1 3300 123 HIGH-FAT DIET REPROGRAMS THE EPIGENOME OF RAT SPERMATOZOA AND TRANSGENERATIONALLY AFFECTS METABOLISM OF THE OFFSPRING. OBJECTIVES: CHRONIC AND HIGH CONSUMPTION OF FAT CONSTITUTES AN ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS THAT LEADS TO METABOLIC DISEASES. WE HYPOTHESIZED THAT HIGH-FAT DIET (HFD) TRANSGENERATIONALLY REMODELS THE EPIGENOME OF SPERMATOZOA AND METABOLISM OF THE OFFSPRING. METHODS: F0-MALE RATS FED EITHER HFD OR CHOW DIET FOR 12 WEEKS WERE MATED WITH CHOW-FED DAMS TO GENERATE F1 AND F2 OFFSPRING. MOTILE SPERMATOZOA WERE ISOLATED FROM F0 AND F1 BREEDERS TO DETERMINE DNA METHYLATION AND SMALL NON-CODING RNA (SNCRNA) EXPRESSION PATTERN BY DEEP SEQUENCING. RESULTS: NEWBORN OFFSPRING OF HFD-FED FATHERS HAD REDUCED BODY WEIGHT AND PANCREATIC BETA-CELL MASS. ADULT FEMALE, BUT NOT MALE, OFFSPRING OF HFD-FED FATHERS WERE GLUCOSE INTOLERANT AND RESISTANT TO HFD-INDUCED WEIGHT GAIN. THIS PHENOTYPE WAS PERPETUATED IN THE F2 PROGENY, INDICATING TRANSGENERATIONAL EPIGENETIC INHERITANCE. THE EPIGENOME OF SPERMATOZOA FROM HFD-FED F0 AND THEIR F1 MALE OFFSPRING SHOWED COMMON DNA METHYLATION AND SMALL NON-CODING RNA EXPRESSION SIGNATURES. ALTERED EXPRESSION OF SPERM MIRNA LET-7C WAS PASSED DOWN TO METABOLIC TISSUES OF THE OFFSPRING, INDUCING A TRANSCRIPTOMIC SHIFT OF THE LET-7C PREDICTED TARGETS. CONCLUSION: OUR RESULTS PROVIDE INSIGHT INTO MECHANISMS BY WHICH HFD TRANSGENERATIONALLY REPROGRAMS THE EPIGENOME OF SPERM CELLS, THEREBY AFFECTING METABOLIC TISSUES OF OFFSPRING THROUGHOUT TWO GENERATIONS. 2016 2 4941 33 PATERNAL OBESITY, INTERVENTIONS, AND MECHANISTIC PATHWAYS TO IMPAIRED HEALTH IN OFFSPRING. BACKGROUND: THE GLOBAL RATES OF MALE OVERWEIGHT/OBESITY ARE RISING, APPROACHING 70% OF THE TOTAL ADULT POPULATION IN WESTERN NATIONS. OVERWEIGHT/OBESITY INCREASES THE RISK OF CHRONIC DISEASES; HOWEVER, THERE IS INCREASING AWARENESS THAT MALE OBESITY NEGATIVELY IMPACTS FERTILITY, SUBSEQUENT PREGNANCY, AND THE OFFSPRING HEALTH BURDEN. DEVELOPMENTAL PROGRAMMING IS WELL DEFINED IN MOTHERS; HOWEVER, IT IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY EVIDENT THAT DEVELOPMENTAL PROGRAMMING CAN BE PATERNALLY INITIATED AND MEDIATED THROUGH PATERNAL OBESITY. KEY MESSAGES: BOTH HUMAN AND RODENT MODELS HAVE ESTABLISHED THAT PATERNAL OBESITY IMPAIRS SEX HORMONES, BASIC SPERM FUNCTION, AND MOLECULAR COMPOSITION. THIS RESULTS IN PERTURBED EMBRYO DEVELOPMENT AND HEALTH AND AN INCREASED SUBSEQUENT OFFSPRING DISEASE BURDEN IN BOTH SEXES. THE REVERSIBILITY OF OBESITY-INDUCED PARENTAL PROGRAMMING HAS ONLY RECENTLY RECEIVED ATTENTION. PROMISING RESULTS IN ANIMAL MODELS UTILIZING DIET AND EXERCISE INTERVENTIONS HAVE SHOWN IMPROVEMENTS IN SPERM FUNCTION AND MOLECULAR COMPOSITION, RESULTING IN RESTORATIONS OF BOTH EMBRYO AND FETAL HEALTH AND SUBSEQUENT MALE OFFSPRING FERTILITY. THE DIRECT MODE FOR PATERNAL INHERITANCE IS LIKELY MEDIATED VIA SPERMATOZOA. WE PROPOSE TWO MAIN THEORIES FOR THE ORIGIN OF MALE OBESITY-INDUCED PATERNAL PROGRAMMING: (1) ACCUMULATION OF SPERM DNA DAMAGE RESULTING IN DE NOVO MUTATIONS IN THE EMBRYO AND (2) CHANGES IN SPERM EPIGENETIC MARKS (MICRORNA, METHYLATION, OR ACETYLATION) ALTERING THE ACCESS, TRANSCRIPTION, AND TRANSLATION OF PATERNALLY DERIVED GENES DURING EARLY EMBRYOGENESIS. CONCLUSIONS: PATERNAL OVERWEIGHT/OBESITY INDUCES PATERNAL PROGRAMMING OF OFFSPRING PHENOTYPES LIKELY MEDIATED THROUGH GENETIC AND EPIGENETIC CHANGES IN SPERMATOZOA. THESE PROGRAMMED CHANGES TO OFFSPRING HEALTH APPEAR TO BE PARTIALLY RESTORED VIA DIET/EXERCISE INTERVENTIONS IN OBESE FATHERS PRECONCEPTION, WHICH HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO IMPROVE ASPECTS OF SPERM DNA INTEGRITY. HOWEVER, THE MAJORITY OF DATA SURROUNDING PATERNAL OBESITY AND OFFSPRING PHENOTYPES HAVE COME FROM RODENT MODELS; THEREFORE, WE CONTEND THAT IT WILL BE INCREASINGLY IMPORTANT TO STUDY POPULATION-BASED DATA TO DETERMINE THE LIKELY MODE OF INHERITANCE IN HUMANS. 2014 3 4939 30 PATERNAL NICOTINE EXPOSURE IN RATS PRODUCES LONG-LASTING NEUROBEHAVIORAL EFFECTS IN THE OFFSPRING. STUDIES OF INTERGENERATIONAL EFFECTS OF PARENTAL CHEMICAL EXPOSURE HAVE PRINCIPALLY FOCUSED ON MATERNAL EXPOSURE, PARTICULARLY FOR STUDIES OF ADVERSE NEUROBEHAVIORAL CONSEQUENCES ON THE OFFSPRING. MATERNAL NICOTINE EXPOSURE HAS LONG BEEN KNOWN TO CAUSE ADVERSE NEUROBEHAVIORAL EFFECTS ON THE OFFSPRING. HOWEVER, PATERNAL TOXICANT EXPOSURE HAS ALSO BEEN FOUND TO CAUSE NEUROBEHAVIORAL TOXICITY IN THEIR OFFSPRING. RECENT WORK SUGGESTS THAT PATERNAL NICOTINE EXPOSURE CAN HAVE EPIGENETIC EFFECTS, ALTHOUGH IT REMAINS UNCLEAR WHETHER SUCH CHANGES LEAD TO NEUROBEHAVIORAL EFFECTS. IN THE CURRENT STUDY, WE INVESTIGATED THE EFFECTS OF PATERNAL NICOTINE EXPOSURE ON NEUROBEHAVIORAL DEVELOPMENT OF THEIR OFFSPRING. MALE SPRAGUE-DAWLEY RATS WERE EXPOSED TO 0 OR 2 MG/KG/DAY NICOTINE (SC) FOR 56 CONSECUTIVE DAYS WITH TWO CONSECUTIVE 2ML4 OSMOTIC MINIPUMPS. FOLLOWING TREATMENT, THESE MALES WERE MATED WITH DRUG-NAIVE FEMALE RATS. OFFSPRING OF BOTH SEXES WERE TESTED IN A BEHAVIORAL BATTERY TO ASSESS LOCOMOTION, EMOTIONAL FUNCTION AND COGNITION. PATERNAL NICOTINE EXPOSURE DID NOT IMPACT OFFSPRING VIABILITY, HEALTH OR GROWTH. HOWEVER, BEHAVIORAL FUNCTION OF THE OFFSPRING WAS SIGNIFICANTLY ALTERED BY PATERNAL NICOTINE EXPOSURE. MALE OFFSPRING WITH PATERNAL NICOTINE EXPOSURE EXHIBITED LOCOMOTOR HYPERACTIVITY IN THE FIGURE-8 APPARATUS WHEN TESTED DURING ADOLESCENCE. WHEN RETESTED IN ADULTHOOD AND REGARDLESS OF SEX, OFFSPRING OF THE NICOTINE EXPOSED FATHER SHOWED SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED HABITUATION OF LOCOMOTOR ACTIVITY OVER THE COURSE OF THE SESSION. COMPARED TO CONTROLS, FEMALE OFFSPRING OF NICOTINE-EXPOSED FATHERS SHOWED SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED RESPONSE LATENCY IN THE RADIAL ARM MAZE TEST. IN ADDITION TO LOCOMOTOR HYPERACTIVITY, THE OFFSPRING OF NICOTINE-EXPOSED FATHERS ALSO SHOWED SIGNIFICANTLY DIMINISHED HABITUATION IN THE NOVEL OBJECT RECOGNITION TEST. THESE RESULTS INDICATE THAT CHRONIC PATERNAL NICOTINE EXPOSURE CAN IMPACT THE BEHAVIOR OF OFFSPRING, PRODUCING LOCOMOTOR HYPERACTIVITY AND IMPAIRED HABITUATION. 2019 4 1153 30 CONSEQUENCES OF PATERNAL NUTRITION ON OFFSPRING HEALTH AND DISEASE. IT IS WELL ESTABLISHED THAT THE MATERNAL DIET DURING THE PERICONCEPTIONAL PERIOD AFFECTS THE PROGENY'S HEALTH. A GROWING BODY OF EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT THE PATERNAL DIET ALSO INFLUENCES DISEASE ONSET IN OFFSPRING. FOR MANY YEARS, SPERM WAS CONSIDERED ONLY TO CONTRIBUTE HALF OF THE PROGENY'S GENOME. IT NOW APPEARS THAT IT ALSO PLAYS A CRUCIAL ROLE IN HEALTH AND DISEASE IN OFFSPRING'S ADULT LIFE. THE NUTRITIONAL STATUS AND ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURE OF FATHERS DURING THEIR CHILDHOOD AND/OR THE PERICONCEPTIONAL PERIOD HAVE SIGNIFICANT TRANSGENERATIONAL CONSEQUENCES. THIS REVIEW AIMS TO DESCRIBE THE EFFECTS OF VARIOUS HUMAN AND RODENT PATERNAL FEEDING PATTERNS ON PROGENY'S METABOLISM AND HEALTH, INCLUDING FASTING OR INTERMITTENT FASTING, LOW-PROTEIN AND FOLIC ACID DEFICIENT FOOD, AND OVERNUTRITION IN HIGH-FAT AND HIGH-SUGAR DIETS. THE IMPACT ON PREGNANCY OUTCOME, METABOLIC PATHWAYS, AND CHRONIC DISEASE ONSET WILL BE DESCRIBED. THE BIOLOGICAL AND EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS UNDERLYING THE TRANSMISSION FROM FATHERS TO THEIR PROGENY WILL BE DISCUSSED. ALL THESE DATA PROVIDE EVIDENCE OF THE IMPACT OF PATERNAL NUTRITION ON PROGENY HEALTH WHICH COULD LEAD TO PREVENTIVE DIET RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE FATHERS. 2021 5 4066 33 MATERNAL AND PATERNAL PERICONCEPTIONAL NUTRITION AS AN INDICATOR OF OFFSPRING METABOLIC SYNDROME RISK IN LATER LIFE THROUGH EPIGENETIC IMPRINTING: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW. AIMS: THIS REVIEW EXAMINED WHETHER MATERNAL AND PATERNAL PERICONCEPTIONAL NUTRITION EFFECTS AN OFFSPRING'S LIKELIHOOD OF DEVELOPING CHRONIC METABOLIC RELATED CONDITIONS DUE TO EPIGENETIC IMPRINTING. METHODS: A LITERATURE SEARCH WAS CONDUCTED IN MULTIPLE SCIENCE DATABASES AND LIMITED TO STUDIES PUBLISHED AFTER 2012, IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND PEER REVIEWED. THE DATA FROM SELECTED ARTICLES WERE EXTRACTED AND A QUALITATIVE APPROACH WAS EMPLOYED DUE TO HETEROGENEITY OF RESULTS. RESULTS: NEWBORNS FROM OBESE FATHERS SHOWED ALTERED METHYLATION OVERALL AND SIGNIFICANT HYPOMETHYLATION AT THE INSULIN-LIKE GROWTH FACTOR 2 (IGF2) GENE. HIGH MATERNAL PRE-PREGNANCY BODY MASS INDEX (BMI) WAS ASSOCIATED WITH ALTERED OFFSPRING DNA METHYLATION LEVELS AND GESTATIONAL DIABETES MELLITUS INDUCED SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED METHYLATION LEVELS IN OFFSPRING. GESTATIONAL WEIGHT GAIN WAS NOT ASSOCIATED WITH DIFFERENTIALLY METHYLATED CORD BLOOD. BIRTH WEIGHT WAS HIGHER IN OFFSPRING EXPOSED TO FAMINE IN EARLY GESTATION. OFFSPRING BORN POST MATERNAL BARIATRIC SURGERY SHOWED A LOWER PERCENTAGE OF BODY FAT AND IMPROVED FASTING INSULIN LEVELS COMPARED TO SIBLINGS BORN PRE-MATERNAL BARIATRIC SURGERY. CONCLUSIONS: THE AVAILABLE EVIDENCE SUGGESTS THAT POOR MATERNAL AND PATERNAL PERICONCEPTIONAL NUTRITION CAN INCREASE THE RISK OF METABOLIC SYNDROME IN OFFSPRING, THROUGH EPIGENETIC IMPRINTING. POTENTIAL PARENTS SHOULD BE ADVISED THAT MAINTAINING A HEALTHY DIET AND BMI IS LIKELY TO REDUCE THE RISK OF METABOLIC SYNDROME IN OFFSPRING. 2017 6 5773 38 SPERM MICRORNA CONTENT IS ALTERED IN A MOUSE MODEL OF MALE OBESITY, BUT THE SAME SUITE OF MICRORNAS ARE NOT ALTERED IN OFFSPRING'S SPERM. THE PREVALENCE OF OBESITY IS INCREASING WORLDWIDE AND HAS TRIPLED IN MEN OF REPRODUCTIVE AGE SINCE THE 1970S. CONCERNINGLY, OBESITY IS NOT ONLY COMORBID WITH OTHER CHRONIC DISEASES, BUT THERE IS MOUNTING EVIDENCE THAT IT INCREASES THE NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASE LOAD IN THEIR CHILDREN (EG MORTALITY, OBESITY, AUTISM). ANIMAL STUDIES HAVE DEMONSTRATED THAT PATERNAL OBESITY INCREASES THE RISK OF METABOLIC (EG GLUCOSE METABOLISM DEFECTS, OBESITY) AND REPRODUCTIVE DISORDERS IN OFFSPRING. EPIGENETIC CHANGES WITHIN SPERM ARE CLEAR MECHANISTIC CANDIDATES THAT ARE ASSOCIATED WITH BOTH CHANGES TO THE FATHER'S ENVIRONMENT AND OFFSPRING PHENOTYPE. SPECIFICALLY THERE IS EMERGING EVIDENCE THAT A FATHER'S SPERM MICRORNA CONTENT BOTH RESPONDS TO PATERNAL ENVIRONMENTAL CUES AND ALTERS THE GENE EXPRESSION PROFILE AND SUBSEQUENT DEVELOPMENT OF THE EARLY EMBRYO. WE USED A MOUSE MODEL OF HIGH FAT DIET (HFD) INDUCED OBESITY TO INVESTIGATE WHETHER MALE OBESITY COULD MODULATE SPERM MICRORNA CONTENT. WE ALSO INVESTIGATED WHETHER THIS ALTERATION TO A FATHER'S SPERM MICRORNA CONTENT LEAD TO A SIMILAR CHANGE IN THE SPERM OF MALE OFFSPRING. OUR INVESTIGATIONS WERE INITIALLY GUIDED BY A TAQMAN PCR ARRAY, WHICH INDICATED THE DIFFERENTIAL ABUNDANCE OF 28 SPERM BORNE MICRORNAS IN HFD MICE. QPCR CONFIRMATION IN A MUCH LARGER COHORT OF FOUNDER MALES DEMONSTRATED THAT 13 OF THESE MICRORNAS WERE DIFFERENTIALLY ABUNDANT (11 UP-REGULATED; 2 DOWN-REGULATED) DUE TO HFD FEEDING. DESPITE METABOLIC AND REPRODUCTIVE PHENOTYPES ALSO BEING OBSERVED IN GRAND-OFFSPRING FATHERED VIA THE MALE OFFSPRING LINEAGE, THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE THAT ANY OF THE 13 MICRORNAS WERE ALSO DYSREGULATED IN MALE OFFSPRING SPERM. THIS WAS PRESUMABLY DUE TO THE VARIATION SEEN WITHIN BOTH GROUPS OF OFFSPRING AND SUGGESTS OTHER MECHANISMS MIGHT ACT BETWEEN OFFSPRING AND GRAND-OFFSPRING. THUS 13 SPERM BORNE MICRORNAS ARE MODULATED BY A FATHER'S HFD AND THE PRESUMED TRANSFER OF THIS ALTERED MICRORNA PAYLOAD TO THE EMBRYO AT FERTILISATION POTENTIALLY ACTS TO ALTER THE EMBRYONIC MOLECULAR MAKEUP POST-FERTILISATION, ALTERING ITS GROWTH TRAJECTORY, ULTIMATELY AFFECTING ADULT OFFSPRING PHENOTYPE AND MAY CONTRIBUTE TO PATERNAL PROGRAMMING. 2016 7 4011 32 LOW PATERNAL DIETARY FOLATE ALTERS THE MOUSE SPERM EPIGENOME AND IS ASSOCIATED WITH NEGATIVE PREGNANCY OUTCOMES. EPIDEMIOLOGICAL STUDIES SUGGEST THAT A FATHER'S DIET CAN INFLUENCE OFFSPRING HEALTH. A PROPOSED MECHANISM FOR PATERNAL TRANSMISSION OF ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION IS VIA THE SPERM EPIGENOME. THE EPIGENOME INCLUDES HERITABLE INFORMATION SUCH AS DNA METHYLATION. WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT THE DIETARY SUPPLY OF METHYL DONORS WILL ALTER EPIGENETIC REPROGRAMMING IN SPERM. HERE WE FEED MALE MICE EITHER A FOLATE-DEFICIENT OR FOLATE-SUFFICIENT DIET THROUGHOUT LIFE. PATERNAL FOLATE DEFICIENCY IS ASSOCIATED WITH INCREASED BIRTH DEFECTS IN THE OFFSPRING, WHICH INCLUDE CRANIOFACIAL AND MUSCULOSKELETAL MALFORMATIONS. GENOME-WIDE DNA METHYLATION ANALYSIS AND THE SUBSEQUENT FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS IDENTIFY DIFFERENTIAL METHYLATION IN SPERM OF GENES IMPLICATED IN DEVELOPMENT, CHRONIC DISEASES SUCH AS CANCER, DIABETES, AUTISM AND SCHIZOPHRENIA. WHILE >300 GENES ARE DIFFERENTIALLY EXPRESSED IN OFFSPRING PLACENTA, ONLY TWO CORRESPOND TO GENES WITH DIFFERENTIAL METHYLATION IN SPERM. THIS MODEL SUGGESTS EPIGENETIC TRANSMISSION MAY INVOLVE SPERM HISTONE H3 METHYLATION OR DNA METHYLATION AND THAT ADEQUATE PATERNAL DIETARY FOLATE IS ESSENTIAL FOR OFFSPRING HEALTH. 2013 8 4949 30 PATERNAL TRANSMISSION OF STRESS-INDUCED PATHOLOGIES. BACKGROUND: THERE HAS BEEN RECENT INTEREST IN THE POSSIBILITY THAT EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS MIGHT CONTRIBUTE TO THE TRANSGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF STRESS-INDUCED VULNERABILITY. HERE, WE FOCUSED ON POSSIBLE PATERNAL TRANSMISSION WITH THE SOCIAL DEFEAT STRESS PARADIGM. METHODS: ADULT MALE MICE EXPOSED TO CHRONIC SOCIAL DEFEAT STRESS OR CONTROL NONDEFEATED MICE WERE BRED WITH NORMAL FEMALE MICE, AND THEIR OFFSPRING WERE ASSESSED BEHAVIORALLY FOR DEPRESSIVE- AND ANXIETY-LIKE MEASURES. PLASMA LEVELS OF CORTICOSTERONE AND VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL GROWTH FACTOR WERE ALSO ASSAYED. TO DIRECTLY ASSESS THE ROLE OF EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS, WE USED IN VITRO FERTILIZATION (IVF); BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENTS WERE CONDUCTED ON OFFSPRING OF MICE FROM IVF-CONTROL AND IVF-DEFEATED FATHERS. RESULTS: WE SHOW THAT BOTH MALE AND FEMALE OFFSPRING FROM DEFEATED FATHERS EXHIBIT INCREASED MEASURES OF SEVERAL DEPRESSION- AND ANXIETY-LIKE BEHAVIORS. THE MALE OFFSPRING OF DEFEATED FATHERS ALSO DISPLAY INCREASED BASELINE PLASMA LEVELS OF CORTICOSTERONE AND DECREASED LEVELS OF VASCULAR ENDOTHELIAL GROWTH FACTOR. HOWEVER, MOST OF THESE BEHAVIORAL CHANGES WERE NOT OBSERVED WHEN OFFSPRING WERE GENERATED THROUGH IVF. CONCLUSIONS: THESE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT, ALTHOUGH BEHAVIORAL ADAPTATIONS THAT OCCUR AFTER CHRONIC SOCIAL DEFEAT STRESS CAN BE TRANSMITTED FROM THE FATHER TO HIS MALE AND FEMALE F1 PROGENY, ONLY VERY SUBTLE CHANGES MIGHT BE TRANSMITTED EPIGENETICALLY UNDER THE CONDITIONS TESTED. 2011 9 1802 29 EFFECT OF PATERNAL DIET ON SPERMATOGENESIS AND OFFSPRING HEALTH: FOCUS ON EPIGENETICS AND INTERVENTIONS WITH FOOD BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS. INFERTILITY IS A GROWING PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEM. CONSUMPTION OF ANTIOXIDANT BIOACTIVE FOOD COMPOUNDS (BFCS) THAT INCLUDE MICRONUTRIENTS AND NON-NUTRIENTS HAS BEEN HIGHLIGHTED AS A POTENTIAL STRATEGY TO PROTECT AGAINST OXIDATIVE AND INFLAMMATORY DAMAGE IN THE MALE REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM INDUCED BY OBESITY, ALCOHOL, AND TOXICANTS AND, THUS, IMPROVE SPERMATOGENESIS AND THE FERTILITY PARAMETERS. PATERNAL CONSUMPTION OF SUCH DIETARY COMPOUNDS COULD NOT ONLY BENEFIT THE FATHERS BUT THEIR OFFSPRING AS WELL. STUDIES IN THE NEW FIELD OF PATERNAL ORIGINS OF HEALTH AND DISEASE SHOW THAT PATERNAL MALNUTRITION CAN ALTER SPERM EPIGENOME, AND THIS CAN ALTER FETAL DEVELOPMENT AND PROGRAM AN INCREASED RISK OF METABOLIC DISEASES AND BREAST CANCER IN ADULTHOOD. BFCS, SUCH AS ASCORBIC ACID, ALPHA-TOCOPHEROL, POLYUNSATURATED FATTY ACIDS, TRACE ELEMENTS, CARNITINES, N-ACETYLCYSTEINE, AND COENZYME Q10, HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO IMPROVE MALE GAMETOGENESIS, MODULATE EPIGENETICS OF GERM CELLS, AND THE EPIGENETIC SIGNATURE OF THE OFFSPRING, RESTORING OFFSPRING METABOLIC HEALTH INDUCED BY STRESSORS DURING EARLY LIFE. THIS INDICATES THAT, FROM A FATHER'S PERSPECTIVE, PRECONCEPTION IS A VALUABLE WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY TO START POTENTIAL NUTRITIONAL INTERVENTIONS WITH THESE BFCS TO MAXIMIZE SPERM EPIGENETIC INTEGRITY AND PROMOTE ADEQUATE FETAL GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT, THUS PREVENTING CHRONIC DISEASE IN ADULTHOOD. 2022 10 5578 28 ROLE OF MIRNA IN THE TRANSMISSION OF METABOLIC DISEASES ASSOCIATED WITH PATERNAL DIET-INDUCED OBESITY. THE CONCEPT OF DEVELOPMENTAL ORIGINS OF HEALTH AND DISEASES (DOHAD) RECOGNIZES THAT AN UNFAVORABLE MATERNAL ENVIRONMENT ALTERS THE DEVELOPMENTAL TRAJECTORY OF THE FETUS AND CAN LEAD TO LONG-TERM RISK OF DEVELOPING CHRONIC NONCOMMUNICABLE DISEASES. MORE RECENTLY, THE CONCEPT OF A PATERNAL TRANSMISSION [PATERNAL ORIGINS OF HEALTH AND DISEASES (POHAD)] HAS EMERGED STRESSING THE IMPACT OF PATERNAL OVERWEIGHT OR OBESITY ON OFFSPRING'S HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT. WHILE VERY FEW EXAMPLES OF PATERNAL EPIGENETIC INHERITANCE OF METABOLIC DISORDERS HAVE BEEN EVIDENCED IN HUMAN, MANY EXPERIMENTAL MOUSE MODELS BASED ON HIGH-FAT DIET (HFD)-INDUCED PATERNAL OBESITY HAVE BEEN DEVELOPED TO BREAKDOWN MOLECULAR MECHANISMS INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS. BESIDES DNA METHYLATION AND CHROMATIN STRUCTURE, SPERM SHORT NONCODING RNAS HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED AS THE MAIN EPIGENETIC VECTOR OF INHERITANCE OF PATERNALLY ENVIRONMENTALLY INDUCED CHANGES. AMONG THEM, SPERM MIRNAS ARE ONE PARTICULAR SUBSPECIES SENSITIVE TO ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES AND OBESITY CAN MODIFY THE SPERM MIRNA PROFILE. ONCE DELIVERED INTO THE ZYGOTE, THESE MOLECULES MIGHT INDUCE EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS IN THE EMBRYO, THEREBY LEADING TO CONSEQUENCES FOR FETUS DEVELOPMENT AND OFFSPRING PHYSICAL AND METABOLIC HEALTH LATER ON IN LIFE. FURTHERMORE, SOME DATA ALSO SUGGEST THAT METABOLIC PATHOLOGIES MAY BE INTERGENERATIONALLY OR TRANSGENERATIONALLY TRANSMITTED. 2019 11 1096 38 COINCUBATION OF SPERM WITH EPIDIDYMAL EXTRACELLULAR VESICLE PREPARATIONS FROM CHRONIC INTERMITTENT ETHANOL-TREATED MICE IS SUFFICIENT TO IMPART ANXIETY-LIKE AND ETHANOL-INDUCED BEHAVIORS TO ADULT PROGENY. WE PREVIOUSLY REPORTED THAT PATERNAL PRECONCEPTION CHRONIC ETHANOL EXPOSURE IN MICE IMPARTS ADULT MALE OFFSPRING WITH REDUCED ETHANOL DRINKING PREFERENCE AND CONSUMPTION, INCREASED ETHANOL SENSITIVITY, AND ATTENUATED STRESS RESPONSIVITY. THAT SAME CHRONIC ETHANOL EXPOSURE PARADIGM WAS LATER REVEALED TO AFFECT THE SPERM EPIGENOME BY ALTERING THE ABUNDANCE OF SEVERAL SMALL NONCODING RNAS, A MECHANISM THAT MEDIATES THE INTERGENERATIONAL EFFECTS OF NUMEROUS PATERNAL ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURES. ALTHOUGH RECENT STUDIES HAVE REVEALED THAT THE UNIQUE RNA SIGNATURE OF SPERM IS SHAPED DURING MATURATION IN THE EPIDIDYMIS VIA EXTRACELLULAR VESICLES (EVS), FORMAL DEMONSTRATION THAT EVS MEDIATE THE EFFECTS OF PATERNAL PRECONCEPTION PERTURBATIONS IS LACKING. THEREFORE, IN THE CURRENT STUDY WE TESTED THE HYPOTHESIS THAT EPIDIDYMAL EV PREPARATIONS ARE SUFFICIENT TO INDUCE INTERGENERATIONAL EFFECTS OF PATERNAL PRECONCEPTION ETHANOL EXPOSURE ON OFFSPRING. TO TEST THIS HYPOTHESIS, SPERM FROM ETHANOL-NAIVE DONORS WERE INCUBATED WITH EPIDIDYMAL EV PREPARATIONS FROM CHRONIC ETHANOL (ETHANOL EV-DONOR) OR CONTROL-TREATED (CONTROL EV-DONOR) MICE PRIOR TO IN VITRO FERTILIZATION (IVF) AND EMBRYO TRANSFER. PROGENY WERE EXAMINED FOR ETHANOL- AND STRESS-RELATED BEHAVIORS IN ADULTHOOD. ETHANOL EV-DONORS IMPARTED REDUCED BODY WEIGHT AT WEANING AND IMPARTED MODESTLY INCREASED LIMITED ACCESS ETHANOL INTAKE TO MALE OFFSPRING. ETHANOL-EV DONORS ALSO IMPARTED INCREASED BASAL ANXIETY-LIKE BEHAVIOR AND REDUCED SENSITIVITY TO ETHANOL-INDUCED ANXIOLYSIS TO FEMALE OFFSPRING. ALTHOUGH ETHANOL EV-DONOR TREATMENT DID NOT RECAPITULATE THE ETHANOL- OR STRESS-RELATED INTERGENERATIONAL EFFECTS OF PATERNAL ETHANOL FOLLOWING NATURAL MATING, THESE RESULTS DEMONSTRATE THAT COINCUBATION OF SPERM WITH EPIDIDYMAL EV PREPARATIONS IS SUFFICIENT TO IMPART INTERGENERATIONAL EFFECTS OF ETHANOL THROUGH THE MALE GERMLINE. THIS MECHANISM MAY GENERALIZE TO THE INTERGENERATIONAL EFFECTS OF A WIDE VARIETY OF PATERNAL PRECONCEPTION PERTURBATIONS. 2020 12 4077 26 MATERNAL INFLAMMATION INDUCES SPATIAL LEARNING AND MEMORY IMPAIRMENT IN THE F1 AND F2 GENERATIONS OF MICE VIA SEX-SPECIFIC EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS. MOUNTING EVIDENCE INDICATES THAT HISTONE MODIFICATIONS ARE INVOLVED IN AGING-ASSOCIATED COGNITIVE DECLINE (AACD) AND CAN BE TRANSMITTED TO OFFSPRING OVER MULTIPLE GENERATIONS UNDER CONDITIONS OF STRESS. HERE, WE INVESTIGATED THE EFFECTS OF MATERNAL SUB-CHRONIC INFLAMMATION CAUSED BY LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE (LPS) ON AACD AND HISTONE MODIFICATIONS IN THE F1 AND F2 GENERATIONS OF EXPERIMENTAL MICE AS WELL AS THE POTENTIAL SEX SPECIFICITY OF INTERGENERATIONAL EFFECTS. IN BRIEF, F0-GENERATION CD-1 DAMS WERE EXPOSED TO LPS (50 MICROG/KG) OR SALINE (CON) DURING LATE PREGNANCY. SUBSEQUENTLY, F1 MALES AND FEMALES (AT 2 MONTHS-OF-AGE) FROM THE LPS TREATMENT GROUP WERE MATED WITH NON-LITTERMATES FROM THE LPS GROUP OR WILD-TYPE MICE TO PRODUCE F2 GENERATIONS OF PARENTAL- (F2-LPS(2)), PATERNAL- (F2M-LPS(1)) AND MATERNAL-ORIGIN (F2F-LPS(1)) MICE. THEN, CON-F1 MALES AND FEMALES WERE MATED WITH WILD-TYPE MICE TO GENERATE F2 GENERATIONS OF PATERNAL- (F2M-CON(1)) AND MATERNAL-ORIGIN (F2F-CON(1)). NEXT, WE EVALUATED THE COGNITIVE ABILITY AND LEVELS OF HIPPOCAMPAL H4K12AC AND H3K9ME3 IN THE F1 AND F2 OFFSPRING AT 3- AND 13 MONTHS-OF-AGE. OVERALL, F1 MALE AND FEMALE LPS GROUPS PRESENTED WITH ELEVATED CORTICOSTERONE (P < 0.001, P = 0.036, P = 0.025, 0.012, RESPECTIVELY) AND CYTOKINE RESPONSES, POORER COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE (ALL P < 0.05) AND H3K9 HYPERMETHYLATION AND H4K12 HYPOACETYLATION IN THE DORSAL HIPPOCAMPUS (ALL P < 0.05); THESE ISSUES WERE CARRIED OVER TO THE F2 GENERATION VIA THE PARENTS, PREDOMINANTLY IN THE PATERNAL LINEAGE. MOREOVER, THE LEVELS OF H3K9ME3 AND H4K12AC WERE SIGNIFICANT CORRELATED WITH COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE (ALL P < 0.05), REGARDLESS OF WHETHER INFLAMMATORY INSULTS HAD BEEN INCURRED DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY. THESE FINDINGS INDICATED THAT GESTATIONAL INFLAMMATORY INSULTS IN THE F0 GENERATION ACCELERATED AACD IN THE F2 GENERATION, ALONG WITH H3K9 HYPERMETHYLATION AND H4K12 HYPOACETYLATION IN THE HIPPOCAMPUS, AND THAT THESE ISSUES WERE DERIVED FROM THE F1 PARENTS, ESPECIALLY FROM THE F1 FATHERS. 2022 13 4944 29 PATERNAL PRECONCEPTION ETHANOL EXPOSURE BLUNTS HYPOTHALAMIC-PITUITARY-ADRENAL AXIS RESPONSIVITY AND STRESS-INDUCED EXCESSIVE FLUID INTAKE IN MALE MICE. A GROWING NUMBER OF ENVIRONMENTAL INSULTS HAVE BEEN SHOWN TO INDUCE EPIGENETIC EFFECTS THAT PERSIST ACROSS GENERATIONS. FOR INSTANCE, PATERNAL PRECONCEPTION EXPOSURES TO ETHANOL OR STRESS HAVE INDEPENDENTLY BEEN SHOWN TO EXERT SUCH INTERGENERATIONAL EFFECTS. SINCE ETHANOL EXPOSURE IS A PHYSIOLOGICAL STRESSOR THAT ACTIVATES THE HYPOTHALAMIC-PITUITARY-ADRENAL (HPA) AXIS, WE HYPOTHESIZED THAT PATERNAL ETHANOL EXPOSURE WOULD IMPACT STRESS RESPONSIVITY OF OFFSPRING. ADULT MALE MICE WERE EXPOSED TO CHRONIC INTERMITTENT VAPOR ETHANOL OR CONTROL CONDITIONS FOR 5 WEEKS BEFORE BEING MATED WITH ETHANOL-NAIVE FEMALES TO PRODUCE ETHANOL (E)- AND CONTROL (C)-SIRED OFFSPRING. ADULT MALE AND FEMALE OFFSPRING WERE TESTED FOR PLASMA CORTICOSTERONE (CORT) LEVELS FOLLOWING ACUTE RESTRAINT STRESS AND THE MALE OFFSPRING WERE FURTHER EXAMINED FOR STRESS-EVOKED 2-BOTTLE CHOICE ETHANOL-DRINKING. PATERNAL ETHANOL EXPOSURE BLUNTED PLASMA CORT LEVELS FOLLOWING ACUTE RESTRAINT STRESS SELECTIVELY IN MALE OFFSPRING; FEMALES WERE UNAFFECTED. IN A STRESS-EVOKED ETHANOL-DRINKING ASSAY, THERE WAS NO EFFECT OF STRESS ON ETHANOL CONSUMPTION. HOWEVER, C-SIRED MALES EXHIBITED INCREASED TOTAL FLUID INTAKE (POLYDIPSIA) IN RESPONSE TO STRESS WHILE E-SIRED MALES WERE RESISTANT TO THIS STRESS-INDUCED PHENOTYPE. TAKEN TOGETHER, THESE DATA SUGGEST THAT PATERNAL ETHANOL EXPOSURE IMPARTS STRESS HYPORESPONSIVITY TO MALE OFFSPRING. 2016 14 4051 28 MALE OBESITY: EPIGENETIC ORIGIN AND EFFECTS IN SPERM AND OFFSPRING. PURPOSE OF REVIEW: THE PREVALENCE OF OBESITY HAS INCREASED SUBSTANTIALLY IN THE CURRENT GENERATIONS OF WESTERN COUNTRIES, AND THE BURDEN OF OBESITY-RELATED COMPLICATIONS HAS BEEN GROWING STEADILY. IN MEN, OBESITY IS NOT ONLY A MAJOR RISK FACTOR FOR SERIOUS CHRONIC DISEASES, CONCERN IS GROWING THAT THE REPRODUCTIVE CAPACITY, AND MORE PARTICULARLY, THEIR OFFSPRING'S HEALTH MAY BE AFFECTED. OBESITY-RELATED IMPAIRED SPERMATOGENESIS IS ASSOCIATED WITH A DECREASE IN MICROSCOPIC AND MOLECULAR SPERM CHARACTERISTICS AND PREGNANCY SUCCESS. WE HYPOTHESIZE THAT EPIGENETICS IS AN IMPORTANT MEDIATOR EXPLAINING INTERACTIONS BETWEEN AN OBESOGENIC ENVIRONMENT AND SPERM/OFFSPRING OUTCOMES. RECENT FINDINGS: RECENT STUDIES HAVE EXPLORED INTER- AND TRANSGENERATIONAL EPIGENETIC EFFECTS IN SPERM CELLS AND IN OFFSPRING. FATHER-TO-CHILD EFFECTS HAVE BEEN REPORTED IN RELATION TO PRECONCEPTIONAL NUTRITIONAL AND LIFE-STYLE RELATED FACTORS. SUMMARY: HERE, WE SUMMARIZE THE CURRENT UNDERSTANDING ABOUT OBESITY AND MOLECULAR OR EPIGENETIC UNDERLYING MECHANISMS IN SPERM. WE IDENTIFY THE OBESOGENIC ENVIRONMENT OF THE FATHER BEFORE CONCEPTION AS A POTENTIAL ORIGIN OF HEALTH OR DISEASE IN THE OFFSPRING AND INCLUDE IT AS PART OF A NEW CONCEPT, THE PATERNAL ORIGINS OF HEALTH AND DISEASE (POHAD). 2017 15 3119 34 GESTATIONAL EXPOSURE TO PARTICULATE AIR POLLUTION EXACERBATES THE GROWTH PHENOTYPES INDUCED BY PRECONCEPTION PATERNAL ALCOHOL USE: A MULTIPLEX MODEL OF EXPOSURE. IT IS NOW CLEAR THAT PARENTAL HISTORIES OF DRUG USE, TOXICANT EXPOSURE, AND SOCIAL STRESS ALL HAVE A SIGNIFICANT INFLUENCE ON THE HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE NEXT GENERATION. HOWEVER, THE ABILITY OF EPIGENETIC PARENTAL LIFE MEMORIES TO INTERACT WITH SUBSEQUENT GESTATIONAL EXPOSURES AND CUMULATIVELY MODIFY THE DEVELOPMENTAL TRAJECTORY OF THE OFFSPRING REMAINS AN UNEXPLORED PERSPECTIVE IN TOXICOLOGY. STUDIES FROM OUR LABORATORY HAVE IDENTIFIED MALE-SPECIFIC POSTNATAL GROWTH RESTRICTION IN A MOUSE MODEL OF CHRONIC, PRECONCEPTION PATERNAL ALCOHOL EXPOSURE. THE GOAL OF THE CURRENT STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE IF PATERNAL ALCOHOL USE, BEFORE CONCEPTION, COULD MODIFY THE SUSCEPTIBILITY OF THE OFFSPRING TO A COMPLETELY SEPARATE EXPOSURE ENCOUNTERED BY THE MOTHER DURING PREGNANCY. IN INDEPENDENT EXPERIMENTS, WE PREVIOUSLY IDENTIFIED ALTERED DEVELOPMENTAL PROGRAMMING AND INCREASED MARKERS OF SEVERE ASTHMA INDUCED BY GESTATIONAL EXPOSURE TO PARTICULATE AIR POLLUTION. IN THIS STUDY, MALE MICE WERE EXPOSED TO EITHER THE CONTROL OR ALCOHOL PRECONCEPTION TREATMENTS, THEN MATED TO NAIVE FEMALES, WHICH WE SUBSEQUENTLY EXPOSED TO AN ULTRAFINE MIXTURE OF PARTICULATE MATTER VIA INHALATION. INDIVIDUALLY, NEITHER PRECONCEPTION PATERNAL DRINKING NOR GESTATIONAL EXPOSURES TO PARTICULATE AIR POLLUTION IMPACTED THE POSTNATAL GROWTH OF FEMALE OFFSPRING. HOWEVER, WHEN BOTH EXPOSURES WERE COMBINED, FEMALES DISPLAYED A 30% REDUCTION IN WEIGHT GAIN. UNEXPECTEDLY, THIS EXPOSURE PARADIGM RESULTED IN A DRAMATIC POSTNATAL INCREASE IN LITTER LOSS DUE TO MATERNAL CANNIBALISM, WHICH PREVENTED ADDITIONAL MEASURES OF OFFSPRING HEALTH. THESE PRELIMINARY STUDIES PROVIDE EVIDENCE OF A COMPLEX INTERPLAY BETWEEN PRECONCEPTION LIFE HISTORY AND INTRAUTERINE ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS IN THE CONTROL OF POSTNATAL GROWTH. 2020 16 73 36 A MULTI-GENERATIONAL STUDY ON LOW-DOSE BPA EXPOSURE IN WISTAR RATS: EFFECTS ON MATERNAL BEHAVIOR, FLAVOR INTAKE AND DEVELOPMENT. BISPHENOL A (BPA) IS A COMMON ENDOCRINE DISRUPTOR FOUND AS AN ENVIRONMENTAL AND FOOD CONTAMINANT. IT EXERTS BOTH DEVELOPMENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL EFFECTS, MAINLY WHEN EXPOSURE OCCURS IN EARLY LIFE. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE THE MULTI-GENERATIONAL EFFECTS OF CHRONIC, HUMAN-RELEVANT LOW-DOSE EXPOSURE TO BPA ON DEVELOPMENT, MATERNAL BEHAVIOR AND FLAVOR PREFERENCE IN WISTAR RATS. BPA WAS ORALLY ADMINISTERED AT A DAILY DOSE OF 5 MUG/KG BODY WEIGHT TO F0 PREGNANT DAMS FROM THE FIRST DAY OF GESTATION (GD 1) UNTIL THE LAST DAY OF LACTATION (LD 21), AND THEN TO F1 OFFSPRING FROM WEANING (PND 21) TO ADULTHOOD (PND 100). F2 OFFSPRING WERE NOT EXPOSED. DEVELOPMENT AND CLINICAL SIGNS OF TOXICITY WERE ASSESSED DAILY. MATERNAL BEHAVIOR WAS EVALUATED BY OBSERVING NURSING AND PUP-CARING ACTIONS, AS WELL AS "NON-MATERNAL" BEHAVIORS IN F0 AND F1 DAMS FROM PARTURITION UNTIL LD 8. THE FLAVOR PREFERENCES OF F1 AND F2 OFFSPRING WERE EVALUATED BASED ON THE INTAKE OF SWEET, SALT AND FAT SOLUTIONS USING THE TWO-BOTTLE CHOICE TEST ON PND 21-34 AND PND 86-99. BPA EXPOSURE: 1) DECREASED MATERNAL BEHAVIOR IN F1 DAMS, 2) CAUSED DEVELOPMENTAL DEFECTS IN BOTH F1 AND F2 OFFSPRING, WITH A NOTICEABLE DECREASE IN ANOGENITAL DISTANCE IN MALE RATS, AND 3) DID NOT AFFECT FLAVORED SOLUTION INTAKE IN F1, BUT INDUCED CHANGES IN SWEET PREFERENCE IN F2 JUVENILES AND IN SALT AND FAT SOLUTION INTAKES IN F2 ADULTS, AND 4) INDUCED A BODY WEIGHT INCREASE IN THE F2 GENERATION ONLY, WHEREAS FOOD INTAKE AND WATER CONSUMPTION DID NOT CHANGE. TAKEN AS A WHOLE, OUR FINDINGS SHOWED THAT BOTH GESTATIONAL (F0) AND LIFELONG (F1) EXPOSURES TO A HUMAN-RELEVANT DOSE OF BPA COULD INDUCE MULTI-GENERATIONAL EFFECTS ON BOTH DEVELOPMENT AND BEHAVIOR. THESE RESULTS SUGGEST POSSIBLE SELECTIVE NEUROENDOCRINE DEFECTS AND/OR EPIGENETIC CHANGES CAUSED BY BPA EXPOSURE. 2014 17 4946 30 PATERNAL PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS REPROGRAMS HEPATIC GLUCONEOGENESIS IN OFFSPRING. BOTH EPIDEMIOLOGIC AND EXPERIMENTAL ANIMAL STUDIES DEMONSTRATE THAT CHRONIC PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS EXERTS ADVERSE EFFECTS ON THE INITIATION AND/OR PROGRESSION OF MANY DISEASES. HOWEVER, INTERGENERATIONAL EFFECTS OF THIS ENVIRONMENTAL INFORMATION REMAINS POORLY UNDERSTOOD. HERE, USING A C57BL/6 MOUSE MODEL OF RESTRAINT STRESS, WE SHOW THAT OFFSPRING OF STRESSED FATHERS EXHIBIT HYPERGLYCEMIA DUE TO ENHANCED HEPATIC GLUCONEOGENESIS AND ELEVATED EXPRESSION OF PEPCK. MECHANISTICALLY, WE IDENTIFY AN EPIGENETIC ALTERATION AT THE PROMOTER REGION OF THE SFMBT2 GENE, A MATERNALLY IMPRINTED POLYCOMB GENE, LEADING TO A DOWNREGULATION OF INTRONIC MICRORNA-466B-3P, WHICH POST-TRANSCRIPTIONALLY INHIBITS PEPCK EXPRESSION. IMPORTANTLY, HYPERGLYCEMIA IN F1 MICE IS REVERSED BY RU486 TREATMENT IN FATHERS, AND DEXAMETHASONE ADMINISTRATION IN F0 MICE PHENOCOPIES THE ROLES OF RESTRAINT STRESS. THUS, WE PROVIDE EVIDENCE SHOWING THE EFFECTS OF PATERNAL PSYCHOLOGICAL STRESS ON THE REGULATION OF GLUCOSE METABOLISM IN OFFSPRING, WHICH MAY HAVE PROFOUND IMPLICATIONS FOR OUR UNDERSTANDING OF HEALTH AND DISEASE RISK INHERITED FROM FATHERS. 2016 18 4752 38 NOVEL ROLE OF GESTATIONAL HYDRALAZINE IN LIMITING MATERNAL AND DIETARY OBESITY-RELATED CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE. BACKGROUND: MATERNAL OBESITY IS A RISK FACTOR FOR CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE (CKD) IN OFFSPRING, UNDERPINNING THE THEORY OF THE DEVELOPMENTAL ORIGINS OF HEALTH AND DISEASE. DNA METHYLATION HAS BEEN IMPLICATED IN THE PROGRAMMING OF ADULT CHRONIC DISEASE BY MATERNAL OBESITY, THEREFORE, DNA DEMETHYLATING AGENTS MAY MITIGATE OFFSPRING RISK OF DISEASE. IN RODENT MODELS, LOW-DOSE HYDRALAZINE HAS PREVIOUSLY BEEN SHOWN TO REDUCE RENAL FIBROSIS VIA DNA DEMETHYLATION. WE USED MOUSE MODELS OF MATERNAL OBESITY AND OFFSPRING OBESITY TO DETERMINE WHETHER ADMINISTRATION OF LOW-DOSE HYDRALAZINE DURING GESTATION CAN PREVENT FETAL PROGRAMMING OF CKD IN OFFSPRING. METHODS: FEMALE C57BL/6 MICE RECEIVED HIGH FAT DIET (HFD) OR CHOW PRIOR TO MATING, DURING GESTATION AND LACTATION. DURING GESTATION, DAMS RECEIVED SUBCUTANEOUS HYDRALAZINE (5 MG/KG) OR SALINE THRICE-WEEKLY. MALE OFFSPRING WEANED TO HFD OR CHOW, WHICH CONTINUED UNTIL ENDPOINT AT 32 WEEKS. BIOMETRIC AND METABOLIC PARAMETERS, RENAL GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION, RENAL FUNCTIONAL AND STRUCTURAL CHANGES, AND RENAL MARKERS OF FIBROSIS, INFLAMMATION AND OXIDATIVE STRESS WERE ASSESSED AT ENDPOINT. RESULTS: OFFSPRING EXPOSED TO MATERNAL OBESITY OR DIET-INDUCED OBESITY HAD SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED RENAL GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION, TOGETHER WITH OTHER ADVERSE RENAL EFFECTS INCLUDING ALBUMINURIA, GLOMERULOSCLEROSIS, RENAL FIBROSIS, AND OXIDATIVE STRESS. OFFSPRING EXPOSED TO GESTATIONAL HYDRALAZINE HAD SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED RENAL GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION. IN OBESE OFFSPRING OF OBESE MOTHERS, GESTATIONAL HYDRALAZINE SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED ALBUMINURIA, GLOMERULOSCLEROSIS, AND SERUM CREATININE. OBESE OFFSPRING OF HYDRALAZINE-TREATED LEAN MOTHERS DISPLAYED REDUCED MARKERS OF RENAL FIBROSIS AND OXIDATIVE STRESS. CONCLUSION: GESTATIONAL HYDRALAZINE DECREASED RENAL GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION AND EXERTED RENOPROTECTIVE EFFECTS IN OFFSPRING. THIS SUPPORTS A POTENTIAL THERAPEUTIC EFFECT OF HYDRALAZINE IN PREVENTING MATERNAL OBESITY OR DIETARY OBESITY-RELATED CKD, THROUGH AN EPIGENETIC MECHANISM. 2021 19 4942 31 PATERNAL OBESITY: HOW BAD IS IT FOR SPERM QUALITY AND PROGENY HEALTH? THERE IS SUBSTANTIAL EVIDENCE THAT PATERNAL OBESITY IS ASSOCIATED NOT ONLY WITH AN INCREASED INCIDENCE OF INFERTILITY, BUT ALSO WITH AN INCREASED RISK OF METABOLIC DISTURBANCE IN ADULT OFFSPRING. APPARENTLY, SEVERAL MECHANISMS MAY CONTRIBUTE TO THE SPERM QUALITY ALTERATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH PATERNAL OBESITY, SUCH AS PHYSIOLOGICAL/HORMONAL ALTERATIONS, OXIDATIVE STRESS, AND EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS. ALONG THESE LINES, MODIFICATIONS OF HORMONAL PROFILES NAMELY REDUCED ANDROGEN LEVELS AND ELEVATED ESTROGEN LEVELS, WERE FOUND ASSOCIATED WITH LOWER SPERM CONCENTRATION AND SEMINAL VOLUME. ADDITIONALLY, OXIDATIVE STRESS IN TESTIS MAY INDUCE AN INCREASE OF THE PERCENTAGE OF SPERM WITH DNA FRAGMENTATION. THE LATTER, RELATE TO OTHER PECULIARITIES SUCH AS ALTERATION OF THE EMBRYONIC DEVELOPMENT, INCREASED RISK OF MISCARRIAGE, AND DEVELOPMENT OF CHRONIC MORBIDITY IN THE OFFSPRING, INCLUDING CHILDHOOD CANCERS. UNDOUBTEDLY, EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS (IE, DNA METHYLATION, CHROMATIN MODIFICATIONS, AND SMALL RNA DEREGULATION) OF SPERM RELATED TO PATERNAL OBESITY AND THEIR CONSEQUENCES ON THE PROGENY ARE POORLY UNDERSTOOD DETERMINANTS OF PATERNAL OBESITY-INDUCED TRANSMISSION. IN THIS REVIEW, WE SUMMARIZE AND DISCUSS THE DATA AVAILABLE IN THE LITERATURE REGARDING THE BIOLOGICAL, PHYSIOLOGICAL, AND MOLECULAR CONSEQUENCES OF PATERNAL OBESITY ON MALE FERTILITY POTENTIAL AND ULTIMATELY PROGENY HEALTH. 2017 20 4947 39 PATERNAL SEPSIS INDUCES ALTERATIONS OF THE SPERM METHYLOME AND DAMPENS OFFSPRING IMMUNE RESPONSES-AN ANIMAL STUDY. BACKGROUND: SEPSIS REPRESENTS THE UTMOST SEVERE CONSEQUENCE OF INFECTION, INVOLVING A DYSREGULATED AND SELF-DAMAGING IMMUNE RESPONSE OF THE HOST. WHILE DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURES LIKE CHRONIC STRESS OR MALNUTRITION HAVE BEEN WELL DESCRIBED TO REPROGRAM THE GERMLINE AND SUBSEQUENTLY OFFSPRING ATTRIBUTES, THE INTERGENERATIONAL IMPACT OF SEPSIS AS A TREMENDOUS IMMUNOLOGICAL STRESSOR HAS NOT BEEN EXAMINED YET. METHODS: POLYMICROBIAL SEPSIS IN 12-WEEK-OLD MALE C57BL/6 MICE WAS INDUCED BY CECAL LIGATION AND PUNCTURE (CLP), FOLLOWED BY A MATING OF THE MALE SURVIVORS (OR APPROPRIATE SHAM CONTROL ANIMALS) 6 WEEKS LATER WITH HEALTHY FEMALES. ALVEOLAR MACROPHAGES OF OFFSPRING ANIMALS WERE ISOLATED AND STIMULATED WITH EITHER LPS OR ZYMOSAN, AND SUPERNATANT LEVELS OF TNF-ALPHA WERE QUANTIFIED BY ELISA. FURTHERMORE, SYSTEMIC CYTOKINE RESPONSE TO INTRAPERITONEALLY INJECTED LPS WAS ASSESSED AFTER 24 H. ALSO, MORPHOLOGY, MOTILITY, AND GLOBAL DNA METHYLATION OF THE SEPSIS SURVIVORS' SPERM WAS EXAMINED. RESULTS: COMPARATIVE REDUCED REDUCTION BISULFITE SEQUENCING (RRBS) OF SPERM REVEALED CHANGES OF DNA METHYLATION (N = 381), MOST PRONOUNCED IN THE INTERGENIC GENOME AS WELL AS WITHIN INTRONS OF DEVELOPMENTALLY RELEVANT GENES. OFFSPRING OF SEPSIS FATHERS EXHIBITED A SLIGHT DECREASE IN BODY WEIGHT, WITH A MORE PRONOUNCED WEIGHT DIFFERENCE IN MALE ANIMALS (CLP VS. SHAM). MALE DESCENDANTS OF SEPSIS FATHERS, BUT NOT FEMALE DESCENDANTS, EXHIBITED LOWER PLASMA CONCENTRATIONS OF IL-6, TNF-ALPHA, AND IL-10 24 H AFTER INJECTION OF LPS. IN LINE, ONLY ALVEOLAR MACROPHAGES OF MALE DESCENDANTS OF SEPSIS FATHERS PRODUCED LESS TNF-ALPHA UPON ZYMOSAN STIMULATION COMPARED TO SHAM DESCENDANTS, WHILE LPS RESPONSES KEPT UNCHANGED. CONCLUSION: WE CAN PROVE THAT MALE-BUT SURPRISINGLY NOT FEMALE-DESCENDANTS OF POST-SEPSIS FATHERS SHOW A DAMPENED SYSTEMIC AS WELL AS PULMONARY IMMUNE RESPONSE. BASED ON THIS OBSERVATION OF AN IMMUNE HYPO-RESPONSIVITY, WE PROPOSE THAT MALE DESCENDANTS OF SEPSIS FATHERS ARE AT RISK TO DEVELOP FUNGAL AND BACTERIAL INFECTIONS AND MIGHT BENEFIT FROM THERAPEUTIC IMMUNE MODULATION. 2018