Effects of maternal serine supplementation on high-fat diet-induced oxidative stress and epigenetic changes in promoters of glutathione synthesis-related genes in offspring

Abstract

To elucidate the effects of maternal serine supplementation during pregnancy on high-fat (HF) diet-induced oxidative stress in the offspring and the epigenetic mechanisms involved, a control diet, HF diet, or HF diet supplemented with different concentrations of serine dissolved in water was fed to C57BL/6J mouse dams during gestation. Eight male offspring from each dietary group were sacrificed at weaning, Consequently, the serum and hepatic oxidative stress markers and lipid levels in weanlings from dams fed the HF diet supplemented with 1% serine were lower than those of offspring from dams fed the HF diet. Maternal serine supplementation prevented promoter DNA hypermethylation of HF diet-induced glutathione synthesis-related genes, and increased the gene expression and resultant protein contents in the weanlings. Our results therefore suggest that maternal serine supplementation during pregnancy alleviates HF diet-induced oxidative stress by epigenetically regulating glutathione synthesis in the weanling.