Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:
To assess how nutrient intakes of mouse mothers during pregnancy influence placental and fetal growth, we fed pregnant mother with a high-fat diet (HFD) and collect fetus and placentas in the middle of fetal period and at term.
MATERIAL and METHODS:
We studied gene expression by RT-qPCR and DNA methylation by LUMA to understand the molecular mechanisms of placental epigenetic programming in the labyrinth layer of the placenta, where nutrient exchanges take place.
RESULTS:
Food intake of the mother was adjusted for caloric intake during gestation. Fetal and placental weights were affected by the diet and sex of the fetus. At term, there was a diet effect on placental gene expression of Dnmt3l, coding for a Dnmt cofactor important for regulating DNA methylation. However, the expression of three other epigenetic enzymes Suv39h1, Suv39h2 and Jarid 1c, did not change either between the diets nor between the sexes at the two stages 15.5 and 18.5 days. No differences in global DNA methylation was observed between diet or sex at the two stages.
CONCLUSION:
These findings suggest that a HFD intake during pregnancy has an impact on fetal and placental growth and gene expression. Such an effect could have long term consequences for the offspring's risk of metabolic syndrome by altering programming in utero.