Key result
Maternal protein restriction during pregnancy significantly increased mRNA expression of PPAR-α and reduced PPAR-α promoter methylation in the hearts of adult offspring (P < 0.0001).
Why the study?
Does maternal protein restriction during pregnancy alter the epigenetic regulation of cardiac energy metabolism genes in the offspring?
Does maternal protein restriction during pregnancy alter the epigenetic regulation of cardiac energy metabolism genes in the offspring?
p-value: p=<0.0001
Maternal protein restriction during pregnancy induces epigenetic changes in the PPARα promoter, altering the future transcriptional regulation of cardiac energy metabolism in offspring.
Maternal protein restriction may program offspring cardiac metabolism; leaves open relevance to human cardiomyopathy risk or prevention.
Impaired flexibility in the use of substrates for energy production in the heart is implicated in cardiomyopathy. We investigated the effect of maternal protein restriction during pregnancy in rats on the transcription of key genes in cardiac lipid and carbohydrate metabolism in the offspring. Rats were fed protein-sufficient or protein-restricted (PR) diets during pregnancy. Triacylglycerol concentration in adult (day 105) heart was altered by maternal protein intake contingent on post-weaning fat intake and sex. mRNA expression of peroxisomal proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-α and carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 was increased by the maternal PR diet in adult, but not neonatal, offspring. PPARα promoter methylation was lower in adult and neonatal heart from PR offspring. These findings suggest that prenatal nutrition alters the future transcriptional regulation of cardiac energy metabolism in the offspring through changes in epigenetic regulation of specific genes. However, changes in gene functional changes may not be apparent in early life.
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Slater-Jefferies et al. (2010) studied Maternal protein restriction and offspring cardiac metabolism (n=96). Maternal protein-restricted diet vs. Protein-sufficient diet (180 g protein/kg feed) was evaluated on mRNA expression of peroxisomal proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-α in adult heart (p=<0.0001). Maternal protein restriction during pregnancy significantly increased mRNA expression of PPAR-α and reduced PPAR-α promoter methylation in the hearts of adult offspring (P < 0.0001).
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