Abstract
BackgroundAlcohol exposures in utero have been shown to alter immune system functions in the offspring which persists into adulthood. However, it is not apparent why the in utero alcohol effect on the immune system persists into adulthood of fetal alcohol-exposed offspring. The objective of this study was to determine the long-term effects of fetal alcohol exposure on the production of interferon-ϒ (IFN-ϒ), a cytokine known to regulate both innate and adaptive immunity.MethodsIsogenic Fisher 344 rats were bred to produce pregnant dams, which were fed with a liquid diet containing 6.7% alcohol between gestation days 7 and 21 and pair-fed with an isocaloric liquid diet or fed ad libitum with rat chow; their male and female offspring were used for the study. F1-F3 generation rats were used when they were 2 to 3 months old. Fetal alcohol exposure effects on the Ifn-ɣ gene was determined by measuring the gene promoter methylation and mRNA and protein expression in the spleen. Additionally, transgenerational studies were conducted to evaluate the germline-transmitted effects of fetal alcohol exposure on the Ifn-ɣ gene.ResultsFetal alcohol exposure reduced the expression of Ifn-ɣ mRNA and IFN-ϒ protein while it increased the proximal promoter methylation of the Ifn-ɣ gene in both male and female offspring during the adult period. Transgenerational studies revealed that the reduced levels of Ifn-ɣ expression and increased levels of its promoter methylation persisted only in F2 and F3 generation males derived from the male germ line.ConclusionOverall, these findings provide the evidence that fetal alcohol exposures produce an epigenetic mark on the Ifn-ɣ gene that passes through multiple generations via the male germ line. These data provide the first evidence that the male germ line transmits fetal alcohol exposure's adverse effects on the immune system.
Highlights
Maternal alcohol ingestion during pregnancy increases the risk of potentially serious health problems during the early developmental period, even in full-term infants [1,2,3,4,5]
Effects of fetal alcohol exposure on Ifn-ɣ gene expression, promoter DNA methylation, and protein levels in the spleen of male and female rat offspring We used isogeneic Fischer 344 rats and a wellestablished liquid diet model of alcohol feeding in pregnant rats between days 7 through 21 of pregnancy, which is equivalent to the part of the first and whole second trimesters of human pregnancy
Determination of Ifn-ɣ mRNA levels expressed by the ratio of various housekeeping genes in the spleen revealed that they were similar in ad libitum (AD) and PF male and female rats during adulthood, suggesting a minimum impact of the liquid diet feeding paradigm on Ifn-ɣ expression (Fig. 1a, b)
Summary
Maternal alcohol ingestion during pregnancy increases the risk of potentially serious health problems during the early developmental period, even in full-term infants [1,2,3,4,5]. Studies of animals exposed in utero to ethanol suggest that ethanol-induced immune dysfunction, impaired innate and adaptive immunity, persists into adulthood [7,8,9]. The reduced release of a stressregulatory hypothalamic peptide proopiomelanocortin (POMC) is connected to some of the immune abnormalities, reduced natural killer (NK) cell functions and cytokine interferon-γ (IFN-γ) production during the adult period [12, 13]. Alcohol exposures in utero have been shown to alter immune system functions in the offspring which persists into adulthood. The objective of this study was to determine the longterm effects of fetal alcohol exposure on the production of interferon-Υ (IFN-Υ), a cytokine known to regulate both innate and adaptive immunity
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