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Sub-optimal paternal diet at the time of mating perturbs maternal adaptations in the late gestation mouse

ABSTRACT: Pregnancy represents a stage during which maternal physiology and homeostatic regulation undergo dramatic change and adaptation. The fundamental purpose of these adaptations is to ensure the survival of her offspring through adequate nutrient provision and an environment that is tolerant to the semi-allogenic fetus. While poor maternal diet during pregnancy is associated with perturbed maternal adaptations during pregnancy, the influence of paternal diet on maternal well-being is less clearly-defined. We fed male mice either a control (CD), low protein diet (LPD), a high fat/sugar Western diet (WD) or the LPD or WD supplemented with methyl donors (MD-LPD and MD-WD respectively) for a minimum of 8 weeks prior to mating. Females were culled at day 17 of gestation for the analysis of maternal metabolic, gut, cardiac and bone health. Paternal diet had minimal influences on maternal metabolic status or gut microbiota diversity. However, analysis of the maternal hepatic transcriptome revealed distinct profiles of differential gene expression in response to the diet of the father. Paternal LPD and MD-LPD resulted in differential expression of genes associated with lipid metabolism, transcription, ubiquitin conjugation and immunity in dams, while paternal WD and MD-WD modified the expression of genes associated with ubiquitin conjugation and cardiac morphology. Finally, we observed changes in maternal femur length, volume of trabecular bone, trabecular connectivity, volume of the cortical medullar cavity and thickness of the cortical bone in response to the father’s diets. Our current study demonstrates that poor paternal diet at the time of mating can influence the patterns of maternal metabolism and gestation-associated adaptations to her physiology. Such changes could have significant consequences for the long-term health of his offspring and the mother.

ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus

PROVIDER: GSE265783 | GEO | 2024/07/18

REPOSITORIES: GEO

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Project description:The importance of parental diet in relation to eventual offspring health is increasing in prominence due to the increased frequency of reproductive age adults consuming poor diets. Whilst maternal health and offspring outcome have been studied in some detail, the paternal impacts are not as well understood. A father’s poor nutritional status has been shown to have negative consequences on fetal growth and development and ultimately impact the long-term adult health of the offspring. In this study we examined sperm and seminal plasma mediated mechanisms of preimplantation embryo development alterations in response to sub-optimal paternal diets. Male mice were fed a diet to model either under (low protein diet (LPD)) or over (high fat/sugar (Western) diet (WD)) nutrition, LPD or WD supplemented with methyl-donors or a control diet before mating with age-matched control fed females. Male metabolic health was influenced by WD and MD-WD; with significant changes in serum lipids and hepatic 1-carbon metabolites. Sperm RNA sequencing revealed significant changes to mRNA profiles in all groups when compared to CD (LPD: 32, MD-LPD: 17, WD: 53, MD-WD: 35). In vitro embryo development was revealed all sub-optimal diets with and without methyl-donors increased the rate of embryo development. As embryo development can be directed by sperm and seminal plasma mediated mechanism, we also examined the proteomic profile of the seminal plasma, revealing a significant number of changes in all groups compared to control (LPD: 13, MD-LPD: 27, WD: 24, MD-WD: 19). Male diet also altered uterine gene expression examined via qPCR, specifically alterations in Cd14 and Ptgs1 were observed in response to male WD matings. Our current study shows that paternal nutritional status has the potential to influence male metabolic and reproductive factors, which can ultimately alter embryonic development and the post-mating maternal environment. This study highlights potential direct (sperm mediated) and indirect (semen mediated) pathways in which a father's poor diet could shape the long-term health of his offspring.

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Sub-optimal paternal diet at the time of mating perturbs maternal adaptations in the late gestation mouse

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