scholarly journals Maternal High Fat Diet-Induced Obesity Modifies Histone Binding and Expression of Oxtr in Offspring Hippocampus in a Sex-Specific Manner

2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 329 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly Glendining ◽  
Christine Jasoni

Maternal obesity during pregnancy increases risk for neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring, although the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Epigenetic deregulation associates with many neurodevelopmental disorders, and recent evidence indicates that maternal nutritional status can alter chromatin marks in the offspring brain. Thus, maternal obesity may disrupt epigenetic regulation of gene expression during offspring neurodevelopment. Using a C57BL/6 mouse model, we investigated whether maternal high fat diet (mHFD)-induced obesity alters the expression of genes previously implicated in the etiology of neurodevelopmental disorders within the Gestational Day 17.5 (GD 17.5) offspring hippocampus. We found significant two-fold upregulation of oxytocin receptor (Oxtr) mRNA in the hippocampus of male, but not female, GD 17.5 offspring from mHFD-induced obese dams (p < 0.05). To determine whether altered histone binding at the Oxtr gene promoter may underpin these transcriptional changes, we then performed chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP). Consistent with the Oxtr transcriptional changes, we observed increased binding of active histone mark H3K9Ac at the Oxtr transcriptional start site (TSS) in the hippocampus of mHFD male (p < 0.05), but not female, offspring. Together, these data indicate an increased vulnerability of male offspring to maternal obesity-induced changes in chromatin remodeling processes that regulate gene expression in the developing hippocampus, and contributes to our understanding of how early life nutrition affects the offspring brain epigenome.

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-24
Author(s):  
Purevsuren Losol ◽  
Lindert P Mercken ◽  
Helena L Fisk ◽  
Philip C Calder ◽  
John W Holloway ◽  
...  

Abstract Polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) modulate immune function and have been associated with risk of childhood atopy and asthma. We investigated the effect of maternal fat intake in mice on PUFA status, elongase and desaturase gene expression, inflammatory markers and lung function in the offspring. C57BL/6J mice (n=32) were fed either standard chow (C, 21% kcal fat) or a high fat diet (HFD, 45% kcal fat) for 4 weeks prior to conception and during gestation and lactation. At 21 days of age, offspring were weaned onto either the HFD or C, generating four experimental groups: C/C, C/HF, HF/C and HF/HF. Plasma and liver fatty acid composition were measured by gas chromatography and gene expression by qPCR. Lung resistance to methacholine was assessed. Arachidonic acid concentrations in offspring plasma and liver phospholipids were increased by HFD; this effect was greater in the post-natal HFD group. Docosahexaenoic acid concentration in offspring liver phospholipids was increased in response to HFD and was higher in the post-natal HFD group. Post-natal HFD increased hepatic FADS2 and ELOVL5 expression in male offspring, whereas maternal HFD elevated expression of FADS1 and FADS2 in female offspring comparing to males. Post-natal HFD increased expression of IL-6 and CCL2 in perivascular adipose tissue. The HFD lowered lung resistance to methacholine. Excessive maternal fat intake during development modifies hepatic PUFA status in offspring through regulation of gene expression of enzymes that are involved in PUFA biosynthesis and modifies the development of the offspring lungs leading to respiratory dysfunction.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanoji Wijenayake ◽  
Mouly F. Rahman ◽  
Christine M.W. Lum ◽  
Wilfred C. De Vega ◽  
Aya Sasaki ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTBackgroundAcute elevations in endogenous corticosterone (CORT) with psychosocial stress or exogenous administration potentiate inflammatory gene expression. Maternal obesity as a result of high-fat diet (HFD) consumption has been linked to higher basal levels of neuroinflammation, including increased expression of pro-inflammatory genes in the amygdala. These findings suggest that exposure to maternal HFD may elicit pro-inflammatory responses in the presence of an immune stressor such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS), a component of gram-negative bacteria, as well as acute elevated CORT.MethodsRat offspring were exposed to maternal HFD or control diet (CHD) throughout pre and postnatal development until weaning, when all offspring were provided CHD until adulthood. In adulthood, offspring were ‘challenged’ with administration of exogenous CORT, to simulate an acute physiological stress, LPS, to induce an immune stress, or both. qPCR was used to measure transcript abundance of CORT receptors and downstream inflammatory genes in the amygdala, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, brain regions that mediate neuroendocrine and behavioral responses to stress.ResultsHFD female offspring exhibited elevations in anti-inflammatory transcripts, whereas HFD male offspring responded with greater pro-inflammatory gene expression to simultaneous CORT and LPS administration.ConclusionsThese findings suggest that exposure to maternal HFD leads to sex-specific alterations that may alter inflammatory responses in the brain, possibly as an adaptive response to basal inflammation.


2022 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Annelene Govindsamy ◽  
Samira Ghoor ◽  
Marlon E. Cerf

Fetal programming refers to an intrauterine stimulus or insult that shapes growth, development and health outcomes. Dependent on the quality and quantity, dietary fats can be beneficial or detrimental for the growth of the fetus and can alter insulin signaling by regulating the expression of key factors. The effects of varying dietary fat content on the expression profiles of factors in the neonatal female and male rat heart were investigated and analyzed in control (10% fat), 20F (20% fat), 30F (30% fat) and 40F (40% fat which was a high fat diet used to induce high fat programming) neonatal rats. The whole neonatal heart was immunostained for insulin receptor, glucose transporter 4 (Glut4) and forkhead box protein 1 (FoxO1), followed by image analysis. The expression of 84 genes, commonly associated with the insulin signaling pathway, were then examined in 40F female and 40F male offspring. Maintenance on diets, varying in fat content during fetal life, altered the expression of cardiac factors, with changes induced from 20% fat in female neonates, but from 30% fat in male neonates. Further, CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein alpha (Cebpa) was upregulated in 40F female neonates. There was, however, differential expression of several insulin signaling genes in 40F (high fat programmed) offspring, with some tending to significance but most differences were in fold changes (≥1.5 fold). The increased immunoreactivity for insulin receptor, Glut4 and FoxO1 in 20F female and 30F male neonatal rats may reflect a compensatory response to programming to maintain cardiac physiology. Cebpa was upregulated in female offspring maintained on a high fat diet, with fold increases in other insulin signaling genes viz. Aebp1, Cfd (adipsin), Adra1d, Prkcg, Igfbp, Retn (resistin) and Ucp1. In female offspring maintained on a high fat diet, increased Cebpa gene expression (concomitant with fold increases in other insulin signaling genes) may reflect cardiac stress and an adaptative response to cardiac inflammation, stress and/or injury, after high fat programming. Diet and the sex are determinants of cardiac physiology and pathophysiology, reflecting divergent mechanisms that are sex-specific.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15

Maternal lifestyle influence may be a factor in the worldwide prevalence of obesity and its complications, including diabetes. Studies investigating the effect of the perinatal maternal environment have produced a range of results, sometimes diametrically opposite. The present study was designed to investigate how obesity and weight gain in pregnant mice affects energy balance, body composition and glucose homeostasis in their offspring, both at a young age on standard diet and when older and fed a high-fat diet. At six weeks of age both male and female offspring from mothers fed a high fat diet had a shorter body length than those from mothers fed standard chow. In contrast to males, female offspring also contained a higher proportion of fat and had elevated circulating leptin and adiponectin. Their gonadal fat pads were heavier and contained larger adipocytes, whereas male offspring had proportionally more smaller adipocytes. Six-week-old female, but not male, offspring had increased gonadal fat gene expression of acetyl CoA carboxylase 1, the rate-limiting step in lipid biosynthesis, and decreased gene expression of carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1, the rate-limiting step in fatty acid oxidation. Maternal high fat diet had no effect on glucose tolerance in six-week-old mice, but this was achieved with higher insulin levels in females. Contrastingly, when the offspring were fed a high fat diet for three months, female, but not male, offspring were leaner than those from mothers fed standard chow. Their gonadal fat depots were lighter and the adipocytes were smaller. Female, but not male, offspring fed high fat diet had decreased gonadal fat gene expression of acetyl CoA carboxylase 1, and increased gene expression of carnitine palmitoyl transferase 1. High fat diet-induced glucose intolerance and elevated plasma insulin concentration were improved in female, but not male, offspring. Plasma leptin and adiponectin remained higher in female offspring on high fat diet with resistin levels being lower. These results suggest that the gonadal fat of female offspring is more adaptable to different levels of dietary fat exposure, increasing storage when levels are low and increasing oxidation when levels are high. This may help female offspring be more resistant to the detrimental effects of high fat diet than male mice.


2021 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott M. Bolam ◽  
Vidit V. Satokar ◽  
Subhajit Konar ◽  
Brendan Coleman ◽  
Andrew Paul Monk ◽  
...  

Background: Over half of women of reproductive age are now overweight or obese. The impact of maternal high-fat diet (HFD) is emerging as an important factor in the development and health of musculoskeletal tissues in offspring, however there is a paucity of evidence examining its effects on tendon. Alterations in the early life environment during critical periods of tendon growth therefore have the potential to influence tendon health that cross the lifespan. We hypothesised that a maternal HFD would alter biomechanical, morphological and gene expression profiles of adult offspring rotator cuff tendon.Materials and Methods: Female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to either: control diet (CD; 10% kcal or 43 mg/g from fat) or HFD (45% kcal or 235 mg/g from fat) 14 days prior to mating and throughout pregnancy and lactation. Eight female and male offspring from each maternal diet group were weaned onto a standard chow diet and then culled at postnatal day 100 for tissue collection. Supraspinatus tendons were used for mechanical testing and histological assessment (cellularity, fibre organisation, nuclei shape) and tail tendons were collected for gene expression analysis.Results: A maternal HFD increased the elasticity (Young's Modulus) in the supraspinatus tendon of male offspring. Female offspring tendon biomechanical properties were not affected by maternal HFD. Gene expression of SCX and COL1A1 were reduced in male and female offspring of maternal HFD, respectively. Despite this, tendon histological organisation were similar between maternal diet groups in both sexes.Conclusion: An obesogenic diet during pregnancy increased tendon elasticity in male, but not female, offspring. This is the first study to demonstrate that maternal diet can modulate the biomechanical properties of offspring tendon. A maternal HFD may be an important factor in regulating adult offspring tendon homeostasis that may predispose offspring to developing tendinopathies and adverse tendon outcomes in later life.


Life Sciences ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 89 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 57-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Romi Ghose ◽  
Ozozoma Omoluabi ◽  
Adarsh Gandhi ◽  
Pranav Shah ◽  
Kelley Strohacker ◽  
...  

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 93-100
Author(s):  
Abbasali Gaeini ◽  
Mohamadreza Baghaban Eslaminejad ◽  
Siroos Choobineh ◽  
Neda Mousavi ◽  
Sadegh Satarifard ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Vol 89 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 45-54
Author(s):  
Akemi Suzuki ◽  
André Manoel Correia-Santos ◽  
Gabriela Câmara Vicente ◽  
Luiz Guillermo Coca Velarde ◽  
Gilson Teles Boaventura

Abstract. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the effect of maternal consumption of flaxseed flour and oil on serum concentrations of glucose, insulin, and thyroid hormones of the adult female offspring of diabetic rats. Methods: Wistar rats were induced to diabetes by a high-fat diet (60%) and streptozotocin (35 mg/kg). Rats were mated and once pregnancy was confirmed, were divided into the following groups: Control Group (CG): casein-based diet; High-fat Group (HG): high-fat diet (49%); High-fat Flaxseed Group (HFG): high-fat diet supplemented with 25% flaxseed flour; High-fat Flaxseed Oil group (HOG): high-fat diet, where soya oil was replaced with flaxseed oil. After weaning, female pups (n = 6) from each group were separated, received a commercial rat diet and were sacrificed after 180 days. Serum insulin concentrations were determined by ELISA, the levels of triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxine (T4) and thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) were determined by chemiluminescence. Results: There was a significant reduction in body weight at weaning in HG (−31%), HFG (−33%) and HOG (44%) compared to CG (p = 0.002), which became similar by the end of 180 days. Blood glucose levels were reduced in HFG (−10%, p = 0.044) when compared to CG, and there was no significant difference between groups in relation to insulin, T3, T4, and TSH after 180 days. Conclusions: Maternal severe hyperglycemia during pregnancy and lactation resulted in a microsomal offspring. Maternal consumption of flaxseed reduces blood glucose levels in adult offspring without significant effects on insulin levels and thyroid hormones.


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