Project description:Supplementation with high doses of folic acid, an important mediator of one-carbon transfers for DNA methylation, is used clinically to improve sperm parameters in infertile men. We recently detected an unexpected loss of DNA methylation in the sperm of idiopathic infertile men after 6 months of daily supplementation with 5mg folic acid (>10× the daily recommended intake-DRI), exacerbated in men homozygous for a common variant in the gene encoding an important enzyme in folate metabolism, methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR 677C>T). To investigate the epigenomic impact and mechanism underlying effects of folic acid on male germ cells, wildtype and heterozygote mice for a targeted inactivation of the Mthfr gene were fed high-dose folic acid (10× the DRI) or control diets for six months. No changes were detected in general health, sperm counts or methylation of imprinted genes. Reduced representation bisulfite sequencing revealed sperm DNA hypomethylation in Mthfr+/- mice on the 10× diets. Wildtype mice demonstrated sperm hypomethylation only with a very high dose (20×) of folic acid for 12 months. Testicular MTHFR protein levels decreased significantly in wildtype mice on the 20× diet but not in those on the 10× diet, suggesting a possible role for MTHFR deficiency in sperm DNA hypomethylation. In-depth analysis of the folic acid-exposed sperm DNA methylome suggested mouse/human susceptibility of sequences with potential importance to germ cell and embryo development. Our data provide evidence for a similar cross-species response to high dose folic acid supplementation, of sperm DNA hypomethylation, and implicate MTHFR downregulation as a possible mechanism.
Project description:Low intracellular folate levels diminish the growth rate of HT-29 human colon cancer cells. This is accompanied by a metabolic shift from cytosolic glycolysis towards mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, as demonstrated by a lower lactate production and an increased mitochondrial oxygen consumption rate. To obtain insight in the molecular effects underlying these changes, the steady state gene expression profiles of HT-29 cells with different intracellular folate concentrations were compared. The gene expression profile of HT-29 cells with low intracellular folate levels (grown for 3 weeks in 10 ng/ml folic acid (PGA)) was clearly distinct from that of the other exposure conditions, which provide sufficient intracellular folate levels (100 ng/ml PGA, 10 ng/ml methyltetrahydrofolate (MTHF) or 100 ng/ml MTHF). Intracellular folate deficiency, contrary to expectation, did not lead to major changes in expression of genes involved in energy metabolism. This suggests that the shift towards mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation is not mediated at the transcription level. Furthermore, only minor changes in the expression of folate metabolism related genes were observed. The changes that were observed were consistent with nucleotide salvage and in agreement with nucleotide need of the slow-growing folate-deficient HT-29 cells. The major observed effects were on cell cycle related gene expression, which was increased and interferon-responsive gene expression, which was reduced. The increase in cell cycle related gene expression seems compensatory to the reduced cell growth. Down-regulation of the interferon-response may be explained by decreased expression of signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 upon folate deficiency. Keywords: dose response, folic acid, HT-29 cells, human
Project description:STUDY QUESTION: Could clinically-relevant moderate and/or high dose maternal folic acid supplementation prevent aberrant developmental and epigenetic outcomes associated with assisted reproductive technologies (ART)? SUMMARY ANSWER: Our results demonstrate dose-dependent and sex-specific effects of folic acid supplementation in ART and provide evidence that moderate dose supplements may be optimal for both sexes. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: Children conceived using ART are at an increased risk for growth and genomic imprinting disorders, often associated with DNA methylation defects. Folic acid supplementation is recommended during pregnancy to prevent adverse offspring outcomes; however, the effects of folic acid supplementation in ART remain unclear. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: Outbred female mice were fed 3 folic-acid supplemented diets, control (rodent daily recommended intake or DRI; CD), moderate (4-fold DRI; 4FASD) or high (10-fold DRI; 10FASD) dose, for six weeks prior to ART and throughout gestation. Mouse ART involved a combination of superovulation, in vitro fertilization, embryo culture and embryo transfer. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS: Upon collection of midgestation embryos and placentas (n=74-99 embryos/group), all embryos were assessed for developmental delay and gross morphological abnormalities. Embryos and placentas were also examined at the epigenetic level. We assessed methylation at four imprinted genes (Snrpn, Kcnq1ot1, Peg1, and H19) in matched midgestation embryos and placentas (n=31-32/group) using bisulfite pyrosequencing. In addition, we examined genome-wide DNA methylation patterns in midgestation placentas (n=6 normal placentas per sex/group) and embryos (n=6 normal female embryos/group; n=3 delayed female embryos/group) using reduced representation bisulfite sequencing. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: Moderate, but not high dose supplementation, was associated with a decrease in the proportion of developmentally delayed embryos. Although moderate dose folic acid supplementation reduced DNA methylation variance at certain imprinted genes in embryonic and placental tissues, high dose supplementation exacerbated the negative effects of ART at imprinted loci. Furthermore, folic acid supplements resolved female-biased aberrant imprinted gene methylation. Supplementation was more effective at correcting ART-induced genome-wide methylation defects in male versus female placentas; however, folic acid supplementation also led to additional methylation perturbations which were far more pronounced in males. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION: Although the combination of mouse ARTs utilized in this study consisted of techniques commonly used in human fertility clinics, there may be species differences. Therefore, human studies, designed to determine the optimal levels of folic acid supplementation for ART pregnancies, and taking into account fetal sex, are warranted. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS: Taken together, our findings support moderation in the dose of folic acid supplements taken during ART.
Project description:Folic acid supplements prior to and during gestation are recommended and necessary to prevent neural tube defects in developing embryos. But there are also studies suggesting possible adverse effects of high-dose folic acid supplementation. Here, we address whether maternal dietary folic acid supplementation at 40 mg/kg chow (FD), restricted to a period prior to conception, affects gene expression in the offspring generation.
Project description:Study question: Do short-term and long-term exposures to low dose folic acid supplementation alter DNA methylation in sperm? Summary answer: No alterations in sperm DNA methylation patterns were found following the administration of low dose folic acid supplements of 400 μg/day for 90 days (short-term exposure) or when pre-fortification of food with folic acid and post-fortification sperm samples (long-term exposure) were compared. What is known already: Excess dietary folate may be detrimental to health and DNA methylation profiles due to folate’s role in one carbon metabolism and the formation of S-adenosyl methionine, the universal methyl donor. DNA methylation patterns are established in developing male germ cells and have been suggested to be affected by high dose (5 mg/day) folic acid supplementation. Participants/materials, setting, methods: Blood and seminal plasma folate levels were measured in participants before and following the 90-day treatment with placebo or supplement. Sperm DNA methylation was assessed using the whole genome and genome-wide techniques, MassArray epityper, restriction landmark genomic scanning, methyl-CpG immunoprecipitation and Illumina HumanMethylation450 Bead Array. Main results and the role of chance: Following treatment, supplemented individuals had significantly higher levels of blood and seminal plasma folates compared to placebo. Initial first generation genome-wide analyses of sperm DNA methylation showed little evidence of changes when comparing pre- and post-treatment samples. With Illumina HumanMethylation450 BeadChip arrays, no significant changes were observed in individual probes following low-level supplementation; when compared with those of the post-fortification cohort, there were also few differences in methylation despite exposure to years of fortified foods. Limitations, reasons for caution: This study was limited to the number of participants available in each cohort, in particular those who were not exposed to early (pre-1998) fortification of food with folic acid. While genome-wide DNA methylation was assessed with several techniques that targeted genic and CpG rich regions, intergenic regions were less well interrogated. Wider implications of the findings: Overall, our findings provide evidence that short term exposure to low dose folic acid supplements of 400 μg/day, over a period of 3 months, a duration of time that might occur during infertility treatments, has no major impact on the sperm DNA methylome.
Project description:Dietary folate is a major source of methyl groups required for DNA methylation, an epigenetic modification that is actively maintained and remodelled during spermatogenesis. While high dose folic acid supplementation (up to ten times the daily recommended dose) has been shown to improve sperm parameters in infertile men, the effects of supplementation on the sperm epigenome are unknown. To assess the impact of six months of high dose folic acid supplementation on the sperm epigenome, we studied 30 men with idiopathic infertility. Blood folate concentrations increased significantly after supplementation with no significant improvements in sperm parameters. Methylation levels of the differentially methylated regions of several imprinted loci (H19, DLK1/GTL2, MEST, SNRPN, PLAGL1, KCNQ1OT1) were normal both before and after supplementation. Reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS) revealed a significant global loss of methylation across different regions of the sperm genome. The most marked loss of DNA methylation was found in sperm from patients homozygous for the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) C677T polymorphism, a common polymorphism in a key enzyme required for folate metabolism. RRBS analysis also showed that most of the differentially methylated tiles were located in DNA repeats, low CpG density and intergenic regions. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis revealed that methylation of promoter regions was altered in several genes involved in cancer and neurobehavioral disorders including CBFA2T3, PTPN6, COL18A1, ALDH2, UBE4B, ERBB2, GABRB3, CNTNAP4 and NIPA1. Our data reveal alterations of the human sperm epigenome associated with high dose folic acid supplementation, effects that were exacerbated by a common polymorphism in MTHFR. Reduced representation bisulfite sequencing of 28 human sperm samples before and after 6 month of high dose folic acid supplementation.
Project description:Bone marrow derived macrophages from C57BL/6 mice were stimulated into M1 and M2 polarization state. Analysis of BMDMs from LysMcre;FoxO1Fl/FL mice and control littermates. Results provide insight into the regulatory role of FoxO1 during macrophage polarization. BMDMs were stimulated with 100ng/ml LPS plus 20ng/ml IFN-γ into M1 polarization, and stimulated with 10ng/ml IL-4 plus 10ng/ml IL-13 into M2 polarization. Both for 24 hours. Unstimulated cells as M0 state.
Project description:Folic acid is involved in DNA methylation, thereby it can potentially induce gene silencing. We used microarrays to detect the transcripts that are showing different expressions after short-term folic acid (FA) treatment.
Project description:We report that fortified levels of folic acid adversely affect cilia strucure and function. This data set agrees with previous experiements which have demonstrated that elevated folic acid levels can increase transcription variability on a genome-wide level. Furthermore, we demonstrate that among these dysregulated genes, genes contained within SYSgold cilia database are proportionally over-represented. This over-representation of cilia genes among dysregulated genes may play a key role in ciliopathys' sensitivity to elevated folic acid levels.