Project description:We determined the effects of excess folic acid supplementation (5x recommendation) on maternal and fetal offspring metabolic health. Using a mouse (female C57BL/6J) model of gestational dibetes (GDM; 45% kcal fat diet) and control mice (10% kcal diet) we show that folic acid supplementation increased weight gain and fat mass in both GDM and control mice but improved insulin sensitivity in GDM mice and worsened insulin sensitivity in control mice. We found no unmetabolized folic acid in liver from supplemented mice suggesting the metabolic effects of folic acid supplementation may not be due to unmetabolized folic acid. Male fetal (gestational day 18.5) offspring from folic acid supplemented dams (GDM and control) had greater beta cell mass and density than those from unsupplemented dams; this was not observed in female offspring. Differential sex-specific hepatic gene expression profiles were observed in the offspring from supplemented dams but this differed between GDM and controls. Our findings suggest that folic acid supplementation affects insulin sensitivity in female mice, but is dependent on their metabolic phenotype, and has sex-specific effects on offspring pancreas and liver.
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:Studies have indicated that altered maternal micronutrients and vitamins influence the development and susceptibility of newborns to chronic diseases. Among these, folic acid (FA) plays a key role in the synthesis and repair of DNA, along with maintenance of epigenetic DNA methylation. Deficiency of FA has been associated with the pathogenesis of neural tube defects. Since FA can modulate DNA methylation and affect gene expression, we investigated the effect of gestational FA supplementation on the expression of genes in the offspring brain. Our results suggest that a maternal ten-fold increase in FA supplementation alters the expression and dysregulates a number of genes in the offspring brain, including many involved in development. While a number of genes that were dysregulated were common to both male and female pups, there were sex differences in gene expression changes.
Project description:Maternal vitamins and micronutrients during gestational periods have profound impact on the developmemt of newborns as well as influence susceptibility to chronic conditions. Folic acid is indicated to women during pregnancies to prevent occurrence of neural tube defects in infants. Recently, evidence is emerging of the epigenetic effects of folic acid. Since epigenetic changes are crucial in developing fetus, we investigated the effect of maternal higher folic acid supplementation on the gene expression in offspring brains to identify if brain development may be affected. Our results revealed that maternal exposure of higher dose FA diet during gestation dysregulates expression of several genes in the cerebellum of both male and female pups. Dysregulated genes included several transcriptional factors, imprinted genes, neurodevelopmental genes and genes associated with autism spectrum disorder.
Project description:Studies have indicated that altered maternal micronutrients and vitamins influence the development and susceptibility of newborns to chronic diseases. Among these, folic acid (FA) plays a key role in the synthesis and repair of DNA, along with maintenance of epigenetic DNA methylation. Deficiency of FA has been associated with the pathogenesis of neural tube defects. Since FA can modulate DNA methylation and affect gene expression, we investigated the effect of gestational FA supplementation on the expression of genes in the offspring brain. Our results suggest that a maternal ten-fold increase in FA supplementation alters the expression and dysregulates a number of genes in the offspring brain, including many involved in development. While a number of genes that were dysregulated were common to both male and female pups, there were sex differences in gene expression changes. C57BL/6J female mice were separated into two groups of ten mice and supplemented with a custom diet. One week prior to mating the low-dose group of female mice were fed a custom AIN-93G amino acidM-bM-^@M-^Sbased diet (Research Diet, Inc. New-Brunswick, NJ), with FA at 0.4 mg/kg, while the high-dose group received FA at 4 mg/kg diet. Tissues from the cerebral hemisphere of three independent pups of same gender were pooled together. A total of three microarray gene expression studies have been performed (0.4mg/kg or 4mg/kg both male and female) and the mean was used for comparison.
Project description:Growing evidence supports the hypothesis that the in utero environment can have profound implications for fetal development and for offspring health in later life. Current theory suggests that conditions experienced in utero prepare, or ‘programme’, the fetus for its anticipated post-natal environment. The mechanisms responsible for these programming events are poorly understood but are likely to involve gene expression changes. Folate is essential for normal fetal development and inadequate maternal folate supply during pregnancy has long term adverse effects on the offspring. We tested the hypothesis that inadequate folate supply during pregnancy alters offspring programming through altered gene expression. Female C57BL/6J mice were fed diets containing 2 mg folic acid/kg or 0.4 mg folic acid/kg for 4 weeks before mating and throughout pregnancy. At 17.5 day gestation, genome-wide gene expression in fetal liver and placenta of male offspring was measured by microarray analysis. In the fetal liver, 989 genes (555 up-regulated, 434 down-regulated) were expressed differentially in response to maternal folate depletion, with 460 genes expressed differentially (250 up-regulated, 255 down-regulated) in the placenta. Only 25 differentially expressed genes were common between organs, revealing that maternal folate intake during pregnancy influences fetal gene expression in a highly organ specific manner which, we propose, reflects prioritised protection of essential organ-specific functions.
Project description:Maternal vitamins and micronutrients during gestational periods have profound impact on the developmemt of newborns as well as influence susceptibility to chronic conditions. Folic acid is indicated to women during pregnancies to prevent occurrence of neural tube defects in infants. Recently, evidence is emerging of the epigenetic effects of folic acid. Since epigenetic changes are crucial in developing fetus, we investigated the effect of maternal higher folic acid supplementation on the gene expression in offspring brains to identify if brain development may be affected. Our results revealed that maternal exposure of higher dose FA diet during gestation dysregulates expression of several genes in the cerebellum of both male and female pups. Dysregulated genes included several transcriptional factors, imprinted genes, neurodevelopmental genes and genes associated with autism spectrum disorder. Adult, 8- to 10-week-old C57BL/6J mice were used in all the experiments and handled according to the protocol reviewed and approved by the Institute for Basic Research Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. One week prior to mating and throughout the pregnancy two groups of female mice were fed with custom AIN-93G amino acidM-bM-^@M-^Sbased diet (Research Diet, Inc. New-Brunswick, NJ), which contained folic acid (FA) at 2mg/kg and 20 mg/kg diet. At postnatal day one (P1), from FA at 2 mg/kg group: male pupsM-bM-^@M-^Y n=3 and female pupsM-bM-^@M-^Y n=3 were sacrificed by cervical dislocation and cerebellum tissues were collected. From FA at 20 mg/kg group: male pupsM-bM-^@M-^Y n=6 and female pups n=6 were similarly processed. All tissues were snapped frozen and stored at -80M-BM-0C until downstream analysis was performed.
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.