Maternal obesity alters methylation level of cytosine in CpG island for epigenetic inheritance in fetal umbilical cord blood

Paternal high-fat diet affects weight and DNA methylation of their offspring

Obesity poses a public health threat, reaching epidemic proportions. Our hypothesis suggests that some of this epidemic stems from its transmission across generations via paternal epigenetic mechanisms. To investigate this possibility, we focused on examining the paternal transmission of CpG methylation. First-generation male Wistar rats were fed either a high-fat diet (HF) or chow and were mated with females fed chow. We collected sperm from these males. The resulting offspring were raised on a chow diet until day 35, after which they underwent a dietary challenge. Diet-induced obese (DIO) male rats passed on the obesogenic trait to both male and female offspring. We observed significant hypermethylation of the Pomc promoter in the sperm of HF-treated males and in the hypothalamic arcuate nucleus (Arc) of their offspring at weaning. However, these differences in Arc methylation decreased later in life. This hypermethylation is correlated with increased expression of DNMT3B. Further investigating genes in the Arc that might be involved in obesogenic transgenerational transmission, using reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS) we identified 77 differentially methylated regions (DMRs), highlighting pathways associated with neuronal development. These findings support paternal CpG methylation as a mechanism for transmitting obesogenic traits across generations.

Ribonuclease Inhibitor 1 (RNH1) Regulates Sperm tsRNA Generation for Paternal Inheritance through Interacting with Angiogenin in the Caput Epididymis

Environmental stressors can induce paternal epigenetic modifications that are a key determinant of the intergenerational inheritance of acquired phenotypes in mammals. Some of them can affect phenotypic expression through inducing changes in tRNA-derived small RNAs (tsRNAs), which modify paternal epigenetic regulation in sperm. However, it is unclear how these stressors can affect changes in the expression levels of tsRNAs and their related endonucleases in the male reproductive organs. We found that Ribonuclease inhibitor 1 (RNH1), an oxidation responder, interacts with ANG to regulate sperm tsRNA generation in the mouse caput epididymis. On the other hand, inflammation and oxidative stress induced by either lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or palmitate (PA) treatments weakened the RNH1-ANG interaction in the epididymal epithelial cells (EEC). Accordingly, ANG translocation increased from the nucleus to the cytoplasm, which led to ANG upregulation and increases in cytoplasmic tsRNA expression levels. In conclusion, as an antioxidant, RNH1 regulates tsRNA generation through targeting ANG in the mouse caput epididymis. Moreover, the tsRNA is an epigenetic factor in sperm that modulates paternal inheritance in offspring via the fertilization process.

Childhood obesity from the genes to the epigenome

The prevalence of obesity and its associated comorbidities has surged dramatically in recent decades. Especially concerning is the increased rate of childhood obesity, resulting in diseases traditionally associated only with adulthood. While obesity fundamentally arises from energy imbalance, emerging evidence over the past decade has revealed the involvement of additional factors. Epidemiological and murine studies have provided extensive evidence linking parental obesity to increased offspring weight and subsequent cardiometabolic complications in adulthood. Offspring exposed to an obese environment during conception, pregnancy, and/or lactation often exhibit increased body weight and long-term metabolic health issues, suggesting a transgenerational inheritance of disease susceptibility through epigenetic mechanisms rather than solely classic genetic mutations. In this review, we explore the current understanding of the mechanisms mediating transgenerational and intergenerational transmission of obesity. We delve into recent findings regarding both paternal and maternal obesity, shedding light on the underlying mechanisms and potential sex differences in offspring outcomes. A deeper understanding of the mechanisms behind obesity inheritance holds promise for enhancing clinical management strategies in offspring and breaking the cycle of increased metabolic risk across generations.

Maternal obesity and placental function: impaired maternal-fetal axis

The prevalence of maternal obesity rapidly increases, which represents a major public health concern worldwide. Maternal obesity is characteristic by metabolic dysfunction and chronic inflammation. It is associated with health problems in both mother and offspring. Increasing evidence indicates that the placenta is an axis connecting maternal obesity with poor outcomes in the offspring. In this brief review, we have summarized the current data regarding deregulated placental function in maternal obesity. The data show that maternal obesity induces numerous placental defects, including lipid and glucose metabolism, stress response, inflammation, immune regulation and epigenetics. These placental defects affect each other and result in a stressful intrauterine environment, which transduces and mediates the adverse effects of maternal obesity to the fetus. Further investigations are required to explore the exact molecular alterations in the placenta in maternal obesity, which may pave the way to develop specific interventions for preventing epigenetic and metabolic programming in the fetus.

Immunity of turbot Induced by inactivated vaccine of Aeromonas salmonicida from the perspective of DNA methylation

Introduction

DNA methylation was one of the most important modification in epigenetics and played an important role in immune response. Since the introduction of Scophthalmus maximus, the scale of breeding has continued to expand, during which diseases caused by various bacteria, viruses and parasites have become increasingly serious. Therefore, the inactivated vaccines have been widely researched and used in the field of aquatic products with its unique advantages. However, the immune mechanism that occurred in turbot after immunization with inactivated vaccine of Aeromonas salmonicida was not clear.

Methods

In this study, differentially methylated regions (DMRs) were screened by Whole Genome Bisulfite Sequencing (WGBS) and significantly differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were screened by Transcriptome sequencing. Double luciferase report assay and DNA pull-down assay were further verified the DNA methylation state of the gene promoter region affected genes transcriptional activity after immunization with inactivated vaccine of Aeromonas salmonicida.

Results

A total of 8149 differentially methylated regions (DMRs) were screened, in which there were many immune-related genes with altered DNA methylation status. Meanwhile, 386 significantly differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified, many of which were significantly enriched in Toll-like receptor signaling pathway, NOD-like receptor signaling pathway and C-type lectin receptor signaling pathway. Combined analysis of WGBS results and RNA-seq results, a total of 9 DMRs of negatively regulated genes are located in the promoter region, including 2 hypermethylated genes with lower expression and 7 hypomethylated genes with higher expression. Then, two immune-related genes C5a anaphylatoxin chemotactic receptor 1-like (C5ar1-Like) and Eosinophil peroxidase-like (EPX-Like), were screened to explore the regulation mechanism of DNA methylation modification on their expression level. Moreover, the DNA methylation state of the gene promoter region affected genes transcriptional activity by inhibiting the binding of transcription factors, which lead to changes in the expression level of the gene.

Discussion

We jointly analyzed WGBS and RNA-seq results and revealed the immune mechanism that occurred in turbot after immunized with inactivated vaccine of A. salmonicida from the perspective of DNA methylation.