Abstract
Exposure to a prenatal high-fat (HF) diet leads to an impaired metabolic phenotype in mouse offspring. The underlying mechanisms, however, are not yet fully understood. Therefore, this study investigated whether the impaired metabolic phenotype may be mediated through altered hepatic DNA methylation and gene expression. We showed that exposure to a prenatal HF diet altered the offspring's hepatic gene expression of pathways involved in lipid synthesis and uptake (SREBP), oxidative stress response [nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (Nrf2)], and cell proliferation. The downregulation of the SREBP pathway related to previously reported decreased hepatic lipid uptake and postprandial hypertriglyceridemia in the offspring exposed to the prenatal HF diet. The upregulation of the Nrf2 pathway was associated with increased oxidative stress levels in offspring livers. The prenatal HF diet also induced hypermethylation of transcription factor (TF) binding sites upstream of lipin 1 (Lpin1), a gene involved in lipid metabolism. Furthermore, DNA methylation of Lpin1 TF binding sites correlated with mRNA expression of Lpin1. These findings suggest that the effect of a prenatal HF diet on the adult offspring's metabolic phenotype are regulated by changes in hepatic gene expression and DNA methylation.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1250-1259 |
Number of pages | 10 |
Journal | Journal of Lipid Research |
Volume | 60 |
Issue number | 7 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jul 2019 |
Keywords
- obesity
- pregnancy
- liver
- microarrays
- diet and dietary lipids
- in utero
- epigenetics
- lipid metabolism
- oxidative stress
- development
- deoxyribonucleic acid
- high-fat diet
- HIGH-FAT DIET
- BODY-MASS INDEX
- TRANSGENIC MICE
- CHOLESTEROL-SYNTHESIS
- LIVER-REGENERATION
- ADAPTIVE RESPONSES
- GLUCOSE-TOLERANCE
- ACID SYNTHESIS
- BINDING
- PATHWAY