The hepatic transcriptome of young suckling and aging intrauterine growth restricted male rats

A comprehensive review on nutritional, nutraceutical, and industrial perspectives of perilla (Perilla frutscens L.) seeds - An orphan oilseed crop

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Analysis of Gene Expression Profiles in the Liver of Rats With Intrauterine Growth Retardation

BACKGROUND

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is highly associated with fetal as well as neonatal morbidity, mortality, and an increased risk metabolic disease development later in life. The mechanism involved in the increased risk has not been established. We compared differentially expressed genes between the liver of appropriate for gestational age (AGA) and IUGR rat models and identified their effects on molecular pathways involved in the metabolic syndrome.

METHODS

We extracted RNA from the liver of IUGR and AGA rats and profiled gene expression by microarray analysis. GO function and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses were conducted using the Search Tool for the Retrieval of Interacting Genes database. Then, the Cytoscape software was used to visualize regulatory interaction networks of IUGR-related genes. The results were further verified via quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR analysis.

RESULTS

In this study, 815 genes were found to be markedly differentially expressed (fold-change >1.5, p < 0.05) between IUGR and AGA, with 347 genes elevated and 468 suppressed in IUGR, relative to AGA. Enrichment and protein-protein interaction network analyses of target genes revealed that core genes including Ppargc1a, Prkaa2, Slc2a1, Rxrg, and Gcgr, and pathways, including the PPAR signaling pathway and FoxO signaling pathway, had a potential association with metabolic syndrome development in IUGR. We also confirmed that at the mRNA level, five genes involved in glycometabolism were differentially expressed between IUGR and AGA.

CONCLUSION

Our findings elucidate on differential gene expression profiles in IUGR and AGA. Moreover, they elucidate on the pathogenesis of IUGR-associated metabolic syndromes. The suggested candidates are potential biomarkers and eventually intended to treat them appropriately.

Postnatal growth retardation is associated with deteriorated intestinal mucosal barrier function using a porcine model

Individuals with postnatal growth retardation (PGR) are prone to developing chronic diseases. Abnormal development in small intestine is casually implicated in impaired growth. However, the exact mechanism is still implausible. In this present study, PGR piglets (aged 42 days) were employed as a good model to analyze developmental changes in intestinal mucosal barrier function. Our data demonstrated that PGR piglets exhibited impaired jejunal and ileal epithelial villous morphology and permeability, accompanied by decreased cell proliferation ability and increased apoptosis rate. In addition, the expression of tight junction proteins (ZO-1, claudin 1, and occludin) and E-cadherin was markedly inhibited by PGR. The expression of P-glycoprotein was significantly reduced in PGR piglets, as well as decreased activity of lysozyme. Moreover, the mRNA abundance and content of inflammatory cytokines were significantly increased in the intestinal mucosa and plasma of PGR piglets, respectively. PGR also contributed to lower level of sIgA, and higher level of CD68-positive rate, β-defensins, and protein expression involved p38 MAPK/NF-κB pathway. Furthermore, PGR altered the intestinal microbial community such as decreased genus Alloprevotella and Oscillospira abundances, and led to lower microbial-derived butyrate production, which may be potential targets for treatment. Collectively, our findings indicated that the intestinal mucosal barrier function of PGR piglets could develop the nutritional intervention strategies in prevention and treatment of the intestinal mucosal barrier dysfunction in piglets and humans.

Transcription profiling in the liver of undernourished male rat offspring reveals altered lipid metabolism pathways and predisposition to hepatic steatosis

Clinical and animal studies have reported an association between low birth weight and the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in offspring. Using a model of prenatal maternal 70% food restriction diet (FR30) in the rat, we previously showed that maternal undernutrition predisposes offspring to altered lipid metabolism in adipose tissue, especially on a high-fat (HF) diet. Here, using microarray-based expression profiling combined with metabolic, endocrine, biochemical, histological, and lipidomic approaches, we assessed whether FR30 procedure sensitizes adult male offspring to impaired lipid metabolism in the liver. No obvious differences were noted in the concentrations of triglycerides, cholesterol, and bile acids in the liver of 4-mo-old FR30 rats whichever postweaning diet was used. However, several clues suggest that offspring's lipid metabolism and steatosis are modified by maternal undernutrition. First, lipid composition was changed (i.e., higher total saturated fatty acids and lower elaidic acid) in the liver, whereas larger triglyceride droplets were observed in hepatocytes of undernourished rats. Second, FR30 offspring exhibited long-term impact on hepatic gene expression and lipid metabolism pathways on a chow diet. Although the transcriptome profile was globally modified by maternal undernutrition, cholesterol and bile acid biosynthesis pathways appear to be key targets, indicating that FR30 animals were predisposed to impaired hepatic cholesterol metabolism. Third, the FR30 protocol markedly modifies hepatic gene transcription profiles in undernourished offspring in response to postweaning HF. Overall, FR30 offspring may exhibit impaired metabolic flexibility, which does not enable them to properly cope with postweaning nutritional challenges influencing the development of nonalcoholic fatty liver.

Role of microRNA-122 in hepatic lipid metabolism of the weanling female rat offspring exposed to prenatal and postnatal caloric restriction

We examined the role of hepatocyte micro-RNA-122 and hypothalamic neuropeptides, in weanling (21d) female rats exposed to calorie restriction induced growth restriction either prenatally (IUGR), postnatally (PNGR) or both (IPGR) vs. ad lib fed controls (CON). IUGR were hyperinsulinemic, hyperleptinemic and dyslipidemic with high circulating miR-122. In contrast, PNGR and IPGR displayed insufficient glucose, insulin and leptin amidst high ketones with a dichotomy in circulating miR-122 of PNGR Collapse

Key Words

• Circadian rhythm
• Energy balance
• Fatty acid oxidation
• Hepatic fatty acid synthesis
• Hypothalamic genes
• Intra-uterine growth restriction
• microRNA-122

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MESH Headings

• Animals
• Body Weight
• Caloric Restriction/adverse effects
• Circadian Rhythm
• Energy Metabolism
• Fatty Acids/genetics
• Fatty Acids/metabolism
• Female
• Fetal Growth Retardation/etiology
• Gene Expression
• Growth Disorders/etiology
• Hypothalamus/chemistry
• Lipid Metabolism/genetics
• Lipid Metabolism/physiology
• Liver/chemistry
• Liver/metabolism
• MicroRNAs/genetics
• MicroRNAs/physiology
• Organ Size
• Pregnancy
• RNA, Messenger/analysis
• Rats
• Rats, Sprague-Dawley
• Weaning

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Grants

• R01 HD041230 NICHD NIH HHS
• R01 HD081206 NICHD NIH HHS

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Affiliation(s)

Yun Dai Department of Pediatrics and the Children's Discovery and Innovation Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
Shubhamoy Ghosh Department of Pediatrics and the Children's Discovery and Innovation Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
Bo-Chul Shin Department of Pediatrics and the Children's Discovery and Innovation Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine UCLA, Los Angeles, CA
Sherin U Devaskar Department of Pediatrics and the Children's Discovery and Innovation Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine UCLA, Los Angeles, CA.

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Differential effects of intrauterine growth restriction and a hypersinsulinemic-isoglycemic clamp on metabolic pathways and insulin action in the fetal liver

Intrauterine growth-restricted (IUGR) fetal sheep have increased hepatic glucose production (HGP) that is resistant to suppression during a hyperinsulinemic-isoglycemic clamp (insulin clamp). We hypothesized that the IUGR fetal liver would have activation of metabolic and signaling pathways that support HGP and inhibition of insulin-signaling pathways. To test this, we used transcriptomic profiling with liver samples from control (CON) and IUGR fetuses receiving saline or an insulin clamp. The IUGR liver had upregulation of genes associated with gluconeogenesis/glycolysis, transcription factor regulation, and cytokine responses and downregulation of genes associated with cholesterol synthesis, amino acid degradation, and detoxification pathways. During the insulin clamp, genes associated with cholesterol synthesis and innate immune response were upregulated in CON and IUGR. There were 20-fold more genes differentially expressed during the insulin clamp in IUGR versus CON. These genes were associated with proteasome activation and decreased amino acid and lipid catabolism. We found increased TRB3, JUN, MYC, and SGK1 expression and decreased PTPRD expression as molecular targets for increased HGP in IUGR. As candidate genes for resistance to insulin's suppression of HGP, expression of JUN, MYC, and SGK1 increased more during the insulin clamp in CON compared with IUGR. Metabolites were measured with ¹H-nuclear magnetic resonance and support increased amino acid concentrations, decreased mitochondria activity and energy state, and increased cell stress in the IUGR liver. These results demonstrate a robust response, beyond suppression of HGP, during the insulin clamp and coordinate responses in glucose, amino acid, and lipid metabolism in the IUGR fetus.

Maternal perinatal calorie restriction temporally regulates the hepatic autophagy and redox status in male rat

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) leads to adult obesity, cardiovascular disease, and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease/steatohepatitis. Animal models have shown that combined intrauterine and early postnatal calorie restriction (IPCR) ameliorates these sequelae in adult life. The mechanism by which IPCR protects against adult onset disease is not understood. Autophagy, a lysosomal degradative process, recycles cellular constituents and eliminates damaged organelles, proteins, and oxidants. In this study, we hypothesized that IPCR could regulate autophagy in the liver of male rat offspring. At birth (d1) of male IUGR rat offspring and on day 21 (p21) of life, IPCR male rat offspring had a profound decrease in hepatic autophagy in all three stages of development: initiation, elongation, and maturation. However, upon receiving a normal diet ad-lib throughout adulthood, aged IPCR rats (day 450 of life (p450)), had increased hepatic autophagy, in direct contrast to what was seen in early life. The decreased autophagy at d21 led to the accumulation of ubiquitinated proteins and lipid oxidative products, whereas the increased autophagy in late life had the opposite effect. Oxidized lipids were unchanged at d1 by IUGR treatment indicating that decreased autophagy precedes oxidative stress in early life. When cellular signaling pathways regulating autophagy were examined, the 5' adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase pathway (AMPK), and not endoplasmic stress pathways, was found to be altered, suggesting that autophagy is regulated through AMPK signaling pathway in IPCR rats. Taken together, this study reveals that the perinatal nutritional status establishes a nutritionally sensitive memory that enhances hepatic autophagy in late life, a process that perhaps acts as a protective mechanism to limited nutrition.

Maternal High-Protein and Low-Protein Diets Perturb Hypothalamus and Liver Transcriptome and Metabolic Homeostasis in Adult Mouse Offspring

Early life nutritional imbalances are risk factors for metabolic dysfunctions in adulthood, but the long term effects of perinatal exposure to high versus low protein diets are not completely understood. We exposed C57BL/6J offspring to a high protein/low carbohydrate (HP/LC) or low protein/high carbohydrate (LP/HC) diet during gestation and lactation, and measured metabolic phenotypes between birth and 10 months of age in male offspring. Perinatal HP/LC and LP/HC exposures resulted in a decreased ability to clear glucose in the offspring, with reduced baseline insulin and glucose concentrations in the LP/HC group and a reduced insulin response post-glucose challenge in the HP/LC group. The LP/HC diet group also showed reduced birth and weanling weights, whereas the HP/LC offspring displayed increased weanling weight with increased adiposity beyond 5 months of age. Gene expression profiling of hypothalamus and liver revealed alterations in diverse molecular pathways by both diets. Specifically, hypothalamic transcriptome and pathway analyses demonstrated perturbations of MAPK and hedgehog signaling, processes associated with neural restructuring and transmission, and phosphate metabolism by perinatal protein imbalances. Liver transcriptomics revealed changes in purine and phosphate metabolism, hedgehog signaling, and circadian rhythm pathways. Our results indicate maternal protein imbalances perturbing molecular pathways in central and peripheral metabolic tissues, thereby predisposing the male offspring to metabolic dysfunctions.

Disruption of the Igf2 gene alters hepatic lipid homeostasis and gene expression in the newborn mouse

Newborns with intrauterine growth-restriction are at increased risk of mortality and life-long comorbidities. Insulin-like growth factor-II (IGF2) deficiency in humans, as well as in mice, leads to intrauterine growth restriction and decreased neonatal glycogen stores. The present study aims to further characterize the metabolic and transcriptional consequences of Igf2 deficiency in the newborn. We found that, despite being born significantly smaller than their wild-type ( Igf2+/+) littermates, brain size was preserved in Igf2 knockout ( Igf2-/-), consistent with nutritional deficiency. Histological and triglyceride analyses of newborn livers revealed that Igf2-/- mice are born with hepatic steatosis. Gene expression analysis in Igf2-/- newborn livers showed an alteration of genes known to be dysregulated in chronic caloric restriction, including the most upregulated gene, serine dehydratase. Multiple genes connected with lipid metabolism and/or hepatic steatosis were also upregulated. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis confirmed that the biological functions most altered in livers of Igf2-/- newborns are related to lipid metabolism, with the top upstream regulator predicted to be the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha, a master regulator of hepatic lipid and carbohydrate homeostasis. Together, our data indicate that Igf2 deficiency leads to a newborn phenotype strongly reminiscent of nutritional deficiency, including growth retardation, increased brain/body weight ratio, hepatic steatosis, and characteristic changes in hepatic gene expression. We propose that in addition to its growth factor proliferating functions, Igf2 may also regulate growth by altering the expression of genes that control nutrient metabolism in the newborn.

Transgenerational effects of prenatal restricted diet on gene expression and histone modifications in the rat

Dietary triggers acting on a developing fetus can affect the functioning of the body in later life; this can be observed on various levels, including epigenetic modifications and gene expression. Early-life programmed changes may be transmitted to successive generations. In this study, the impact of prenatal restricted diet was studied in four generations of rats. We hypothesized that this diet can induce changes in the expression of major genes involved in two epigenetic mechanisms: DNA methylation and histone modifications. The transcript level of six genes involved in these processes (Dnmt1, Dnmt3a, Dnmt3b, Mecp2, Hdac1, and Sin3a) was therefore determined in three tissues (liver, adipose, and muscle). This diet was found to have no effect on the F0 pregnant females. In the F1 progeny (fetuses at day 19 of pregnancy and 4-week-old rats) significant differences in the expression of the genes were observed mostly in the liver; in subsequent generations, we therefore studied only this tissue. Among the genes encoding DNA methyltransferases, significant changes were observed for Dnmt1 in the F1 animals from the restricted group, but these were no longer evident in F2 and F3. The Dnmt3a and Dnmt3b genes showed no differences in mRNA level in F1 fetuses. Concerning the transcript level of the Mecp2 gene only in F1 generation significant changes were found. For the histone modification genes, an increase in the expression of Hdac1 in fetus liver was found in F1 and F2, while its level decreased in F3. The abundance of the Sin3a transcript varied in all generations. It was also found that the mRNA levels of the studied genes correlated highly positive with each other, but only in fetuses from the F1 restricted group. The DNA methylation cell potential, defined as the ratio of SAM (S-adenosylmethionine) to SAH (S-adenosylhomocysteine), was measured in the liver, with no alterations being found in the restricted groups. Evaluation of global histone H3 acetylation showed that it underwent a significant increase in the fetal livers of F1, while during aging (four-week old animals) this difference was no longer maintained. A tendency of increased H3 acetylation in fetuses was also detected in F2 generation. In F1 fetuses from restricted group the increased H3 acetylation positively correlated with transcriptional status of the studied genes. Our results indicate that the prenatal restriction diet can affect the activity of genes involved in epigenetic mechanisms in the liver across generations. Moreover, this feeding type influenced the global histone H3 acetylation in fetal liver.

Intrauterine Growth Restriction: Hungry for an Answer

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) has been defined in several ways, but in general describes a condition in which the fetus exhibits poor growth in utero. This complication of pregnancy poses a significant public health burden as well as increased morbidity and mortality for the offspring. In human IUGR, alteration in fetal glucose and insulin homeostasis occurs in an effort to conserve energy and survive at the expense of fetal growth in an environment of inadequate nutrient provision. Several animal models of IUGR have been utilized to study the effects of IUGR on fetal glucose handling, as well as the postnatal reprogramming of energy metabolite handling, which may be unmasked in adulthood as a maladaptive propensity for cardiometabolic disease. This developmental programming may be mediated in part by epigenetic modification of essential regulators of glucose homeostasis. Several pharmacological therapies and nonpharmacological lifestyle modifications have shown early promise in mitigating the risk for or severity of adult metabolic phenotypes but still require further study of unanticipated and/or untoward side effects.