cohort of full-term infants. The absolute levels of specific fecal microorganisms were determined in 88 vaginally delivered and 36 C-section-delivered full-term newborns at 1 month of age and their growth up to 12 months of age. We observed statistically significant associations between the levels of some early life gut microbes and infant weight gain during the first year of life. Classifying the infants into tertiles according to their Staphylococcus levels at 1 month of age allowed us to observe a significantly lower weight at 12 months of life in the C-section-delivered infants from the highest tertile. Univariate and multivariate models pointed out associations between the levels of some fecal microorganisms at 1 month of age and weight gain at 6 and 12 months. Interestingly, these associations were different in vaginally and C-section-delivered babies. A significant direct association between Staphylococcus and weight gain at 1 month of life was observed in vaginally delivered babies, whereas in C-section-delivered infants, lower Bacteroides levels at 1 month were associated with higher later weight gain (at 6 and 12 months). Our results indicate an association between the gut microbiota and weight gain in early life and highlight potential microbial predictors for later weight gain.


2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 513-519 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Bianco-Miotto ◽  
J. M. Craig ◽  
Y. P. Gasser ◽  
S. J. van Dijk ◽  
S. E. Ozanne

Developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) is the study of how the early life environment can impact the risk of chronic diseases from childhood to adulthood and the mechanisms involved. Epigenetic modifications such as DNA methylation, histone modifications and non-coding RNAs are involved in mediating how early life environment impacts later health. This review is a summary of the Epigenetics and DOHaD workshop held at the 2016 DOHaD Society of Australia and New Zealand Conference. Our extensive knowledge of how the early life environment impacts later risk for chronic disease would not have been possible without animal models. In this review we highlight some animal model examples that demonstrate how an adverse early life exposure results in epigenetic and gene expression changes that may contribute to increased risk of chronic disease later in life. Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease are chronic diseases with an increasing incidence due to the increased number of children and adults that are obese. Epigenetic changes such as DNA methylation have been shown to be associated with metabolic health measures and potentially predict future metabolic health status. Although more difficult to elucidate in humans, recent studies suggest that DNA methylation may be one of the epigenetic mechanisms that mediates the effects of early life exposures on later life risk of obesity and obesity related diseases. Finally, we discuss the role of the microbiome and how it is a new player in developmental programming and mediating early life exposures on later risk of chronic disease.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mi Kyoung Seo ◽  
Jung Goo Lee ◽  
Sung Woo Park

AbstractEarly life stress (ELS) causes long-lasting changes in gene expression through epigenetic mechanisms. However, little is known about the effects of ELS in adulthood, specifically across different age groups. In this study, the epigenetic modifications of p11 expression in adult mice subjected to ELS were investigated in different stages of adulthood. Pups experienced maternal separation (MS) for 3 h daily from postnatal day 1 to 21. At young and middle adulthood, behavioral test, hippocampal p11 expression levels, and levels of histone acetylation and methylation and DNA methylation at the hippocampal p11 promoter were measured. Middle-aged, but not young adult, MS mice exhibited increased immobility time in the forced swimming test. Concurrent with reduced hippocampal p11 levels, mice in both age groups showed a decrease in histone acetylation (AcH3) and permissive histone methylation (H3K4me3) at the p11 promoter, as well as an increase in repressive histone methylation (H3K27me3). Moreover, our results showed that the expression, AcH3 and H3Kme3 levels of p11 gene in response to MS were reduced with age. DNA methylation analysis of the p11 promoter revealed increased CpG methylation in middle-aged MS mice only. The results highlight the age-dependent deleterious effects of ELS on the epigenetic modifications of p11 transcription.


2010 ◽  
Vol 57 (4-5) ◽  
pp. 396-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lan Wei ◽  
Aisha David ◽  
Ron S. Duman ◽  
Hymie Anisman ◽  
Arie Kaffman

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