Project description:Vitamin D, a fat-soluble vitamin, plays a critical role in calcium homeostasis, the immune system, and normal development. Many epidemiological cohort studies globally have found high prevalence rates of vitamin D deficiency and insufficiency, recognized as an important health issue that needs to be solved. In particular, reproductive age and pregnant women low in vitamin D status may confer risks of diseases like obesity on their offspring. While observational studies have suggested associations between prenatal vitamin D deficiency and metabolic phenotypes in offspring, not yet determined is whether prenatal vitamin D deficiency permanently alters the development of the liver, a major metabolic organ. We tested the histopathology and the transcriptomic profiles of livers from male C57BL/6J mice exposed to prenatal vitamin D deficiency through a maternal dietary intervention model. We found that prenatal vitamin D deficiency increases the prevalence of histopathological changes in the liver, and alters its gene expression profile. Cell subtype proportion analysis showed that the liver of prenatal vitamin D deficiency alters non-parenchymal cells of the liver, specifically macrophages, a subset of endothelial cells, and dendritic cells. Our results indicate the long-term memory of prenatal vitamin D deficiency exposure in the adult liver, a potential contributor to offspring health risks.
Project description:The aim of this study was to assess whether chronic treatment with RPV can modulate the progression of chronic liver disease, especially of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), through a nutritional model in wild-type mice Mice were daily treated with RPV (p.o.) and fed with normal or high fat diet during 3 months to induce fatty liver disease
Project description:The ketogenic diet has been successful in promoting weight loss among patients that have struggled with weight gain. This is due to the cellular switch in metabolism that utilizes liver-derived ketone bodies for the primary energy source rather than glucose. Fatty acid transport protein 2 (FATP2) is highly expressed in liver, small intestine, and kidney where it functions in both the transport of exogenous long chain fatty acids (LCFA) and in the activation to CoA thioesters of very long chain fatty acids (VLCFA). We have completed a multi-omic study of FATP2-null (Fatp2-/-) mice maintained on a ketogenic diet (KD) or paired control diet (CD), with and without a 24-hour fast (KD-fasted and CD-fasted) to address the impact of deleting FATP2 under high-stress conditions. Control (wt/wt) and Fatp2-/- mice were maintained on their respective diets for 4-weeks. Afterwards, half the population was sacrificed while the remaining were fasted for 24-hours prior to sacrifice. We then performed paired-end RNA-sequencing on the whole liver tissue to investigate differential gene expression. The differentially expressed genes mapped to ontologies such as the metabolism of amino acids and derivatives, fatty acid metabolism, protein localization, and components of the immune system’s complement cascade, and were supported by the proteome and histological staining.
Project description:Maternal Vitamin C is required in vivo for proper DNA demethylation and development of fetal germ cells in a mouse model of Vitamin C deficiency. Withdrawal of Vitamin C from the maternal diet does not affect overall embryonic development but leads to defects in the fetal germline, which persist well after Vitamin C re-supply during late gestation. The transcriptome of germ cells from Vitamin C-deficient embryos is remarkably similar to that of embryos carrying a mutation in Tet1, which is responsible for DNA demethylation and activation of regulators of meiosis. In agreement with these results, Vitamin C deficiency leads to an aberrant DNA methylation profile that includes incomplete demethylation of key regulators of meiosis and transposable elements. These findings reveal that deficiency in Vitamin C during gestation recapitulates a mutation in Tet1 and disrupts germline reprogramming and development. Our work further indicate that the embryonic germline is sensitive to perturbations of the maternal diet, providing a potential intergenerational mechanism for adjusting fecundity to environmental quality.
Project description:Maternal Vitamin C is required in vivo for proper DNA demethylation and development of fetal germ cells in a mouse model of Vitamin C deficiency. Withdrawal of Vitamin C from the maternal diet does not affect overall embryonic development but leads to defects in the fetal germline, which persist well after Vitamin C re-supply during late gestation. The transcriptome of germ cells from Vitamin C-deficient embryos is remarkably similar to that of embryos carrying a mutation in Tet1, which is responsible for DNA demethylation and activation of regulators of meiosis. In agreement with these results, Vitamin C deficiency leads to an aberrant DNA methylation profile that includes incomplete demethylation of key regulators of meiosis and transposable elements. These findings reveal that deficiency in Vitamin C during gestation recapitulates a mutation in Tet1 and disrupts germline reprogramming and development. Our work further indicate that the embryonic germline is sensitive to perturbations of the maternal diet, providing a potential intergenerational mechanism for adjusting fecundity to environmental quality.
Project description:Maternal Vitamin C is required in vivo for proper DNA demethylation and development of fetal germ cells in a mouse model of Vitamin C deficiency. Withdrawal of Vitamin C from the maternal diet does not affect overall embryonic development but leads to defects in the fetal germline, which persist well after Vitamin C re-supply during late gestation. The transcriptome of germ cells from Vitamin C-deficient embryos is remarkably similar to that of embryos carrying a mutation in Tet1, which is responsible for DNA demethylation and activation of regulators of meiosis. In agreement with these results, Vitamin C deficiency leads to an aberrant DNA methylation profile that includes incomplete demethylation of key regulators of meiosis and transposable elements. These findings reveal that deficiency in Vitamin C during gestation recapitulates a mutation in Tet1 and disrupts germline reprogramming and development. Our work further indicate that the embryonic germline is sensitive to perturbations of the maternal diet, providing a potential intergenerational mechanism for adjusting fecundity to environmental quality.
Project description:Maternal Vitamin C is required in vivo for proper DNA demethylation and development of fetal germ cells in a mouse model of Vitamin C deficiency. Withdrawal of Vitamin C from the maternal diet does not affect overall embryonic development but leads to defects in the fetal germline, which persist well after Vitamin C re-supply during late gestation. The transcriptome of germ cells from Vitamin C-deficient embryos is remarkably similar to that of embryos carrying a mutation in Tet1, which is responsible for DNA demethylation and activation of regulators of meiosis. In agreement with these results, Vitamin C deficiency leads to an aberrant DNA methylation profile that includes incomplete demethylation of key regulators of meiosis and transposable elements. These findings reveal that deficiency in Vitamin C during gestation recapitulates a mutation in Tet1 and disrupts germline reprogramming and development. Our work further indicate that the embryonic germline is sensitive to perturbations of the maternal diet, providing a potential intergenerational mechanism for adjusting fecundity to environmental quality.
Project description:Initiation of a vitamin A deficient diet in mid-gestation, maintained in the post-weaning diet is sufficient to cause liver and serum retinoid depletion. Wild type C57Bl/6J timed mated pregnant dams were administered either a defined vitamin A sufficient low fat (12 percent kcal from fat) diet or matched vitamin A deficient diet from embryonic day 10.5. Vitamin A sufficient offspring were weaned onto either a high fat diet (60 percent kcal from fat) or maintained on the low fat 12 percent kcal from fat diet for 11 weeks (14 weeks of age). Gestational vitamin A deficient offspring were maintained on the same vitamin A deficient diet until 14 weeks of age. The impact of the maternal diet on a post-weaning high fat diet was compared to a standard maternal breeder diet followed by the post-weaning high fat diet.
Project description:We investigated whether dietary vitamin D supplementation can rescue the expression of genes that are dysregulated within the neocortex of Mecp2+/- mice, and whether vitamin D deficiency further exacerbates transcriptome disruptions in these mice. We found that dietary vitamin D modification has a profound impact on the transcriptome of the neocortex. We identified more than 200 differentially expressed genes whose expression is normalized with vitamin D supplementation, many of which are associated with neuronal morphology. Dietary vitamin D deficiency exacerbated the dysregulation of many of these genes in the Mecp2+/- cortex, but, strikingly, it normalized the expression of many other dysregulated genes, similar to the effect of supplementation.