Prenatal Dexamethasone and Postnatal High-Fat Diet Decrease Interferon Gamma Production through an Age-Dependent Histone Modification in Male Sprague-Dawley Rats.
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ABSTRACT: Overexposure to prenatal glucocorticoid (GC) disturbs hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis-associated neuroendocrine metabolism and susceptibility to metabolic syndrome. A high-fat (HF) diet is a major environmental factor that can cause metabolic syndrome. We aimed to investigate whether prenatal GC plus a postnatal HF diet could alter immune programming in rat offspring. Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were given intraperitoneal injections of dexamethasone or saline at 14-21 days of gestation. Male offspring were then divided into four groups: vehicle, prenatal dexamethasone exposure, postnatal HF diet (VHF), and prenatal dexamethasone exposure plus a postnatal HF diet (DHF). The rats were sacrificed and adaptive immune function was evaluated. Compared to the vehicle, the DHF group had lower interferon gamma (IFN-?) production by splenocytes at postnatal day 120. Decreases in H3K9 acetylation and H3K36me3 levels at the IFN-? promoter correlated with decreased IFN-? production. The impaired IFN-? production and aberrant site-specific histone modification at the IFN-? promoter by prenatal dexamethasone treatment plus a postnatal HF diet resulted in resilience at postnatal day 180. Prenatal dexamethasone and a postnatal HF diet decreased IFN-? production through a site-specific and an age-dependent histone modification. These findings suggest a mechanism by which prenatal exposure to GC and a postnatal environment exert effects on fetal immunity programming.
SUBMITTER: Yu HR
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5085643 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Sep
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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