Abstract
Background: The maternal environment influences embryonic and fetal life. Nutritional deficits or excesses alter the trajectory of fetus/offspring’s development. The concept of “developmental programming” and “developmental origins of health and disease” consists of the idea that maternal diet may remodel the genome and lead to epigenetic changes. These changes are induced during early life, permanently altering the phenotype in the posterior adult stage, favoring the development of metabolic diseases such as obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension, hyperinsulinemia, and metabolic syndrome. In this review, it is aimed to overview epigenetics, maternal diet and metabolic programming factors and determine which of these might affect future generations. Scope and Approach: Nutrients interfere with the epigenome by influencing the supply and use of methyl groups through DNA transmethylation and demethylation mechanisms. They also influence the remodeling of chromatin and arginine or lysine residues at the N-terminal tails of histone, thus altering miRNA expression. Fats, proteins, B vitamins and folates act as important cofactors in methylation processes. The metabolism of carbon in the methyl groups of choline, folic acid and methionine to S-Adenosyl Methionine (SAM), acts as methyl donors to methyl DNA, RNA, and proteins. B-complex vitamins are important since they act as coenzymes during this process. Key Findings and Conclusion: Nutrients, during pregnancy, potentially influence susceptibility to diseases in adulthood. Additionally, the deficit or excess of nutrients alter the epigenetic machinery, affecting genes and influencing the genome of the offspring and therefore, predisposing the development of chronic diseases in adults.
Highlights
Several environmental factors have significant effects on people's health and a great impact during embryonic and fetal development
* Address correspondence to this author at the Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Concepcion, 4070386 Concepcion, Chile; Tel: +56 41266 1671 ; Email: martorellpons@gmail.com. This relation between the conditions of the maternal environment and the health of the offspring leads to the concept of “developmental programming” or “Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD)” which is defined as the response to a specific challenge to the organism in critical development that alters its course, causing health consequences that persist in adult life [8 - 10]
Restricted intake of methyl donors during the periconceptional period produces adverse phenotypes in the offspring of sheep, which has been correlated with the alterations in the Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) methylation of approximately 4% of the CpG islands. These results suggest that the epigenetic alteration of a small subgroup of genes is crucial for the programming events [74]
Summary
Several environmental factors have significant effects on people's health and a great impact during embryonic and fetal development. Epidemiological studies on humans [1] and animal experiments [2] have proposed that various perinatal problems, such as placental deficiency [3], glucocorticoid exposure [4], nutritional insufficiencies or excesses [5], and stress [6], as well as maternal intestinal microbiome [7], may alter the development of the fetus/offspring, leading to a predisposition to the development of chronic noncommunicable diseases. Several studies have shown that malnutrition or maternal nutrition may generate metabolic deregulation in the offspring through various epigenetic processes, such as DNA methylation, alteration in miRNA expression and histone modification, which may modulate placental gene expression and signaling during fetal development, generating dramatic changes in the programming of subsequent development [21]. It is aimed to overview epigenetics, maternal diet and metabolic programming factors and determine which of these might affect future generations
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