Sex-specific embryonic origin of postnatal phenotypic variability

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 38 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Laguna-Barraza ◽  
P. Bermejo-Álvarez ◽  
P. Ramos-Ibeas ◽  
C. de Frutos ◽  
A. P. López-Cardona ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Developmental Plasticity ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Phenotypic Variability ◽  
Early Embryo ◽  
Preimplantation Embryos ◽  
Adult Health ◽  
Long Term Effects

Preimplantation developmental plasticity has evolved in order to offer the best chances of survival under changing environments. Conversely, environmental conditions experienced in early life can dramatically influence neonatal and adult biology, which may result in detrimental long-term effects. Several studies have shown that small size at birth, which is associated with a greater risk of metabolic syndrome, is largely determined before the formation of the blastocysts because 70%–80% of variation in bodyweight at birth has neither a genetic nor environmental component. In addition, it has been reported that adult bodyweight is programmed by energy-dependent process during the pronuclear stage in the mouse. Although the early embryo has a high developmental plasticity and adapts and survives to adverse environmental conditions, this adaptation may have adverse consequences and there is strong evidence that in vitro culture can be a risk factor for abnormal fetal outcomes in animals systems, with growing data suggesting that a similar link may be apparent for humans. In this context, male and female preimplantation embryos display sex-specific transcriptional and epigenetic regulation, which, in the case of bovine blastocysts, expands to one-third of the transcripts detected through microarray analysis. This sex-specific bias may convert the otherwise buffered stochastic variability in developmental networks in a sex-determined response to the environmental hazard. It has been widely reported that environment can affect preimplantation development in a sex-specific manner, resulting in either a short-term sex ratio adjustment or in long-term sex-specific effects on adult health. The present article reviews current knowledge about the natural phenotypic variation caused by epigenetic mechanisms and the mechanisms modulating sex-specific changes in phenotype during early embryo development resulting in sex ratio adjustments or detrimental sex-specific consequences for adult health. Understanding the natural embryo sexual dimorphism for programming trajectories will help understand the early mechanisms of response to environmental insults.

Rodent models of early environment effects on offspring development and susceptibility to neurological diseases in adulthood

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurence Coutellier
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Developmental Plasticity ◽  
Neurological Diseases ◽  
Adult Life ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Early Environment ◽  
Offspring Development ◽  
Early Life Events

AbstractEvents early in life can program brain for a pattern of neuroendocrine and behavioral responses in later life. This mechanism is named “developmental phenotypic plasticity”. Experimental evidences from rodents show that early experiences influence long-term development of behavioral, neuroendocrine and cognitive functions. While some neonatal conditions lead to positive outcomes, offspring might also display neurological dysfunctions in adulthood in case of adverse conditions during the early development. Different factors have been suggested to mediate the effects of neonatal conditions on offspring development but their exact contribution as well as their interaction still needs to be clarified. Studies based on rodents have been developed to model the long-term effects of early environmental conditions on the developing brain. These studies highlight importance of maternal behavior in mediating the effects of early environmental conditions on the offspring. However, other studies suggest that aside from the level of maternal care, other factors (gender, neonatal glucocorticoid levels) contribute to the adjustment of offspring phenotype to early environmental cues. Altogether, rodents-based evidence suggests that developmental plasticity is a very complex phenomenon mediated by multiple factors that interact one to each other. Ultimately, the goal is to understand how early life events can lead to advantageous phenotype in adult life, or, on the contrary, can predispose individuals to psychopathologies such as depression or anxiety.

scholarly journals Long-Term Effects of Abuse in Later Life Perpetrated by Family Members

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 444-445
Author(s):  
Naomi Meinertz ◽  
Pi-Ju Liu ◽  
Ron Acierno
Keyword(s):  
Social Support ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Family Member ◽  
Older Adult ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Adult Health ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Long Term Impact

Abstract Abuse in later life could potentially lead to lower levels of social support, especially when perpetrated by family members who are charged with protecting the older adult in their care. Using both waves of the National Elder Mistreatment longitudinal data (wave one collected in 2008 and wave two in 2015; N=774), long-term effects of abuse (i.e., physical, emotional, sexual, and financial) on levels of social support, physical health, and clinical depressive symptoms for respondents at or above the age of 60 years were analyzed. A multivariate analysis of variance showed that respondents abused at wave one (n=261) by a family member (B=-0.55, p≤0.001), a spouse or ex-partner (B=-0.349, p=0.02), or a non-relative or stranger (B=-0.301, p=0.026) had lower levels of social support eight years later at wave two. Those abused by a family member at wave one also experienced higher levels of depressive symptoms at wave two (B=-0.187, p=0.01). Perpetrator type did not predict general health at wave two. These results emphasize the long-term impact of abuse on the lives of older adults and highlight the importance trusted relationships, such as with family members, have on older adult health and wellbeing.

Incest: What do we Really Know about It?

1987 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 430-440 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Kosky
Keyword(s):  
Adverse Effects ◽  
Sexual Activity ◽  
Sexual Intercourse ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
Scientific Basis ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Clinical Series ◽  
General Populations

The literature on incest is reviewed. Current knowledge rests on a very insecure scientific basis and has been mainly derived from small, highly selected clinical series. Recently, some important epidemiological studies of general populations have been reported, but the results of prevalence are inconsistent. Overall, however, it appears that incest, when defined in terms of sexual intercourse, occurs in less than 1% of the population, but other forms of intrafamilial sexual activity may affect 10% of females before they are 16 years of age. Some children are more at risk than others. Because information has generally been derived from court or treatment samples, we are unclear about the long-term effects of incest experiences but, overall, the impression is that incest has markedly adverse effects, especially if it is accompanied by violence and threats and is directed, as it usually is, at the young pre-pubescent child.

scholarly journals Long and short revolutions towards the Neolithic in western Anatolia and Aegean

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 ◽  
pp. 68-83
Author(s):  
Barbara Horejs
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Cultural Practices ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Raw Material ◽  
Western Anatolia ◽  
Economic Strategies ◽  
Material Procurement ◽  
Similarities And Differences

This paper provides an overview of our current knowledge about the transformation towards the Neolithic in western Anatolia and the Aegean, and offers a narrative for their interpretation. Within the longue durée perspective of the long revolution in the Near East, the first millennia of the Holocene of the Aegean and western Anatolia are contrasted with each other. Economic strategies, environmental conditions, technologies, raw material procurement and cultural practices in the Aegean Mesolithic and the Pre-Neolithic times in western Anatolia are analysed to classify potential similarities and differences. The evidence of new cultural and symbolic practices, eco-nomies, and technologies in the seventh millennium is discussed as the paradox of a short revolu-tion embedded in a long-term process of interaction, knowledge-transfer and adaptation, setting the scene for the Neolithic pioneers establishing a new social life.

scholarly journals Transcriptional sexual dimorphism during preimplantation embryo development and its consequences for developmental competence and adult health and disease

Reproduction ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 141 (5) ◽  
pp. 563-570 ◽  
Author(s):  
P Bermejo-Alvarez ◽  
D Rizos ◽  
P Lonergan ◽  
A Gutierrez-Adan
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Dimorphism ◽  
Sex Chromosome ◽  
Developmental Competence ◽  
Preimplantation Embryos ◽  
Adult Health ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Preimplantation Embryo Development ◽  
Phenotypic Differences ◽  
Hormone Effects ◽  
Health And Disease

In adult tissues, sexual dimorphism is largely attributed to sex hormone effects, although there is increasing evidence for a major role of sex chromosome dosage. During preimplantation development, male and female embryos can display phenotypic differences that can only be attributed to the transcriptional differences resulting from their different sex chromosome complements. Thus, all expressed Y-linked genes and those X-linked genes that totally or partially escape X-chromosome inactivation at each specific developmental stage display transcriptional sexual dimorphism. Furthermore, these differentially expressed sex chromosome transcripts can regulate the transcription of autosomal genes, leading to a large transcriptional sexual dimorphism. The sex-dependent transcriptional differences may affect several molecular pathways such as glucose metabolism, DNA methylation and epigenetic regulation, and protein metabolism. These molecular differences may have developmental consequences, including sex-selective embryo loss and sex-specific epigenetic responses to environmental hazards, leading to long-term effects. This review discusses transcriptional sexual dimorphism in preimplantation embryos, its consequences on sex ratio biases and on the developmental origin of health and disease, and its significance for transcriptional studies and adult sexual dimorphism.

scholarly journals Long-term effects of litter sex ratio on female reproduction in two iteroparous mammals

2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 954-962 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raquel Monclús ◽  
Dietrich von Holst ◽  
Daniel T. Blumstein ◽  
Heiko G. Rödel
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Female Reproduction

scholarly journals Effects of periconceptional undernutrition on maternal taurine concentrations in sheep

2011 ◽  
Vol 107 (4) ◽  
pp. 466-472 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric B. Thorstensen ◽  
José G. B. Derraik ◽  
Mark H. Oliver ◽  
Anne L. Jaquiery ◽  
Frank H. Bloomfield ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urinary Excretion ◽  
Fetal Development ◽  
Brain Function ◽  
Maternal Plasma ◽  
Adult Health ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Physiological Processes ◽  
Ad Libitum

Taurine has an important role in numerous physiological processes, including many aspects of fetal development such as development of the pancreas and brain, and requirements increase during pregnancy. Periconceptional undernutrition has long-term effects on pancreas and brain function of the offspring, but the effects on maternal taurine economy are unknown. We, therefore, studied the effects of different periods of periconceptional undernutrition on maternal plasma and urine taurine concentrations before and during pregnancy. Four groups of singleton-bearing ewes were studied (n10–11): controls fedad libitum, and groups undernourished from 60 d before until mating (PreC), from 2 d before mating until 30 d after mating (PostC) or from 60 d before until 30 d after mating (Pre+PostC). In PreC ewes, plasma taurine concentrations remained at control levels for the first 30 d, and then decreased through the remainder of undernutrition, but recovered by 30 d after mating; urinary taurine excretion was low at mating, but recovered similarly. In PostC ewes, plasma taurine concentrations recovered after 2 weeks despite ongoing undernutrition; urinary taurine excretion had recovered by 30 d after mating. Pre+PostC ewes followed the same pattern as PreC for the first 60 d, but plasma taurine concentrations and urinary excretion recovered slowly, and did not reach the control levels until 97 d. These data suggest that different periods of mild periconceptional undernutrition in sheep have different but substantial effects on maternal taurine homoeostasis. These effects may be one mechanism by which maternal periconceptional undernutrition alters development of the offspring with implications for adult health.

scholarly journals Long-term effects of warming and ocean acidification are modified by seasonal variation in species responses and environmental conditions

2013 ◽  
Vol 368 (1627) ◽  
pp. 20130186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jasmin A. Godbold ◽  
Martin Solan
Keyword(s):  
Seasonal Variation ◽  
Ocean Acidification ◽  
Environmental Conditions ◽  
Nutrient Release ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Climatic Forcing ◽  
Species Responses

Warming of sea surface temperatures and alteration of ocean chemistry associated with anthropogenic increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide will have profound consequences for a broad range of species, but the potential for seasonal variation to modify species and ecosystem responses to these stressors has received little attention. Here, using the longest experiment to date (542 days), we investigate how the interactive effects of warming and ocean acidification affect the growth, behaviour and associated levels of ecosystem functioning (nutrient release) for a functionally important non-calcifying intertidal polychaete ( Alitta virens ) under seasonally changing conditions. We find that the effects of warming, ocean acidification and their interactions are not detectable in the short term, but manifest over time through changes in growth, bioturbation and bioirrigation behaviour that, in turn, affect nutrient generation. These changes are intimately linked to species responses to seasonal variations in environmental conditions (temperature and photoperiod) that, depending upon timing, can either exacerbate or buffer the long-term directional effects of climatic forcing. Taken together, our observations caution against over emphasizing the conclusions from short-term experiments and highlight the necessity to consider the temporal expression of complex system dynamics established over appropriate timescales when forecasting the likely ecological consequences of climatic forcing.

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