(Press-News.org) Many research studies have made it clear that a mother's eating habits prior to pregnancy, during pregnancy and during lactation have a profound impact on her offspring and their propensity for developing weight problems, including obesity. However, until now, the mechanisms behind this phenomenon were unclear. According to new research published in the September 2014 issue of The FASEB JournalF, scientists using an animal model found an epigenetic link between a mother's diet and an offspring's risk of future obesity. This link hinges on the blocked expression of a gene called Pomc, which manages a discrete area of the brain that controls feeding behavior. Excess methylation on the DNA sequence blocks the ability to express this gene, leading to a late satiety response, increased food intake and eventually to obesity.
"Parental obesity and diet can affect the children's likelihood to overeat and develop obesity. Changes in epigenetic programming have been implicated as one of the mechanisms underlying this phenomenon," said Asaf Marco, Ph.D., a researcher involved in the work from the Faculty of Life Sciences at Bar Ilan University in Ramat-Gan, Israel. "We observed a clear correspondence between a specific epigenetic mechanism and weight gain, potentially allowing for early detection and prevention of obesity."
To make this discovery, Marco and colleagues fed female rats either a high-fat diet or a standard diet from post-weaning to adulthood and in separate groups, throughout pregnancy and lactation. All offspring, including those of the high-fat treated rats, received standard food after weaning until adulthood. Blood was analyzed for hormone levels and brain sections for epigenetic modification on the specific DNA sequence of interest. Results showed that unmated female rats, chronically fed a high-fat diet, presented obesity associated with disruptions in an epigenetic mechanism that controls the production of Pomc. However, due to the sharp weight loss during lactation, rats who consumed a high-fat diet presented normal weight and a normalized epigenetic mechanism. Because methylation on the genes is typically considered stable and relatively permanent, this opens the door for future drug development. Researchers found that epigenetic malprogramming induced by maternal high-fat diet had a long-term effect on the offspring's vulnerability to develop obesity. These effects were not reprogrammed by providing standard food to the pups after weaning and the offspring maintained their obesogenic phenotype until adulthood.
"Shining light on heritable, epigenetic factors that cause obesity should help us shed unwanted pounds in future generations," said Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal. "This research shows that being overweight and obese has a direct impact on the genes we use to signal when it's time to stop eating."
INFORMATION:
Receive monthly highlights from The FASEB Journal by e-mail. Sign up at http://www.faseb.org/fjupdate.aspx. The FASEB Journal is published by the Federation of the American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB). It is the world's most cited biology journal according to the Institute for Scientific Information and has been recognized by the Special Libraries Association as one of the top 100 most influential biomedical journals of the past century.
FASEB is composed of 27 societies with more than 120,000 members, making it the largest coalition of biomedical research associations in the United States. Our mission is to advance health and welfare by promoting progress and education in biological and biomedical sciences through service to our member societies and collaborative advocacy.
Details: Asaf Marco, Tatiana Kisliouk, Tzlil Tabachnik, Noam Meiri, and Aron Weller. Overweight and CpG methylation of the Pomc promoter in offspring of high-fat-diet-fed dams are not "reprogrammed" by regular chow diet in rats. FASEB J. September 2014 28:4148-4157; doi:10.1096/fj.14-255620 ; http://www.fasebj.org/content/28/9/4148.abstract
How genes link a mother's diet to the risk of obesity in her offspring
New research in The FASEB Journal suggests that epigenetic methylation blocks expression of the Pomc gene, leadings to delayed satiety response and increased food intake
2014-09-02
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
Scripps Florida scientists make diseased cells synthesize their own drug
2014-09-02
JUPITER, FL, September 2, 2014 – In a new study that could ultimately lead to many new medicines, scientists from the Florida campus of The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have adapted a chemical approach to turn diseased cells into unique manufacturing sites for molecules that can treat a form of muscular dystrophy.
"We're using a cell as a reaction vessel and a disease-causing defect as a catalyst to synthesize a treatment in a diseased cell," said TSRI Professor Matthew Disney.
"Because the treatment is synthesized only in diseased cells, the compounds could provide ...
Mirabegron for overactive bladder: Added benefit not proven
2014-09-02
Mirabegron (trade name: Betmiga) has been approved since December 2012 for the treatment of adults with overactive bladder. In an early benefit assessment pursuant to the Act on the Reform of the Market for Medicinal Products (AMNOG), the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG) examined whether this new drug offers an added benefit over the appropriate comparator therapy specified by the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA).
Mirabegron had an advantage with regard to side effects: Dry mouth was less common in comparison with tolterodine. No added ...
Giant garbage patches help redefine ocean boundaries
2014-09-02
WASHINGTON, D.C., September 2, 2014 – The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is an area of environmental concern between Hawaii and California where the ocean surface is marred by scattered pieces of plastic, which outweigh plankton in that part of the ocean and pose risks to fish, turtles and birds that eat the trash. Scientists believe the garbage patch is but one of at least five, each located in the center of large, circular ocean currents called gyres that suck in and trap floating debris.
Researchers from the University of New South Wales (UNSW), in Sydney, Australia, ...
New method for non-invasive prostate cancer screening
2014-09-02
WASHINGTON D.C., Sept. 2, 2014 – Cancer screening is a critical approach for preventing cancer deaths because cases caught early are often more treatable. But while there are already existing ways to screen for different types of cancer, there is a great need for even more safe, cheap and effective methods to save even more lives.
Now a team of researchers led by Shaoxin Li at Guangdong Medical College in China has demonstrated the potential of a new, non-invasive method to screen for prostate cancer, a common type of cancer in men worldwide. They describe their laboratory ...
Scientists create renewable fossil fuel alternative using bacteria
2014-09-02
The development is a step towards commercial production of a source of fuel that could one day provide an alternative to fossil fuels.
Propane is an appealing source of cleaner fuel because it has an existing global market. It is already produced as a by-product during natural gas processing and petroleum refining, but both are finite resources. In its current form it makes up the bulk of LPG (liquid petroleum gas), which is used in many applications, from central heating to camping stoves and conventional motor vehicles.
In a new study, the team of scientists from ...
A handsome face could mean lower semen quality
2014-09-02
Contrary to what one might expect, facial masculinity was negatively associated with semen quality in a recent Journal of Evolutionary Biology study. As increased levels of testosterone have been demonstrated to impair sperm production, this finding may indicate a trade-off between investments in secondary sexual signaling (i.e. facial masculinity) and fertility.
Interestingly, males estimated facial images generally more attractive than females did, suggesting that males may generally overestimate the attractiveness of other men to females.
INFORMATION: END ...
Underwater grass comeback bodes well for Chesapeake Bay
2014-09-02
CAMBRIDGE, MD (September 2, 2014)—The Susquehanna Flats, a large bed of underwater grasses near the mouth of the Susquehanna River, virtually disappeared from the upper Chesapeake Bay after Tropical Storm Agnes more than 40 years ago. However, the grasses mysteriously began to come back in the early 2000s. Today, the bed is one of the biggest and healthiest in the Bay, spanning some 20 square miles. A new study by scientists at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science explores what's behind this major comeback.
"This is a story about resilience," said ...
Men who exercise less likely to wake up to urinate
2014-09-02
MAYWOOD, Ill – Men who are physically active are at lower risk of nocturia (waking up at night to urinate), according to a study led by a Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine researcher.
The study by Kate Wolin, ScD, and colleagues is published online ahead of print in Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, the official journal of the American College of Sports Medicine.
Nocturia is the most common and bothersome lower urinary tract symptom in men. It can be due to an enlarged prostate known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) -- as the prostate ...
Observing the onset of a magnetic substorm
2014-09-02
Magnetic substorms, the disruptions in geomagnetic activity that cause brightening of aurora, may sometimes be driven by a different process than generally thought, a new study in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics shows.
Hwang et al. report observations using the Cluster spacecraft and ground-based magnetometers associated with the onset of a substorm. They saw two consecutive sudden jumps in the current sheet normal component of the magnetic field in the plasma sheet (the surface of dense plasma that lies approximately in Earth's equatorial plane), separated ...
Researchers uncover hidden infection route of major bacterial pathogen
2014-09-02
Researchers at the University of Liverpool's Institute of Infection and Global Health have discovered the pattern of infection of the bacterium responsible for causing severe lung infections in people with cystic fibrosis.
Pseudomonas aeruginosa is usually harmless to humans, but in people with cystic fibrosis (CF) or who have weakened immune systems – such as those who have had an operation or treatment for cancer – it can cause infections that are resistant to antibiotics. In CF patients in particular, infections can be impossible to eradicate from the lungs.
The ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
Amid record year for dengue infections, new study finds climate change responsible for 19% of today’s rising dengue burden
New study finds air pollution increases inflammation primarily in patients with heart disease
AI finds undiagnosed liver disease in early stages
The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announce new research fellowship in malaria genomics in honor of professor Dominic Kwiatkowski
Excessive screen time linked to early puberty and accelerated bone growth
First nationwide study discovers link between delayed puberty in boys and increased hospital visits
Traditional Mayan practices have long promoted unique levels of family harmony. But what effect is globalization having?
New microfluidic device reveals how the shape of a tumour can predict a cancer’s aggressiveness
Speech Accessibility Project partners with The Matthew Foundation, Massachusetts Down Syndrome Congress
Mass General Brigham researchers find too much sitting hurts the heart
New study shows how salmonella tricks gut defenses to cause infection
Study challenges assumptions about how tuberculosis bacteria grow
NASA Goddard Lidar team receives Center Innovation Award for Advancements
Can AI improve plant-based meats?
How microbes create the most toxic form of mercury
‘Walk this Way’: FSU researchers’ model explains how ants create trails to multiple food sources
A new CNIC study describes a mechanism whereby cells respond to mechanical signals from their surroundings
Study uncovers earliest evidence of humans using fire to shape the landscape of Tasmania
Researchers uncover Achilles heel of antibiotic-resistant bacteria
Scientists uncover earliest evidence of fire use to manage Tasmanian landscape
Interpreting population mean treatment effects in the Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire
Targeting carbohydrate metabolism in colorectal cancer: Synergy of therapies
Stress makes mice’s memories less specific
Research finds no significant negative impact of repealing a Depression-era law allowing companies to pay workers with disabilities below minimum wage
Resilience index needed to keep us within planet’s ‘safe operating space’
How stress is fundamentally changing our memories
Time in nature benefits children with mental health difficulties: study
In vitro model enables study of age-specific responses to COVID mRNA vaccines
Sitting too long can harm heart health, even for active people
International cancer organizations present collaborative work during oncology event in China
[Press-News.org] How genes link a mother's diet to the risk of obesity in her offspringNew research in The FASEB Journal suggests that epigenetic methylation blocks expression of the Pomc gene, leadings to delayed satiety response and increased food intake