Project description:Preterm birth (PTB), spontaneous parturition prior to 37 weeks gestation, is the leading cause of neonatal mortality. We previously demonstrated that developmental exposure of male mice (F1 animals) to the environmental endocrine disruptor 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) was associated with reduced sperm quantity/quality in adulthood and their control mating partners frequently delivered preterm. Reproductive defects persisted in the F2 and F3 descendants and mating partners also exhibited an enhanced risk of spontaneous PTB. Reproductive changes in the F3 males, the first generation without direct TCDD exposure, suggest epigenetic alterations occurred in the male germline. Importantly, the sperm epigenome impacts development of the placenta, a tissue which is known to influence the timing of parturition. Therefore, we conducted an epigenetic microarray analysis of control and F1 male derived placentae obtained on E18.5 of pregnancy.
Project description:Growing evidence point towards a strong contribution of paternal factors in placental health with implications in adult-onset complex disease risk. We have recently demonstrated that paternal diet-induced obesity alters sperm histone methylation and is associated with metabolic disturbances in the next generation. Diet-sensitive epigenetic regions in sperm were found at genes involved in trophectoderm and placental development, and corresponded to epigenetic and gene expression profiles in these tissues. We sought to investigate whether paternal diet-induced obesity before conception can alter the placental transcriptome, and whether differential gene expression corresponds with sperm obesity-associated epigenetic signatures. C57BL6/J males were fed either a control or high-fat diet for 10 weeks beginning at 6 weeks of age. They were then bred to control-fed C57BL6/J females to induce pregnancies and E14.5 placentas were collected. RNA-sequencing was performed (n=4 per group per sex) to detect sex-specific transcriptional changes associated with paternal diet. At necropsy, sperm was collected for chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing (ChIP-seq; n=3 per group) targeting histone H3 lysine 4 tri-methylation (H3K4me3) to detect obesity-induced changes in H3K4me3 enrichment. There were sex-specific differentially expressed genes in placentas with some overlapping with promoters showing obesity-associated sperm epimutations. A deconvolution analysis using single-cell RNA-seq data from mouse E14.5 placenta (Han et al., Cell, 2018) revealed significant differences in trophoblast subtype proportions in placentas derived from HFD sires. This study highlights a previously underappreciated role of the placenta at the origin of paternally-induced metabolic disturbances in offspring.
Project description:Growing evidence point towards a strong contribution of paternal factors in placental health with implications in adult-onset complex disease risk. We have recently demonstrated that paternal diet-induced obesity alters sperm histone methylation and is associated with metabolic disturbances in the next generation. Diet-sensitive epigenetic regions in sperm were found at genes involved in trophectoderm and placental development, and corresponded to epigenetic and gene expression profiles in these tissues. We sought to investigate whether paternal diet-induced obesity before conception can alter the placental transcriptome, and whether differential gene expression corresponds with sperm obesity-associated epigenetic signatures. C57BL6/J males were fed either a control or high-fat diet for 10 weeks beginning at 6 weeks of age. They were then bred to control-fed C57BL6/J females to induce pregnancies and E14.5 placentas were collected. RNA-sequencing was performed (n=4 per group per sex) to detect sex-specific transcriptional changes associated with paternal diet. At necropsy, sperm was collected for chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing (ChIP-seq; n=3 per group) targeting histone H3 lysine 4 tri-methylation (H3K4me3) to detect obesity-induced changes in H3K4me3 enrichment. There were sex-specific differentially expressed genes in placentas with some overlapping with promoters showing obesity-associated sperm epimutations. A deconvolution analysis using single-cell RNA-seq data from mouse E14.5 placenta (Han et al., Cell, 2018) revealed significant differences in trophoblast subtype proportions in placentas derived from HFD sires. This study highlights a previously underappreciated role of the placenta at the origin of paternally-induced metabolic disturbances in offspring.
Project description:Paternal obesity alters the sperm epigenome and and is associated with changes in the placental transcriptome and its cellular composition
Project description:Paternal exposure to environmentally-relevant Arctic contaminants induces adverse health outcomes and alters the sperm methylome over three generations.
Project description:Epidemiological studies suggest that a father’s diet can influence offspring health. A proposed mechanism for paternal transmission of environmental information is via the sperm epigenome. The epigenome includes heritable information such as DNA methylation. We hypothesized that the dietary supply of methyl donors would alter epigenetic reprogramming in sperm. This hypothesis was examined by feeding male mice a folate deficient (FD) and folate sufficient (FS) diets and then generating and analyzing DNA methylation profiles of their sperm. C57BL/6 males were fed either the FS or FD diet throughout life (FS, n=32; FD, n=35; 2-3 month old). Pooled gene promoter DNA methylation profiles were generated from the sperm of three FS males and four FD males using the method of MeDIP (Methylated DNA Immunoprecipitation) followed by microarray hybridization.
Project description:Paternal obesity alters the sperm epigenome and and is associated with changes in the placental transcriptome and its cellular composition [RNA-seq]
Project description:Paternal obesity alters the sperm epigenome and and is associated with changes in the placental transcriptome and its cellular composition [ChIP-seq]
Project description:Epidemiological studies suggest that a father’s diet can influence offspring health. A proposed mechanism for paternal transmission of environmental information is via the sperm epigenome. The epigenome includes heritable information such as DNA methylation. We hypothesized that the dietary supply of methyl donors would alter epigenetic reprogramming in sperm. This hypothesis was examined by feeding male mice a folate deficient (FD) and folate sufficient (FS) diets and then generating and analyzing DNA methylation profiles of their sperm.
Project description:Advanced paternal age has been shown to be a significant risk factor for neurodevelopmental psychiatric disorders, particularly autism. We have recently shown that mice conceived by old fathers display behavioral abnormalities which resemble key diagnostic symptoms of human autism. De novo mutations and epigenetic alterations increase in the male germ line during ageing and are thought to mediate the effect of paternal age on occurrence of diseases occurrence. Because the placenta carry a predominantly fetal genetic background, age-related mutagenesis and epigenetic errors might negatively influence placental physiology and in turn perturb fetal brain development. Here, we examined the impact of paternal age on placental mRNA transcriptome. This work was supported by Programme FP7-KBBE-2012.1.3-04, GA no. 312097 Acronym: FECUND, to GEP; MIUR/CNR, Programme FIRB. GA n. B81J12002520001 Acronym: GenHome, to PL. This study was also partially financed by the IGAB PAS project (S.III.1.3), Polish Scientific Committee Grant 2011/03/N/NZ29/05222, Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education Grants N N519 657940 and N N311 604938. We compared gene expression patterns of mouse placentas harvested from either advanced paternal age model (APA) of autism or control animals. We included 2 comparisons: 1) placenta of female APA vs placenta of female control; 2) placenta of male APA vs placenta of male control. Each comparison was composed of 3 biological replicates. To minimize family bias, poolings contained at most one placenta per sex from each dam to a minimum of one and a maximum of three placentas per group/sex.