1 3815 176 INTRAUTERINE PROGRAMMING MECHANISM FOR HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIA IN PRENATAL CAFFEINE-EXPOSED FEMALE ADULT RAT OFFSPRING. CLINICAL AND ANIMAL STUDIES HAVE INDICATED THAT HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIA AND ITS ASSOCIATED DISEASES HAVE INTRAUTERINE DEVELOPMENTAL ORIGINS. OUR PREVIOUS STUDIES SHOWED THAT PRENATAL CAFFEINE EXPOSURE (PCE) LED TO FETAL OVEREXPOSURE TO MATERNAL GLUCOCORTICOIDS (GCS) AND INCREASED SERUM TOTAL CHOLESTEROL LEVELS IN ADULT RAT OFFSPRING. THIS STUDY FURTHER CONFIRMS THE INTRAUTERINE PROGRAMMING OF PCE-INDUCED HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIA IN FEMALE ADULT RAT OFFSPRING. PREGNANT WISTAR RATS WERE INTRAGASTRICALLY ADMINISTERED CAFFEINE (30, 60, AND 120 MG/KG/D) FROM GESTATIONAL DAY (GD)9 TO 20. FEMALE RAT OFFSPRING WERE EUTHANIZED AT GD20 AND POSTNATAL WK 12; SEVERAL ADULT RAT OFFSPRING WERE ADDITIONALLY SUBJECTED TO ICE-WATER SWIMMING STIMULATION TO INDUCE CHRONIC STRESS PRIOR TO DEATH. THE EFFECTS OF GCS ON CHOLESTEROL METABOLISM AND EPIGENETIC REGULATION WERE VERIFIED USING THE L02 CELL LINE. THE RESULTS SHOWED THAT PCE INDUCED HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIA IN ADULT OFFSPRING, WHICH MANIFESTED AS SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER LEVELS OF SERUM TOTAL CHOLESTEROL AND LDL CHOLESTEROL (LDL-C) AS WELL AS HIGHER RATIOS OF LDL-C/HDL CHOLESTEROL. WE FURTHER FOUND THAT THE CHOLESTEROL LEVELS WERE INCREASED IN FETAL LIVERS BUT WERE DECREASED IN FETAL BLOOD, ACCOMPANIED BY INCREASED MATERNAL BLOOD CHOLESTEROL LEVELS AND REDUCED PLACENTAL CHOLESTEROL TRANSPORT. FURTHERMORE, ANALYSIS OF PCE OFFSPRING IN THE UTERUS AND IN A POSTNATAL BASAL/CHRONIC STRESS STATE AND THE RESULTS OF IN VITRO EXPERIMENTS SHOWED THAT HEPATIC CHOLESTEROL METABOLISM UNDERWENT GC-DEPENDENT CHANGES AND WAS ASSOCIATED WITH CHOLESTEROL SYNTHASE VIA ABNORMALITIES IN 3-HYDROXY-3-METHYLGLUTARYL-COA REDUCTASE (HMGCR) HISTONE ACETYLATION. WE CONCLUDED THAT, TO COMPENSATE FOR INTRAUTERINE PLACENTALLY DERIVED DECREASES IN FETAL BLOOD CHOLESTEROL LEVELS, HIGH INTRAUTERINE GC LEVELS ACTIVATED FETAL HEPATIC CCAAT ENHANCER BINDING PROTEIN ALPHA SIGNALING AND DOWN-REGULATED SIRTUIN1 EXPRESSION, WHICH MEDIATED THE HIGH LEVELS OF HISTONE ACETYLATION ( VIA H3K9AC AND H3K14AC) AND EXPRESSION OF HMGCR. THIS GC-DEPENDENT CHOLESTEROL METABOLISM PROGRAMMING EFFECT WAS SUSTAINED THROUGH ADULTHOOD, LEADING TO THE OCCURRENCE OF HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIA.-XU, D., LUO, H. W., HU, W., HU, S. W., YUAN, C., WANG, G. H., ZHANG, L., YU, H., MAGDALOU, J., CHEN, L. B., WANG, H. INTRAUTERINE PROGRAMMING MECHANISM FOR HYPERCHOLESTEROLEMIA IN PRENATAL CAFFEINE-EXPOSED FEMALE ADULT RAT OFFSPRING. 2018 2 4081 40 MATERNAL MICRONUTRIENT SUPPLEMENTATION SUPPRESSES T CELL CHEMOKINE RECEPTOR EXPRESSION AND FUNCTION IN F1 MICE. PRENATAL ENVIRONMENTAL EXPOSURES PLAY A CRITICAL ROLE IN DETERMINING LATE-LIFE CHRONIC DISEASE SUSCEPTIBILITY. HOWEVER, THE MECHANISMS LINKING THE IN UTERO ENVIRONMENT AND DISEASE DEVELOPMENT IN THE OFFSPRING ARE POORLY UNDERSTOOD. RECENT INVESTIGATIONS HAVE CONFIRMED A CENTRAL PATHOGENIC ROLE OF T CELL CHEMOKINE RECEPTORS, PARTICULARLY C-C CHEMOKINE RECEPTOR (CCR) 2 AND CCR5, IN CHRONIC INFLAMMATORY CONDITIONS. THIS STUDY WAS DESIGNED TO DETERMINE THE EFFECT OF A SYNTHETIC PRENATAL MICRONUTRIENT SUPPLEMENTATION (MS) DIET RICH IN METHIONINE PATHWAY METABOLITES ON THE T CELL CHEMOKINE SYSTEM IN F1 C57BL/6 MICE. FEMALE MICE WERE FED EITHER AN MS OR CONTROL DIET 3 WK PRIOR TO MATING, DURING PREGNANCY, AND LACTATION. AT 4 WK OF AGE, F1 MICE WERE KILLED FOR EXPERIMENTS OR WERE FED THE STANDARD NIH-31 DIET AND ALLOWED TO AGE. FOOD CONSUMPTION, MATERNAL WEIGHT GAIN, AND LITTER SIZE WERE SIMILAR IN DAMS FED THE CONTROL AND MS DIETS. HOWEVER, THE F1 OFFSPRING OF DAMS FED THE MS DIET WERE SMALLER IN SIZE (P < 0.001). T CELLS FROM THE MS F1 OFFSPRING HAD GLOBAL HYPERMETHYLATION COMPARED WITH CONTROL F1 OFFSPRING (P < 0.005), CORRESPONDING TO LOWER T CELL CHEMOKINE RECEPTOR EXPRESSION [CCR2 (P < 0.001), CCR5 (P < 0.001), AND C-X-C CHEMOKINE RECEPTOR 3 (P < 0.01)] AND CYTOKINE EXPRESSION [TNFALPHA (P < 0.05), IL-2 (P < 0.001), AND IL-4 (P < 0.01)]. REDUCED T CELL CHEMOKINE RECEPTOR GENE EXPRESSION IN MS F1 MICE WAS ASSOCIATED WITH DECREASED CHEMOTAXIS IN VITRO TO C-C CHEMOKINE LIGAND (CCL) 2 AND C-X-C CHEMOKINE LIGAND 10 (P < 0.01) AND IN VIVO TO CCL2 (P < 0.01). TAKEN TOGETHER, THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT EPIGENETIC ALTERATION THROUGH PRENATAL DIET MANIPULATION REDUCES THE RESPONSE TO PROINFLAMMATORY SIGNALS IN MICE. 2012 3 5131 37 POSTWEANING DIETARY FOLATE DEFICIENCY PROVIDED THROUGH CHILDHOOD TO PUBERTY PERMANENTLY INCREASES GENOMIC DNA METHYLATION IN ADULT RAT LIVER. FOLATE PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE PATHOGENESIS OF SEVERAL CHRONIC DISEASES BY ITS POTENTIAL ABILITY TO MODULATE DNA METHYLATION. WE HYPOTHESIZED THAT THE POSTWEANING PERIOD MIGHT BE A HIGHLY SUSCEPTIBLE PERIOD TO DIETARY FOLATE INTERVENTION FOR DNA METHYLATION PATTERNING. WE DETERMINED THE EFFECTS OF TIMING AND DURATION OF DIETARY FOLATE INTERVENTION PROVIDED DURING THE POSTWEANING PERIOD ON GENOMIC DNA METHYLATION IN ADULT RAT LIVER. IN STUDY 1, WEANLING RATS WERE RANDOMIZED TO RECEIVE AN AMINO ACID-DEFINED DIET CONTAINING 0 (DEFICIENT), 2 (CONTROL), OR 8 (SUPPLEMENTED) MG FOLIC ACID/KG UNTIL 8 WK OF AGE, AFTER WHICH ALL THE RATS WERE FED THE CONTROL DIET UNTIL 30 WK OF AGE. IN STUDY 2, WEANLING RATS WERE FED THE CONTROL DIET UNTIL 8 WK OF AGE AND THEN RANDOMIZED TO RECEIVE THE DIET CONTAINING 0, 2, OR 8 MG FOLIC ACID/KG UNTIL 30 WK OF AGE. IN STUDY 3, WEANLING RATS WERE RANDOMIZED TO RECEIVE THESE DIETS UNTIL 30 WK OF AGE. DIETARY FOLATE DEFICIENCY, BUT NOT SUPPLEMENTATION, PROVIDED DURING THE POSTWEANING PERIOD THROUGH CHILDHOOD TO PUBERTY SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED GENOMIC DNA METHYLATION BY 34-48% (P < 0.04) IN RAT LIVER THAT PERSISTED INTO ADULTHOOD FOLLOWING A RETURN TO THE CONTROL DIET AT PUBERTY. IN CONTRAST, DIETARY FOLATE DEFICIENCY OR SUPPLEMENTATION CONTINUALLY IMPOSED AT WEANING OR AT PUBERTY DID NOT SIGNIFICANTLY AFFECT GENOMIC DNA METHYLATION IN ADULT RAT LIVER. OUR DATA SUGGEST THAT EARLY FOLATE NUTRITION DURING POSTNATAL DEVELOPMENT PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN EPIGENETIC PROGRAMMING THAT CAN HAVE A PERMANENT EFFECT IN ADULTHOOD. 2008 4 2149 33 EPIGENETIC MARKERS TO PREDICT CONVERSION FROM GESTATIONAL DIABETES TO TYPE 2 DIABETES. CONTEXT: LIFESTYLE FACTORS MEDIATE EPIGENETIC CHANGES THAT CAN CAUSE CHRONIC DISEASES. ALTHOUGH ANIMAL AND LABORATORY STUDIES LINK EPIGENETIC CHANGES TO DIABETES, EPIGENETIC INFORMATION IN WOMEN WITH GESTATIONAL DIABETES (GDM) AND TYPE 2 DIABETES IS LACKING. OBJECTIVE: THIS STUDY SOUGHT TO MEASURE EPIGENETIC MARKERS ACROSS PREGNANCY AND EARLY POSTPARTUM AND IDENTIFY MARKERS THAT COULD BE USED AS PREDICTORS FOR CONVERSION FROM GDM TO TYPE 2 DIABETES. DESIGN: GLOBAL HISTONE H3 DIMETHYLATION WAS MEASURED IN WHITE BLOOD CELLS AT THREE TIME POINTS: 30 WK GESTATION, 8-10 WK POSTPARTUM, AND 20 WK POSTPARTUM, FROM FOUR GROUPS OF WOMEN WITH AND WITHOUT DIABETES. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A TOTAL OF 39 PARTICIPANTS (SIX TO NINE IN EACH GROUP) WERE RECRUITED INCLUDING: NONDIABETIC WOMEN; WOMEN WITH GDM WHO DEVELOPED POSTPARTUM TYPE 2 DIABETES; WOMEN WITH GDM WITHOUT POSTPARTUM TYPE 2 DIABETES; AND WOMEN WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: PERCENTAGES OF DIMETHYLATION OF H3 HISTONES RELATIVE TO TOTAL H3 HISTONE METHYLATION WERE COMPARED BETWEEN DIABETIC/NONDIABETIC GROUPS USING APPROPRIATE COMPARATIVE STATISTICS. RESULTS: H3K27 DIMETHYLATION WAS 50-60% LOWER AT 8-10 AND 20 WK POSTPARTUM IN WOMEN WITH GDM WHO DEVELOPED TYPE 2 DIABETES, COMPARED WITH NONDIABETIC WOMEN. H3K4 DIMETHYLATION WAS 75% LOWER AT 8-10 WK POSTPARTUM IN WOMEN WITH GDM WHO SUBSEQUENTLY DEVELOPED TYPE 2 DIABETES COMPARED WITH WOMEN WHO HAD GDM WHO DID NOT. CONCLUSIONS: THE PERCENTAGE OF DIMETHYLATION OF HISTONES H3K27 AND H3K4 VARIED WITH DIABETIC STATE AND HAS THE POTENTIAL AS A PREDICTIVE TOOL TO IDENTIFY WOMEN WHO WILL CONVERT FROM GDM TO TYPE 2 DIABETES. 2016 5 946 49 CHRONIC MATERNAL PROTEIN DEPRIVATION IN MICE IS ASSOCIATED WITH OVEREXPRESSION OF THE COHESIN-MEDIATOR COMPLEX IN LIVER OF THEIR OFFSPRING. EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS MAY PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN THE DEVELOPMENTAL PROGRAMMING OF ADULT-ONSET CHRONIC METABOLIC DISEASES RESULTING FROM SUBOPTIMAL FETAL NUTRITION, BUT THE EXACT MOLECULAR MECHANISMS ARE INCOMPLETELY UNDERSTOOD. GIVEN THE CENTRAL ROLE OF THE LIVER IN METABOLIC REGULATION, WE INVESTIGATED WHETHER CHRONIC MATERNAL DIETARY PROTEIN RESTRICTION HAS LONG-TERM EFFECTS ON LIVER GENE EXPRESSION IN THE OFFSPRING. WE FED ADULT C57BL/6J DAMS AD LIBITUM AN 8% MATERNAL LOW-PROTEIN (MLP) OR 20% PROTEIN CONTROL DIET (C) FROM 4 WK PRIOR TO MATING UNTIL THE END OF LACTATION. MALE PUPS WERE WEANED TO STANDARD NONPURIFIED DIET AND SINGLY HOUSED AT 21 D OF AGE (D 21). BODY WEIGHTS WERE FOLLOWED TO 1 Y OF AGE (1 Y). AT D 21 AND 1 Y, ORGANS WERE QUANTITATIVELY DISSECTED AND ANALYZED. MLP OFFSPRING HAD SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER BODY WEIGHTS AT ALL AGES AND SIGNIFICANTLY LOWER SERUM ACTIVITY OF ALANINE AMINOTRANSFERASE AND LACTATE DEHYDROGENASE AT 1 Y. GENE EXPRESSION PROFILING OF LIVER AT 1 Y SHOWED 521 OVEREXPRESSED AND 236 UNDEREXPRESSED GENES IN MLP COMPARED TO C OFFSPRING. THE MOST IMPORTANT NOVEL FINDING WAS THE OVEREXPRESSION OF GENES FOUND IN LIVER THAT PARTICIPATE IN ORGANIZATION AND MAINTENANCE OF HIGHER ORDER CHROMATIN ARCHITECTURE AND REGULATION OF TRANSCRIPTIONAL ACTIVATION. THESE INCLUDED MEMBERS OF THE COHESIN-MEDIATOR COMPLEX, WHICH REGULATE GENE EXPRESSION BY FORMING DNA LOOPS BETWEEN PROMOTERS AND ENHANCERS IN A CELL TYPE-SPECIFIC FASHION. THUS, OUR FINDINGS OF INCREASED EXPRESSION OF THESE FACTORS IN LIVER OF MLP OFFSPRING IMPLICATE A POSSIBLE NOVEL EPIGENETIC MECHANISM IN DEVELOPMENTAL PROGRAMMING. 2011 6 5191 58 PRENATAL DEXAMETHASONE EXPOSURE PROGRAMS THE DECREASED TESTOSTERONE SYNTHESIS IN OFFSPRING RATS BY LOW LEVEL OF ENDOGENOUS GLUCOCORTICOIDS. PRENATAL DEXAMETHASONE EXPOSURE (PDE) CAN DECREASE MATERNAL ENDOGENOUS GLUCOCORTICOID LEVEL AND INDUCE TESTICULAR DYSPLASIA IN MALE OFFSPRING RATS. IN THIS STUDY WE INVESTIGATED LOW LEVEL ENDOGENOUS GLUCOCORTICOID-MEDIATED TESTICULAR DYSPLASIA IN PDE OFFSPRING AND ELUCIDATED THE INTRAUTERINE EPIGENETIC PROGRAMMING MECHANISMS. PREGNANT RATS WERE INJECTED WITH DEXAMETHASONE (0.2 MG.KG(-1).D(-1), SC) ON GESTATIONAL DAY (GD) 9-20. THE OFFSPRING RAT BLOOD AND TESTIS WERE COLLECTED AFTER EUTHANASIA ON GD20, POSTNATAL WEEK (PW) 12 OR PW28. WE SHOWED THAT PDE INDUCED ABNORMAL MORPHOLOGY OF TESTIS AND SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED THE EXPRESSION OF TESTOSTERONE SYNTHESIS-RELATED GENES AS WELL AS TESTOSTERONE PRODUCTION BEFORE AND AFTER BIRTH. MEANWHILE, SERUM CORTICOSTERONE, THE EXPRESSION AND HISTONE 3 LYSINE 14 ACETYLATION (H3K14AC) OF TESTICULAR INSULIN-LIKE GROWTH FACTOR 1 (IGF1) WERE SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED. AFTER THE PREGNANT RATS WERE SUBJECTED TO CHRONIC STRESS FOR 2 WEEKS (PW10-12), SERUM CORTICOSTERONE LEVEL WAS INCREASED IN THE ADULT PDE OFFSPRING, AND THE ABOVE-MENTIONED OTHER INDICATORS WERE ALSO IMPROVED. CULTURED LEYDIG CELLS (TM3) WERE TREATED WITH CORTICOSTERONE (62.5-500 NM) IN VITRO. WE SHOWED THAT CORTICOSTERONE CONCENTRATION-DEPENDENTLY INHIBITED GLUCOCORTICOID RECEPTOR ALPHA (GRALPHA) AND MIR-124-3P EXPRESSION, INCREASED HISTONE DEACETYLASE 5 (HDAC5) EXPRESSION, AND DECREASED IGF1 H3K14AC LEVEL AND THE EXPRESSION OF IGF1/STEROIDOGENIC ACUTE REGULATORY PROTEIN (STAR), SUGGESTING THAT CORTICOSTERONE AT LOWER THAN PHYSIOLOGICAL LEVEL (<500 NM) INHIBITED TESTOSTERONE SYNTHESIS BY REDUCING H3K14AC AND THE EXPRESSION LEVEL OF IGF1 THROUGH GRALPHA/MIR-124-3P/HDAC5 PATHWAY. IN CONCLUSION, PDE CAN CAUSE PERSISTENT INHIBITION OF TESTOSTERONE SYNTHESIS BEFORE AND AFTER BIRTH IN THE OFFSPRING RATS BY LOW LEVEL OF ENDOGENOUS GLUCOCORTICOIDS. 2022 7 3812 67 INTRAUTERINE ENDOGENOUS HIGH GLUCOCORTICOIDS PROGRAM OVARIAN DYSFUNCTION IN FEMALE OFFSPRING SECONDARY TO PRENATAL CAFFEINE EXPOSURE. OVARIAN DYSFUNCTION HAS AN INTRAUTERINE ORIGIN, AND PRENATAL CAFFEINE EXPOSURE (PCE) COULD LEAD TO ABNORMAL FOLLICLE COUNTS IN OFFSPRING AFTER BIRTH. HOWEVER, THE EFFECT OF PCE ON OFFSPRING OVARIAN FUNCTION AND ITS MECHANISM OF INTRAUTERINE PROGRAMMING HAVE NOT BEEN REPORTED THUS FAR. IN THIS STUDY, PREGNANT WISTAR RATS WERE INTRAGASTRICALLY ADMINISTERED CAFFEINE (30 AND 120 MG/KG.D) AT GESTATIONAL DAYS 9-20 (GD9-20). CERTAIN TESTS WERE PERFORMED ON THE BLOOD, OVARIES AND HYPOTHALAMUS OF FEMALE OFFSPRING AT DIFFERENT TIME POINTS. PCE FEMALE OFFSPRING HAD OVARIAN DYSFUNCTION IN ADULTHOOD COMPARED WITH THE CONTROL. FURTHER RESULTS SHOWED THAT IN UTERO OVARIAN MORPHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT AND ESTRADIOL SYNTHESIS WERE INHIBITED BUT RAPIDLY INCREASED DURING PUBERTY IN THE PCE GROUP. THE HISTONE 3 LYSINE 27 ACETYLATION (H3K27AC) LEVEL OF THE INSULIN-LIKE GROWTH FACTOR 1 (IGF1) PROMOTER REGION AND ITS EXPRESSION WERE DECREASED IN THE OVARY, WHICH WAS DUE TO EXPOSURE TO HIGH LEVELS OF FETAL BLOOD CORTICOSTERONE, AND THE H3K27AC LEVEL OF IGF1 AND ITS EXPRESSION SHIFTED TO INCREASE AFTER BIRTH WITH A DECREASE IN SERUM CORTICOSTERONE LEVELS. CHRONIC STRESS LED TO INCREASED SERUM CORTICOSTERONE LEVELS IN ADULT OFFSPRING, WHEREAS OVARIAN MORPHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT, THE H3K27AC LEVEL OF IGF1 AND ITS EXPRESSION, AND ESTRADIOL SYNTHESIS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY INHIBITED. MOREOVER, THE ACTIVITY OF THE HYPOTHALAMIC-PITUITARY-OVARIAN (HPO) AXIS WAS INCREASED IN THE EARLY POSTNATAL PERIOD OF PCE OFFSPRING, AND CHRONIC STRESS REVERSED THESE CHANGES. IN THE KGN CELL LINE, IT WAS FOUND THAT CORTISOL COULD PROMOTE THE TRANSLOCATION OF THE GLUCOCORTICOID RECEPTOR (GR) INTO THE NUCLEUS AND UPREGULATE HISTONE DEACETYLASE 10 (HDAC10) TO INHIBIT THE H3K27AC LEVEL OF IGF1 AND ITS EXPRESSION AND ESTRADIOL SYNTHESIS. IN SUMMARY, PCE IS ASSOCIATED WITH OVARIAN DYSFUNCTION IN FEMALE ADULT OFFSPRING, AND THE POTENTIAL MECHANISM IS RELATED TO INTRAUTERINE HIGH GLUCOCORTICOID EXPOSURE BY ACTIVATING THE GR AND RECRUITING HDAC10 TO AFFECT OVARIAN GLUCOCORTICOID-IGF1 AXIS PROGRAMMING AND TO INHIBIT ESTRADIOL SYNTHESIS. 2021 8 886 38 CHRONIC CORTICOSTERONE EXPOSURE INCREASES EXPRESSION AND DECREASES DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID METHYLATION OF FKBP5 IN MICE. THERE IS EVIDENCE FOR HYPERCORTISOLEMIA PLAYING A ROLE IN THE GENERATION OF PSYCHIATRIC SYMPTOMS AND FOR EPIGENETIC VARIATION WITHIN HYPOTHALAMIC-PITUITARY-ADRENAL (HPA) AXIS GENES MEDIATING BEHAVIORAL CHANGES. WE TESTED THE HYPOTHESIS THAT EXPRESSION CHANGES WOULD BE INDUCED IN FKBP5 AND OTHER HPA AXIS GENES BY CHRONIC EXPOSURE TO CORTICOSTERONE AND THAT THESE CHANGES WOULD OCCUR THROUGH THE EPIGENETIC MECHANISM OF LOSS OR GAIN OF DNA METHYLATION (DNAM). WE ADMINISTERED CORTICOSTERONE (CORT) TO C57BL/6J MICE VIA THEIR DRINKING WATER FOR 4 WK AND TESTED FOR BEHAVIORAL AND PHYSIOLOGICAL CHANGES AND CHANGES IN GENE EXPRESSION LEVELS USING RNA EXTRACTED FROM HIPPOCAMPUS, HYPOTHALAMUS, AND BLOOD FOR THE FOLLOWING HPA GENES: FKBP5, NR3C1, HSP90, CRH, AND CRHR1. THE CORT MICE EXHIBITED ANXIETY-LIKE BEHAVIOR IN THE ELEVATED PLUS MAZE TEST. CHRONIC EXPOSURE TO CORT ALSO CAUSED A SIGNIFICANT DECREASE IN THE HIPPOCAMPAL AND BLOOD MRNA LEVELS OF NR3C1 AND A DECREASE IN HSP90 IN BLOOD AND CAUSED AN INCREASE IN FKBP5 FOR ALL TISSUES. DIFFERENCES WERE SEEN IN FKBP5 METHYLATION IN HIPPOCAMPUS AND HYPOTHALAMUS. TO ISOLATE A SINGLE-CELL TYPE, WE FOLLOWED UP WITH AN HT-22 MOUSE HIPPOCAMPAL NEURONAL CELL LINE EXPOSED TO CORT. AFTER 7 D, WE OBSERVED A 2.4-FOLD INCREASE IN FKBP5 EXPRESSION AND A DECREASE IN DNAM. IN THE CORT-TREATED MICE, WE ALSO OBSERVED CHANGES IN BLOOD DNAM IN FKBP5. OUR RESULTS SUGGEST DNAM PLAYS A ROLE IN MEDIATING EFFECTS OF GLUCOCORTICOID EXPOSURE ON FKBP5 FUNCTION, WITH POTENTIAL CONSEQUENCES FOR BEHAVIOR. 2010 9 2120 36 EPIGENETIC HISTONE MODIFICATIONS IN A CLINICALLY RELEVANT RAT MODEL OF CHRONIC ETHANOL-BINGE-MEDIATED LIVER INJURY. PURPOSE: ETHANOL BINGE AUGMENTS LIVER INJURY AFTER CHRONIC ETHANOL CONSUMPTION IN HUMANS, BUT THE MECHANISM BEHIND THE ENHANCED LIVER INJURY BY ETHANOL BINGE IS NOT KNOWN. IN THIS STUDY WE USED A CLINICALLY RELEVANT RAT MODEL IN WHICH LIVER INJURY IS AMPLIFIED BY BINGE AFTER CHRONIC ETHANOL TREATMENT AND INVESTIGATED THE IMPORTANCE OF HISTONE MODIFICATIONS. METHODS: EIGHT-WEEK-OLD SPRAGUE-DAWLEY RATS WERE FED ETHANOL IN A LIQUID DIET FOR 4 WEEKS. CONTROL RATS WERE FED AN ISOCALORIC LIQUID DIET. THIS WAS FOLLOWED BY THREE BINGE ADMINISTRATIONS OF ETHANOL (INTRAGASTRIC 5 G/KG BODY WEIGHT, 12 H APART). IN THE CONTROL, ETHANOL WAS REPLACED BY WATER. FOUR HOURS AFTER THE LAST BINGE ADMINISTRATION, LIVER SAMPLES WERE ANALYZED FOR HISTONE MODIFICATIONS AND PARAMETERS OF LIVER INJURY. RESULTS: CHRONIC ETHANOL ADMINISTRATION ALONE CAUSED AN INCREASE IN HISTONE H3 SER10 AND SER28 (H3S10 OR S28) PHOSPHORYLATION, AND BINGE ETHANOL REDUCED THEIR LEVELS. LEVELS OF DUALLY MODIFIED PHOSPHOACETYLATED HISTONE H3 (H3ACK9/PS10) INCREASED AFTER ACUTE BINGE ETHANOL AND REMAINED SAME AFTER CHRONIC ETHANOL BINGE. IN CONTRAST, HISTONE H3 LYSINE-9 ACETYLATION (H3ACK9) WAS NOT INCREASED AFTER CHRONIC ETHANOL BUT INCREASED SIGNIFICANTLY AFTER ACUTE BINGE AND CHRONIC ETHANOL BINGE. INCREASE IN HISTONE ACETYLATION WAS ACCOMPANIED BY INCREASED PHOSPHO-ERK1/2 IN THE NUCLEAR EXTRACTS. INCREASED ACETYLATION AFTER CHRONIC ETHANOL BINGE WAS ALSO ACCOMPANIED BY INCREASED PROTEIN LEVELS OF GCN5 HISTONE ACETYL TRANSFERASE AND A MODEST INCREASE IN HDAC3 IN THE NUCLEUS. HISTONE LYSINE-9 DIMETHYLATION WAS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED AFTER CHRONIC ETHANOL BINGE. CHRONIC ETHANOL BINGE ALSO RESULTED IN A DECREASE IN THE SAM:SAH RATIO WITH A RELATIVE DECREASE OF SAM LEVELS AND A CORRESPONDING INCREASE IN SAH LEVELS. CONCLUSIONS: ETHANOL BINGE AFTER CHRONIC ETHANOL ALTERED THE PROFILE OF SITE-SPECIFIC HISTONE MODIFICATIONS AND MAY UNDERLIE THE MECHANISM OF AUGMENTED LIVER INJURY BY CHRONIC-ETHANOL-BINGE-TREATED RATS. 2014 10 3785 28 INTERGENERATIONAL EFFECTS OF PRE-PREGNANCY CHRONIC LIPOPOLYSACCHARIDE FROM PORPHYROMONAS GINGIVALIS ON THE LEARNING, MEMORY AND SEIZURE SUSCEPTIBILITY OF OFFSPRING. OBJECTIVE: THE AIM OF THIS STUDY WAS TO INVESTIGATE THE EFFECTS OF PRE-PREGNANCY CHRONIC EXPOSURE TO PORPHYROMONAS GINGIVALIS LPS (PG LPS) ON THE LEARNING, MEMORY, AND SEIZURE SUSCEPTIBILITY OF THE OFFSPRING. DESIGN: TO ACHIEVE PERIODONTITIS, PG LPS (5 MUG/KG) WAS INJECTED INTO THE GINGIVAL OF FIVE FEMALE RATS EVERY 48 H FOR THREE WEEKS. FIVE CONTROL FEMALE RATS RECEIVED SALINE (0.9 %) AND FIVE FEMALE WERE KEPT INTACT. THE CONCENTRATIONS OF TNF-ALPHA AND IL-6 WERE MEASURED IN THE BLOOD SAMPLES. ONE WEEK AFTER THE FINAL INJECTION, FEMALES WERE MATED WITH INTACT MALES. FOLLOWING BIRTH AND WEANING, TWO MALE AND TWO FEMALE OFFSPRING WERE RANDOMLY SELECTED FROM EACH MOTHER, AND NEW GROUPS OF MALE AND FEMALE OFFSPRING WERE DEFINED FOR BEHAVIORAL ASSESSMENTS. MORRIS WATER MAZE WAS USED TO EVALUATE SPATIAL MEMORY, SHUTTLE BOX WAS USED TO INVESTIGATE AVOIDANCE MEMORY AND A PENTYLENETETRAZOLE-INDUCED SEIZURE WAS USED TO EVALUATE SEIZURE SUSCEPTIBILITY IN THE OFFSPRING. RESULTS: SPATIAL LEARNING AND AVOIDANCE MEMORY SIGNIFICANTLY DECREASED IN BOTH MALE AND FEMALE OFFSPRING OF PG LPS-EXPOSED FEMALE RATS, COMPARED TO THE CONTROL OFFSPRING. LATENCY TO REACH SEIZURE STAGES 1 AND 2 SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED IN THE MALE OFFSPRING, BUT NOT THE FEMALE OFFSPRING OF PG LPS-EXPOSED FEMALE, COMPARED TO THE CONTROL OFFSPRING. HOWEVER, NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE WAS FOUND IN LATENCY TO REACH STAGES 3-5. CONCLUSION: PRE-PREGNANCY EXPOSURE TO PG LPS COULD AFFECT SOME BEHAVIORAL FUNCTIONS IN BOTH MALE AND FEMALE OFFSPRING INTERGENERATIONALLY. 2021 11 4077 30 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 12 4936 35 PATERNAL COMBINED BOTANICALS CONTRIBUTE TO THE PREVENTION OF ESTROGEN RECEPTOR-NEGATIVE MAMMARY CANCER IN TRANSGENIC MICE. BACKGROUND: PARENTAL NUTRITIONAL INTERVENTIONS HAVE CONSIDERABLY AFFECTED GAMETOGENESIS AND EMBRYOGENESIS, LEADING TO THE DIFFERENTIAL SUSCEPTIBILITY OF OFFSPRING TO CHRONIC DISEASES SUCH AS CANCER. MOREOVER, COMBINATORIAL BIOACTIVE DIETS ARE MORE EFFICACIOUS IN AMELIORATING EPIGENETIC ABERRATIONS IN TUMORIGENESIS. OBJECTIVES: WE SOUGHT TO INVESTIGATE THE TRANSGENERATIONAL INFLUENCE AND EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF PATERNAL SULFORAPHANE (SFN)-RICH BROCCOLI SPROUTS (BSP) AND EPIGALLOCATECHIN-3-GALLATE (EGCG)-RICH GREEN TEA POLYPHENOLS (GTPS) CONSUMPTION IN THE PREVENTION OF ESTROGEN RECEPTOR-NEGATIVE [ER(-)] MAMMARY CANCER IN TRANSGENIC MICE. METHODS: HUMAN BREAST CANCER CELLS WERE USED TO DETECT CELL VIABILITY AND EPIGENETIC-RELATED GENE EXPRESSION AFTER TREATMENT WITH EGCG AND/OR SFN. TWENTY-FOUR C3 OR HER2/NEU MALES WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED INTO 4 GROUPS AND TREATED WITH CONTROL, 26% BSP (W/W) IN FOOD, 0.5% GTPS (W/V) IN DRINKING WATER OR COMBINED BSP AND GTPS FOR 7 WK BEFORE MATING. TUMOR GROWTH OF NONTREATED FEMALE PUPS WAS MONITORED WEEKLY FOR 19 WK (C3) AND 25 WK (HER2/NEU). TUMOR- AND EPIGENETIC-RELATED PROTEIN EXPRESSION AND ENZYME ACTIVITIES IN MAMMARY TUMORS WERE MEASURED. SPERMS WERE ISOLATED FROM TREATED MALES FOR RNA SEQUENCING AND REDUCED-REPRESENTATION BISULFITE SEQUENCING ANALYSIS. DATA WERE ANALYZED WITH A 2-FACTOR OR 3-FACTOR ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE. RESULTS: EGCG AND SFN INHIBITED BREAST CANCER CELL GROWTH VIA EPIGENETIC REGULATION. COMBINED BSP AND GTPS SYNERGISTICALLY (COMBINATION INDEX < 1) SUPPRESSED TUMOR GROWTH OVER TIME (P < 0.001) IN 2 MOUSE MODELS. KEY TUMOR-RELATED PROTEINS WERE FOUND DIFFERENTIALLY EXPRESSED (P < 0.05) ALONG WITH EPIGENETIC REGULATIONS IN OFFSPRING MAMMARY TUMORS. THE TRANSCRIPTOME PROFILE OF SPERM DERIVED FROM DIETARY-TREATED MALES REVEALED DIFFERENTIALLY EXPRESSED GENES CORRELATED WITH SPERMATOGENESIS AND BREAST CANCER PROGRESSION. DNA METHYLOMES OF THE SPERM AND FURTHER INTEGRATED ANALYSIS WITH TRANSCRIPTOMES INDICATE THAT DNA METHYLATION ALONE MAY NOT CONTRIBUTE TO SUFFICIENT REGULATION IN DIETARY-TREATED SPERM PRONUCLEUS, LEADING TO OFFSPRING TUMOR SUPPRESSION. CONCLUSIONS: COLLECTIVELY, PATERNAL CONSUMPTION OF COMBINED BSP AND GTPS SHOWS POTENTIAL FOR PREVENTING ER(-) MAMMARY CANCER THROUGH TRANSGENERATIONAL EFFECTS. J NUTR 2023;XX:XX-XX. 2023 13 286 34 AGING AND ALCOHOL INTERACT TO ALTER HEPATIC DNA HYDROXYMETHYLATION. BACKGROUND: AGING AND CHRONIC ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION ARE BOTH MODIFIERS OF DNA METHYLATION, BUT IT IS NOT YET KNOWN WHETHER CHRONIC ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION ALSO ALTERS DNA HYDROXYMETHYLATION, A NEWLY DISCOVERED EPIGENETIC MARK PRODUCED BY OXIDATION OF METHYLCYTOSINE. FURTHERMORE, IT HAS NOT BEEN TESTED WHETHER AGING AND ALCOHOL INTERACT TO MODIFY THIS EPIGENETIC PHENOMENON, THEREBY HAVING AN INDEPENDENT EFFECT ON GENE EXPRESSION. METHODS: OLD (18 MONTHS) AND YOUNG (4 MONTHS) MALE C57BL/6 MICE WERE PAIR-FED EITHER A LIEBER-DECARLI LIQUID DIET WITH ALCOHOL (18% OF ENERGY) OR AN ISOCALORIC LIEBER-DECARLI CONTROL DIET FOR 5 WEEKS. GLOBAL DNA HYDROXYMETHYLATION AND DNA METHYLATION WERE ANALYZED FROM HEPATIC DNA USING A NEW LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY-TANDEM MASS SPECTROMETRY METHOD. HEPATIC MRNA EXPRESSION OF THE TET ENZYMES WERE MEASURED VIA QUANTITATIVE REAL-TIME POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION. RESULTS: IN YOUNG MICE, MILD CHRONIC ALCOHOL EXPOSURE SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCED GLOBAL DNA HYDROXYMETHYLATION COMPARED WITH CONTROL MICE (0.22 +/- 0.01 VS. 0.29 +/- 0.06%, P = 0.004). ALCOHOL DID NOT SIGNIFICANTLY ALTER HYDROXYMETHYLCYTOSINE LEVELS IN OLD MICE. OLD MICE FED THE CONTROL DIET SHOWED DECREASED GLOBAL DNA HYDROXYMETHYLATION COMPARED WITH YOUNG MICE FED THE CONTROL DIET (0.24 +/- 0.02 VS. 0.29 +/- 0.06%, P = 0.04). THIS MODEL SUGGESTS AN INTERACTION BETWEEN AGING AND ALCOHOL IN DETERMINING DNA HYDROXYMETHYLATION (PINTERACTION = 0.009). EXPRESSION OF TET2 AND TET3 WAS DECREASED IN THE OLD MICE RELATIVE TO THE YOUNG (P < 0.005). CONCLUSIONS: THE OBSERVATION THAT ALCOHOL ALTERS DNA HYDROXYMETHYLATION INDICATES A NEW EPIGENETIC EFFECT OF ALCOHOL. THIS IS THE FIRST STUDY DEMONSTRATING THE INTERACTIVE EFFECTS OF CHRONIC ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION AND AGING ON DNA HYDROXYMETHYLATION. 2014 14 2907 38 GENE EXPRESSION MODIFICATIONS IN THE LIVER CAUSED BY BINGE DRINKING AND S-ADENOSYLMETHIONINE FEEDING. THE ROLE OF EPIGENETIC CHANGES. CHRONIC ETHANOL INGESTION, ACHIEVED BY FEEDING ETHANOL AT A CONSTANT RATE USING INTRAGASTRIC TUBE FEEDING, ALTERS THE EXPRESSION OF GENES IN THE LIVER. THIS IS DONE BY EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS, WHICH DEPEND ON THE BLOOD ALCOHOL LEVELS AT THE TIME OF KILLING. HOWEVER, ACUTE BOLUS FEEDING OF ETHANOL CHANGES GENE EXPRESSION WITHOUT LASTING EPIGENETIC CHANGES. THIS OCCURS WITH HISTONE 3 METHYLATION AND ACETYLATION MODIFICATIONS. THE GENE EXPRESSION RESPONSE TO AN ACUTE BOLUS OF ETHANOL MIGHT BE MODIFIED BY FEEDING S-ADENOSYLMETHIONINE (SAME), A METHYL DONOR. IN THE PRESENT STUDY, RATS WERE GIVEN A BOLUS OF ETHANOL (6 G/KG BODY WEIGHT (BW), SAME (1 G/KG BW), ETHANOL + SAME, OR ISOCALORIC GLUCOSE. THE GROUP OF RATS (N = 3) WERE KILLED AT 3 AND 12 H POST BOLUS, AND GENE MICROARRAY ANALYSIS WAS PERFORMED ON THEIR LIVER CELLS. SAME REDUCED THE 3 H BLOOD ETHANOL LEVELS AND INCREASED THE ALT LEVELS AT 3 H. VENN DIAGRAMS SHOWED THAT ALCOHOL CHANGED THE EXPRESSION OF 646 GENES AT 3 H POST BOLUS AND 586 GENES AT 12 H. SAME CHANGED THE EXPRESSION OF 1,012 GENES WHEN FED WITH ETHANOL 3 H POST ETHANOL BOLUS AND 554 GENES AT 12 H POST ETHANOL BOLUS. SAME ALONE CHANGED THE EXPRESSION OF 1,751 GENES AT 3 H AND 1,398 AT 12 H. THERE WERE MORE CHANGES IN GENE EXPRESSION AT 3 H THAN AT 12 H POST ETHANOL WHEN ETHANOL ALONE WAS COMPARED TO THE DEXTROSE CONTROL. THE SAME WAS TRUE WHEN SAME WAS COMPARED TO SAME + ETHANOL. ETHANOL UP REGULATED GENE EXPRESSION IN MOST FUNCTIONAL PATHWAYS AT 3 H. HOWEVER, WHEN SAME WAS FED WITH ETHANOL AT 3 H, MOST PATHWAYS WERE DOWN REGULATED. AT 12 H, HOWEVER, WHEN ETHANOL WAS FED, THE PATHWAYS WERE HALF UP REGULATED AND HALF DOWN REGULATED. THE SAME WAS TRUE WHEN SAME + ETHANOL WAS FED. THE EXPRESSION OF EPIGENETICALLY IMPORTANT GENES, SUCH AS BHMT AND FOXN3, WAS UP REGULATED 3 H POST ALCOHOL BOLUS. AT 3 H, SAME DOWN REGULATED THE EXPRESSION OF GENES, SUCH AS BHMT, MAT2A, JUN, TNFRS9, AHCY 1, TGFBR1 AND 2, AND PCAF. AT 12 H, THE INSULIN SIGNALING PATHWAYS WERE HALF DOWN REGULATED BY ETHANOL, WHICH WAS PARTLY PREVENTED BY SAME. THE MAPK PATHWAY WAS UP REGULATED BY ETHANOL, BUT SAME DID NOT PREVENT THIS. IN CONCLUSION, PROFOUND CHANGES IN GENE EXPRESSION EVOLVED BETWEEN 3 H AND 12 POST ETHANOL BOLUS. SAME DOWN REGULATED THESE CHANGES IN GENE EXPRESSION AT 3 H, AND LESS SO AT 12 H. 2010 15 5609 39 S-ADENOSYLMETHIONINE DECREASES THE PEAK BLOOD ALCOHOL LEVELS 3 H AFTER AN ACUTE BOLUS OF ETHANOL BY INDUCING ALCOHOL METABOLIZING ENZYMES IN THE LIVER. INTRODUCTION: AN ALCOHOL BOLUS CAUSES THE BLOOD ALCOHOL LEVEL (BAL) TO PEAK AT 1-2 H POST INGESTION. THE ETHANOL ELIMINATION RATE IS REGULATED BY ALCOHOL METABOLIZING ENZYMES, PRIMARILY ALCOHOL DEHYDROGENASE (ADH1), ACETALDEHYDE DEHYDROGENASE (ALDH), AND CYTOCHROME P450 (CYP2E1). RECENTLY, S-ADENOSYLMETHIONINE (SAME) WAS FOUND TO REDUCE ACUTE BALS 3 H AFTER AN ALCOHOL BOLUS. THE QUESTION, THEN, WAS: WHAT IS THE MECHANISM INVOLVED IN THIS REDUCTION OF BAL BY FEEDING SAME? TO ANSWER THIS QUESTION, WE INVESTIGATED THE CHANGES IN ETHANOL METABOLIZING ENZYMES AND THE EPIGENETIC CHANGES THAT REGULATE THE EXPRESSION OF THESE ENZYMES DURING ACUTE BINGE DRINKING AND CHRONIC DRINKING. METHODS: RATS WERE FED A BOLUS OF ETHANOL WITH OR WITHOUT SAME, AND WERE SACRIFICED AT 3 H OR 12 H AFTER THE BOLUS. RESULTS: RT-PCR AND WESTERN BLOT ANALYSES SHOWED THAT SAME SIGNIFICANTLY INDUCED ADH1 LEVELS IN THE 3 H LIVER SAMPLES. HOWEVER, SAME DID NOT AFFECT THE CHANGES IN ADH1 PROTEIN LEVELS 12 H POST BOLUS. SINCE SAME IS A METHYL DONOR, IT WAS POSTULATED THAT THE ADH1 GENE EXPRESSION UP REGULATION AT 3 H WAS DUE TO A HISTONE MODIFICATION INDUCED BY METHYLATION FROM METHYL TRANSFERASES. DIMETHYLATED HISTONE 3 LYSINE 4 (H3K4ME2), A MODIFICATION RESPONSIBLE FOR GENE EXPRESSION ACTIVATION, WAS FOUND TO BE SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED BY SAME AT 3 H POST BOLUS. CONCLUSION: THESE RESULTS CORRELATED WITH THE LOW BAL FOUND AT 3 H POST BOLUS, AND SUPPORT THE CONCEPT THAT SAME INCREASED THE GENE EXPRESSION TO INCREASE THE ELIMINATION RATE OF ETHANOL IN BINGE DRINKING BY INCREASING H3K4ME2. 2010 16 5253 64 PROGRAMMING CHANGES OF HIPPOCAMPAL MIR-134-5P/SOX2 SIGNAL MEDIATE THE SUSCEPTIBILITY TO DEPRESSION IN PRENATAL DEXAMETHASONE-EXPOSED FEMALE OFFSPRING. DEPRESSION IS A NEUROPSYCHIATRIC DISORDER AND HAS INTRAUTERINE DEVELOPMENTAL ORIGINS. THIS STUDY AIMED TO CONFIRM THE DEPRESSION SUSCEPTIBILITY IN OFFSPRING RATS INDUCED BY PRENATAL DEXAMETHASONE EXPOSURE (PDE) AND TO FURTHER EXPLORE THE INTRAUTERINE PROGRAMMING MECHANISM. WISTAR RATS WERE INJECTED WITH DEXAMETHASONE (0.2 MG/KG.D) SUBCUTANEOUSLY DURING THE GESTATIONAL DAYS 9-20 AND PART OF THE OFFSPRING WAS GIVEN CHRONIC STRESS AT POSTNATAL WEEKS 10-12. BEHAVIORAL RESULTS SHOWED THAT THE ADULT PDE FEMALE OFFSPRING WAS SUSCEPTIBLE TO DEPRESSION, ACCOMPANIED BY INCREASED HIPPOCAMPAL MIR-134-5P EXPRESSION AND DECREASED SEX-DETERMINING REGION Y-BOX 2 (SOX2) EXPRESSION, AS WELL AS DISORDERS OF NEURAL PROGENITOR CELLS PROLIFERATION AND HIPPOCAMPAL NEUROGENESIS. THE PDE FEMALE FETAL RATS PRESENTED CONSISTENT CHANGES WITH THE ADULT OFFSPRING, ACCOMPANIED BY THE UPREGULATION OF GLUCOCORTICOID RECEPTOR (GR) EXPRESSION AND DECREASED SIRTUIN 1 (SIRT1) EXPRESSION. WE FURTHER FOUND THAT THE H3K9AC LEVEL OF THE MIR-134-5P PROMOTER WAS SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED IN THE PDE FETAL HIPPOCAMPUS, AS WELL AS IN ADULT OFFSPRING BEFORE AND AFTER CHRONIC STRESS. IN VITRO, THE CHANGES OF GR/SIRT1/MIR-134-5P/SOX2 SIGNAL BY DEXAMETHASONE WERE CONSISTENT WITH IN VIVO EXPERIMENTS, WHICH COULD BE REVERSED BY GR RECEPTOR ANTAGONIST, SIRT1 AGONIST, AND MIR-134-5P INHIBITOR. THIS STUDY CONFIRMED THAT PDE LED TO AN INCREASED EXPRESSION LEVEL AS WELL AS H3K9AC LEVEL OF MIR-134-5P BY ACTIVATING THE GR/SIRT1 PATHWAY IN THE FETAL HIPPOCAMPUS AND THEN INHIBITED THE SOX2 EXPRESSION. THE PROGRAMMING EFFECT MEDIATED BY THE ABNORMAL EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION COULD LAST FROM INTRAUTERINE TO ADULTHOOD, WHICH CONSTITUTES THE INTRAUTERINE PROGRAMMING MECHANISM LEADING TO HIPPOCAMPAL NEUROGENESIS DISORDERS AND DEPRESSION SUSCEPTIBILITY IN FEMALE OFFSPRING. INTRAUTERINE PROGRAMMING MECHANISM FOR THE INCREASED DEPRESSIVE SUSCEPTIBILITY IN ADULT FEMALE OFFSPRING BY PRENATAL DEXAMETHASONE EXPOSURE (PDE). GR, GLUCOCORTICOID RECEPTOR; SIRT1, SIRTUIN 1; SOX2, SEX-DETERMINING REGION Y-BOX 2; NPCS, NEUROPROGENITOR CELLS; H3K9AC, HISTONE 3 LYSINE 9 ACETYLATION; GRE, GLUCOCORTICOID RESPONSE ELEMENT. 2022 17 2173 38 EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS INVOLVED IN INTRAUTERINE GROWTH RESTRICTION AND ABERRANT KIDNEY DEVELOPMENT AND FUNCTION. INTRAUTERINE GROWTH RESTRICTION (IUGR) DUE TO UTEROPLACENTAL INSUFFICIENCY RESULTS IN A PLACENTA THAT IS UNABLE TO PROVIDE ADEQUATE NUTRIENTS AND OXYGEN TO THE FETUS. THESE GROWTH-RESTRICTED BABIES HAVE AN INCREASED RISK OF HYPERTENSION AND CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE LATER IN LIFE. IN RATS, BOTH MALE AND FEMALE GROWTH-RESTRICTED OFFSPRING HAVE NEPHRON DEFICITS BUT ONLY MALES DEVELOP KIDNEY DYSFUNCTION AND HIGH BLOOD PRESSURE. IN ADDITION, THERE IS TRANSGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF NEPHRON DEFICITS AND HYPERTENSION RISK. THEREFORE, EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS MAY EXPLAIN THE SEX-SPECIFIC PROGRAMMING AND MULTIGENERATIONAL TRANSMISSION OF IUGR-RELATED PHENOTYPES. EXPRESSION OF DNA METHYLTRANSFERASES (DNMT1AND DNMT3A) AND IMPRINTED GENES (PEG3, SNRPN, KCNQ1, AND CDKN1C) WERE INVESTIGATED IN KIDNEY TISSUES OF SHAM AND IUGR RATS IN F1 (EMBRYONIC DAY 20 (E20) AND POSTNATAL DAY 1 (PN1)) AND F2 (6 AND 12 MONTHS OF AGE, PATERNAL AND MATERNAL LINES) GENERATIONS (N = 6-13/GROUP). IN COMPARISON TO SHAM OFFSPRING, F1 IUGR RATS HAD A 19% DECREASE IN DNMT3A EXPRESSION AT E20 (P < 0.05), WITH DECREASED CDKN1C (19%, P < 0.05) AND INCREASED KCNQ1 (1.6-FOLD, P < 0.01) AT PN1. THERE WAS A SEX-SPECIFIC DIFFERENCE IN CDKN1C AND SNRPN EXPRESSION AT E20, WITH 29% AND 34% HIGHER EXPRESSION IN IUGR MALES COMPARED TO FEMALES, RESPECTIVELY (P < 0.05). PEG3 SEX-SPECIFIC EXPRESSION WAS LOST IN THE F2 IUGR OFFSPRING, ONLY IN THE MATERNAL LINE. THESE FINDINGS SUGGEST THAT EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS MAY BE ALTERED IN RENAL EMBRYONIC AND/OR FETAL DEVELOPMENT IN GROWTH-RESTRICTED OFFSPRING, WHICH COULD ALTER KIDNEY FUNCTION, PREDISPOSING THESE OFFSPRING TO KIDNEY DISEASE LATER IN LIFE. 2021 18 4069 32 MATERNAL CHRONIC FOLATE SUPPLEMENTATION AMELIORATES BEHAVIOR DISORDERS INDUCED BY PRENATAL HIGH-FAT DIET THROUGH METHYLATION ALTERATION OF BDNF AND GRIN2B IN OFFSPRING HIPPOCAMPUS. SCOPE: MATERNAL CONSUMPTION OF A HIGH-FAT DIET (HFD) DURING PREGNANCY INCREASES THE RISK OF BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS. FOLATE PLAYS AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN NEUROPLASTICITY AND THE PRESERVATION OF NEURONAL INTEGRITY. THIS STUDY AIMS AT DETERMINING THE INFLUENCE OF DIETS SUPPLEMENTED WITH FOLATE ON OFFSPRING BEHAVIOR, AND THE MECHANISMS INVOLVED. METHODS AND RESULTS: FEMALE MICE WERE FED A CONTROL DIET, AN HFD, CONTROL DIET SUPPLEMENTED WITH FOLATE, OR AN HFD SUPPLEMENTED WITH FOLATE FOR 5 WEEKS BEFORE MATING. OPEN FIELD TASK AND ELEVATED PLUS MAZE ARE USED TO EVALUATE THE OFFSPRING BEHAVIORS. RESULTS SHOWED THAT OFFSPRING COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE AND ANXIETY-RELATED BEHAVIORS, INCLUDING THOSE RELATED TO OPEN FIELD EXPLORATION AND ELEVATED PLUS MAZE, WERE SIGNIFICANTLY IMPROVED WHEN DAMS WERE TREATED WITH FOLATE IN PREGNANCY. MOREOVER, THE MATERNAL FOLATE SUPPLEMENT DECREASED BDNF AND GRIN2B METHYLATION AND UPREGULATED THEIR EXPRESSIONS IN THE BRAIN OF OFFSPRING, WHICH WERE ASSOCIATED WITH DECREASING THE EXPRESSION OF DNA METHYLTRANSFERASES COMPARED WITH THOSE DAMS WERE TREATED ONLY HFD IN PREGNANCY. CONCLUSION: MATERNAL FOLATE SUPPLEMENTATION AMELIORATES BEHAVIOR DISORDERS INDUCED BY PRENATAL HIGH-FAT DIET. THE BENEFICIAL EFFECTS WERE ASSOCIATED WITH METHYLATION AND EXPRESSION ALTERATION OF BDNF AND GRIN2B GENES. 2017 19 3841 33 IRON SUPPLEMENTATION REVERSES THE REDUCTION OF HYDROXYMETHYLCYTOSINE IN HEPATIC DNA ASSOCIATED WITH CHRONIC ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION IN RATS. BACKGROUND: ALCOHOL IS KNOWN TO AFFECT TWO EPIGENETIC PHENOMENA, DNA METHYLATION AND DNA HYDROXYMETHYLATION, AND IRON IS A COFACTOR OF TEN-ELEVEN TRANSLOCATION (TET) ENZYMES THAT CATALYZE THE CONVERSION FROM METHYLCYTOSINE TO HYDROXYMETHYLCYTOSINE. IN THE PRESENT STUDY WE AIMED TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL ON DNA HYDROXYMETHYLATION AND FURTHER EFFECTS OF IRON ON ALCOHOL ASSOCIATED EPIGENETIC CHANGES. METHODS: TWENTY-FOUR MALE SPRAGUE-DAWLEY RATS WERE FED EITHER LIEBER-DECARLI ALCOHOL DIET (36% CALORIES FROM ETHANOL) OR LIEBER-DECARLI CONTROL DIET ALONG WITH OR WITHOUT IRON SUPPLEMENTATION (0.6% CARBONYL IRON) FOR 8 WEEKS. HEPATIC NON-HEME IRON CONCENTRATIONS WERE MEASURED BY COLORIMETRIC ASSAYS. PROTEIN LEVELS OF HEPATIC FERRITIN AND TRANSFERRIN RECEPTOR WERE DETERMINED BY WESTERN BLOTTING. METHYLCYTOSINE, HYDROXYMETHYLCYTOSINE AND UNMODIFIED CYTOSINE IN DNA WERE SIMULTANEOUSLY MEASURED BY LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY/MASS SPECTROMETRY METHOD. RESULTS: IRON SUPPLEMENTATION SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED HEPATIC NON-HEME IRON CONTENTS (P < 0.05) BUT ALCOHOL ALONE DID NOT. HOWEVER, BOTH ALCOHOL AND IRON SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED HEPATIC FERRITIN LEVELS AND DECREASED HEPATIC TRANSFERRIN RECEPTOR LEVELS (P < 0.05). ALCOHOL REDUCED HEPATIC DNA HYDROXYMETHYLATION (0.21% +/- 0.04% VS. 0.33% +/- 0.04%, P = 0.01) COMPARED TO CONTROL, WHILE IRON SUPPLEMENTATION TO ALCOHOL DIET DID NOT CHANGE DNA HYDROXYMETHYLATION. THERE WAS NO SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE IN METHYLCYTOSINE LEVELS, WHILE UNMODIFIED CYTOSINE LEVELS WERE SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED IN ALCOHOL-FED GROUPS COMPARED TO CONTROL (95.61% +/- 0.08% VS. 95.26% +/- 0.12%, P = 0.03), SUGGESTING THAT ALCOHOL FURTHER INCREASES THE CONVERSION FROM HYDROXYMETHYLCYTOSINE TO UNMODIFIED CYTOSINE. CONCLUSIONS: CHRONIC ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION ALTERS GLOBAL DNA HYDROXYMETHYLATION IN THE LIVER BUT IRON SUPPLEMENTATION REVERSES THE EPIGENETIC EFFECT OF ALCOHOL. 2016 20 6612 35 ULTRA-LOW-DOSE NALOXONE ENHANCES THE ANTINOCICEPTIVE EFFECT OF MORPHINE IN PTX-TREATED RATS: REGULATION ON GLOBAL HISTONE METHYLATION. OBJECTIVE: EPIGENETIC REPROGRAMMING MAY HAVE A POSSIBLE ROLE IN NEUROPATHIC PAIN DEVELOPMENT; THE PRESENT STUDY EXAMINED THE GLOBAL PATTERNS OF LYSINE HISTONE MODIFICATION. IN THIS SERIAL STUDY WE ANALYZED THE LEVELS OF HISTONE 3 LYSINE 4 MONOMETHYLATION, HISTONE 3 LYSINE 4 DIMETHYLATION, AND HISTONE 3 LYSINE 9 TRIMETHYLATION IN PERTUSSIS TOXIN (PTX)-INDUCED THERMAL HYPERALGESIC RAT SPINAL CORDS. METHODS: MALE WISTAR RATS IMPLANTED WITH AN INTRATHECAL CATHETER RECEIVED A SINGLE INTRATHECAL PTX (1 MUG IN 5 MUL SALINE) INJECTION. FOUR DAYS LATER, THEY WERE RANDOMLY ASSIGNED TO RECEIVE EITHER A SINGLE INJECTION OF SALINE, OR ULTRA-LOW-DOSE NALOXONE (15 NG IN 5 MUL SALINE), FOLLOWED BY MORPHINE (10 MUG IN 5 MUL SALINE) INJECTION 30 MINUTES LATER. RESULTS: THE RESULTS SHOWED THAT PTX INJECTION INDUCED THERMAL HYPERALGESIA AND SIGNIFICANT INCREASE OF GLOBAL HISTONE METHYLATION IN THE SPINAL CORDS. INTRATHECAL MORPHINE ALONE DID NOT AFFECT THE THERMAL HYPERALGESIA AND GLOBAL HISTONE METHYLATION. IN CONTRAST, INTRATHECAL ADMINISTRATION OF ULTRA-LOW-DOSE NALOXONE PLUS MORPHINE SIGNIFICANTLY ATTENUATED THE PTX-INDUCED THERMAL HYPERALGESIA AND DOWN-REGULATED THE GLOBAL HISTONE METHYLATION. CONCLUSION: THE RESULTS SUGGEST THAT ULTRA-LOW-DOSE NALOXONE MIGHT BE CLINICAL VALUABLE FOR NEUROPATHIC PAIN MANAGEMENT VIA REGULATING GLOBAL HISTONE MODIFICATION. 2012