1
|
Aberdeen GW, Babischkin JS, Pepe GJ, Albrecht ED. Estrogen stimulates fetal vascular endothelial growth factor expression and microvascularization. J Endocrinol 2024; 262:e230364. [PMID: 38738915 DOI: 10.1530/joe-23-0364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 05/12/2024] [Indexed: 05/14/2024]
Abstract
We recently showed that the ratio of capillaries to myofibers in skeletal muscle, which accounts for 80% of insulin-directed glucose uptake and metabolism, was reduced in baboon fetuses in which estrogen was suppressed by maternal letrozole administration. Since vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) promotes angiogenesis, the present study determined the impact of estrogen deprivation on fetal skeletal muscle VEGF expression, capillary development, and long-term vascular and metabolic function in 4- to 8-year-old adult offspring. Maternal baboons were untreated or treated with letrozole or letrozole plus estradiol on days 100-164 of gestation (term = 184 days). Skeletal muscle VEGF protein expression was suppressed by 45% (P < 0.05) and correlated (P = 0.01) with a 47% reduction (P < 0.05) in the number of capillaries per myofiber area in fetuses of baboons in which serum estradiol levels were suppressed 95% (P < 0.01) by letrozole administration. The reduction in fetal skeletal muscle microvascularization was associated with a 52% decline (P = 0.02) in acetylcholine-induced brachial artery dilation and a 23% increase (P = 0.01) in mean arterial blood pressure in adult progeny of letrozole-treated baboons, which was restored to normal by letrozole plus estradiol. The present study indicates that estrogen upregulates skeletal muscle VEGF expression and systemic microvessel development within the fetus as an essential programming event critical for ontogenesis of systemic vascular function and insulin sensitivity/glucose homeostasis after birth in primate offspring.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Graham W Aberdeen
- Departments of Obstetrics, Gynecology, Reproductive Sciences and Physiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Jeffery S Babischkin
- Departments of Obstetrics, Gynecology, Reproductive Sciences and Physiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| | - Gerald J Pepe
- Department of Physiological Sciences, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, Virginia, USA
| | - Eugene D Albrecht
- Departments of Obstetrics, Gynecology, Reproductive Sciences and Physiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Pepe GJ, Albrecht ED. Microvascular Skeletal-Muscle Crosstalk in Health and Disease. Int J Mol Sci 2023; 24:10425. [PMID: 37445602 DOI: 10.3390/ijms241310425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2023] [Revised: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 06/14/2023] [Indexed: 07/15/2023] Open
Abstract
As an organ system, skeletal muscle is essential for the generation of energy that underpins muscle contraction, plays a critical role in controlling energy balance and insulin-dependent glucose homeostasis, as well as vascular well-being, and regenerates following injury. To achieve homeostasis, there is requirement for "cross-talk" between the myogenic and vascular components and their regulatory factors that comprise skeletal muscle. Accordingly, this review will describe the following: [a] the embryonic cell-signaling events important in establishing vascular and myogenic cell-lineage, the cross-talk between endothelial cells (EC) and myogenic precursors underpinning the development of muscle, its vasculature and the satellite-stem-cell (SC) pool, and the EC-SC cross-talk that maintains SC quiescence and localizes ECs to SCs and angio-myogenesis postnatally; [b] the vascular-myocyte cross-talk and the actions of insulin on vasodilation and capillary surface area important for the uptake of glucose/insulin by myofibers and vascular homeostasis, the microvascular-myocyte dysfunction that characterizes the development of insulin resistance, diabetes and hypertension, and the actions of estrogen on muscle vasodilation and growth in adults; [c] the role of estrogen in utero on the development of fetal skeletal-muscle microvascularization and myofiber hypertrophy required for metabolic/vascular homeostasis after birth; [d] the EC-SC interactions that underpin myofiber vascular regeneration post-injury; and [e] the role of the skeletal-muscle vasculature in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gerald J Pepe
- Department of Physiological Sciences, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA 23501, USA
| | - Eugene D Albrecht
- Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
- Department of Physiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Kim SO, Albrecht ED, Pepe GJ. Estrogen promotes fetal skeletal muscle myofiber development important for insulin sensitivity in offspring. Endocrine 2022; 78:32-41. [PMID: 35715687 PMCID: PMC9474690 DOI: 10.1007/s12020-022-03108-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2021] [Accepted: 06/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Using our nonhuman primate baboon model, we showed that offspring born to mothers deprived of estrogen during the second half of gestation exhibited insulin resistance and a deficit in first phase insulin release. Although insulin resistance was not due to an impairment of fetal or offspring growth, nor to an alteration in adipose or hepatic sensitivity to insulin, skeletal muscle microvacularization critical for delivery of nutrients/insulin was significantly reduced in fetuses and offspring deprived of estrogen in utero. Skeletal muscle myofiber maturation occurs in utero and estrogen modulates myofiber growth in adults. Therefore, the current study determined whether fetal skeletal muscle development was altered in baboons in which estradiol levels were suppressed/restored during the second half of gestation by maternal treatment with letrozole ± estradiol benzoate. In estrogen-suppressed animals, fetal skeletal muscle fascicles were structurally less organized, smaller, and comprised of slow type I and fast type II fibers, the size, but not the number of which were smaller than in untreated baboons. Moreover, the proportion of non-muscle fiber tissue was greater and that of muscle fibers lower in estrogen-deprived fetuses. Thus, the maintenance of fetal body weight in estrogen-deprived animals was maintained at the expense of muscle fibers and likely reflected increased deposition of non-muscle proteins. Importantly, fetal skeletal muscle development, including fascicle organization, myofiber size and composition was normal in baboons treated with letrozole and estradiol benzoate. Collectively, these and our previous findings support our proposal that exposure of the fetus to estrogen is important for fetal skeletal muscle development and glucose homeostasis in adulthood.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Soon Ok Kim
- Department of Physiological Sciences, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA, USA
| | - Eugene D Albrecht
- Departments of Obstetrics/Gynecology/Reproductive Sciences and Physiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Gerald J Pepe
- Department of Physiological Sciences, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Albrecht ED, Aberdeen GW, Babischkin JS, Prior SJ, Lynch TJ, Baranyk IA, Pepe GJ. Estrogen Promotes Microvascularization in the Fetus and Thus Vascular Function and Insulin Sensitivity in Offspring. Endocrinology 2022; 163:6553898. [PMID: 35325097 PMCID: PMC9272192 DOI: 10.1210/endocr/bqac037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
We have shown that normal weight offspring born to estrogen-deprived baboons exhibited insulin resistance, although liver and adipose function and insulin receptor and glucose transporter expression were unaltered. The blood microvessels have an important role in insulin action by delivering insulin and glucose to target cells. Although little is known about the regulation of microvessel development during fetal life, estrogen promotes capillary proliferation and vascular function in the adult. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that estrogen promotes fetal microvessel development and thus vascular function and insulin sensitivity in offspring. Capillary/myofiber ratio was decreased 75% (P < 0.05) in skeletal muscle, a major insulin target tissue, of fetal baboons in which estradiol levels were depleted by administration of aromatase inhibitor letrozole. This was sustained after birth, resulting in a 50% reduction (P < 0.01) in microvessel expansion; 65% decrease (P < 0.01) in arterial flow-mediated dilation, indicative of vascular endothelial dysfunction; and 35% increase (P < 0.01) in blood pressure in offspring from estrogen-deprived baboons, changes prevented by letrozole and estradiol administration. Along with vascular dysfunction, peak insulin and glucose levels during a glucose tolerance test were greater (P < 0.05 to P < 0.01) and the homeostasis model of insulin resistance 2-fold higher (P < 0.01) in offspring of letrozole-treated than untreated animals, indicative of insulin resistance. This study makes the novel discovery that estrogen promotes microvascularization in the fetus and thus normal vascular development and function required for eliciting insulin sensitivity in offspring and that placental hormonal secretions, independent from improper fetal growth, are an important determinant of risk of developing insulin resistance.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Eugene D Albrecht
- Departments of Obstetrics, Gynecology, Reproductive Sciences and Physiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Correspondence: Eugene Albrecht, PhD, Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Bressler Research Laboratories 11-045A, 655 West Baltimore St, Baltimore, MD 21201, USA.
| | - Graham W Aberdeen
- Departments of Obstetrics, Gynecology, Reproductive Sciences and Physiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Jeffery S Babischkin
- Departments of Obstetrics, Gynecology, Reproductive Sciences and Physiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Steven J Prior
- Department of Kinesiology, University of Maryland School of Public Health, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Terrie J Lynch
- Department of Physiological Sciences, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA, USA
| | - Irene A Baranyk
- Departments of Obstetrics, Gynecology, Reproductive Sciences and Physiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Gerald J Pepe
- Department of Physiological Sciences, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Abstract
Almost 2 billion adults in the world are overweight, and more than half of them are classified as obese, while nearly one-third of children globally experience poor growth and development. Given the vast amount of knowledge that has been gleaned from decades of research on growth and development, a number of questions remain as to why the world is now in the midst of a global epidemic of obesity accompanied by the "double burden of malnutrition," where overweight coexists with underweight and micronutrient deficiencies. This challenge to the human condition can be attributed to nutritional and environmental exposures during pregnancy that may program a fetus to have a higher risk of chronic diseases in adulthood. To explore this concept, frequently called the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD), this review considers a host of factors and physiological mechanisms that drive a fetus or child toward a higher risk of obesity, fatty liver disease, hypertension, and/or type 2 diabetes (T2D). To that end, this review explores the epidemiology of DOHaD with discussions focused on adaptations to human energetics, placental development, dysmetabolism, and key environmental exposures that act to promote chronic diseases in adulthood. These areas are complementary and additive in understanding how providing the best conditions for optimal growth can create the best possible conditions for lifelong health. Moreover, understanding both physiological as well as epigenetic and molecular mechanisms for DOHaD is vital to most fully address the global issues of obesity and other chronic diseases.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel J Hoffman
- Department of Nutritional Sciences, Program in International Nutrition, and Center for Childhood Nutrition Research, New Jersey Institute for Food, Nutrition, and Health, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey
| | - Theresa L Powell
- Department of Pediatrics and Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado
| | - Emily S Barrett
- Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Division of Exposure Science and Epidemiology, Rutgers Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey
| | - Daniel B Hardy
- Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Division of Exposure Science and Epidemiology, Rutgers Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences Institute, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, New Brunswick, New Jersey
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Ruiz D, Padmanabhan V, Sargis RM. Stress, Sex, and Sugar: Glucocorticoids and Sex-Steroid Crosstalk in the Sex-Specific Misprogramming of Metabolism. J Endocr Soc 2020; 4:bvaa087. [PMID: 32734132 PMCID: PMC7382384 DOI: 10.1210/jendso/bvaa087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/29/2020] [Accepted: 06/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Early-life exposures to environmental insults can misprogram development and increase metabolic disease risk in a sex-dependent manner by mechanisms that remain poorly characterized. Modifiable factors of increasing public health relevance, such as diet, psychological stress, and endocrine-disrupting chemicals, can affect glucocorticoid receptor signaling during gestation and lead to sex-specific postnatal metabolic derangements. Evidence from humans and animal studies indicate that glucocorticoids crosstalk with sex steroids by several mechanisms in multiple tissues and can affect sex-steroid-dependent developmental processes. Nonetheless, glucocorticoid sex-steroid crosstalk has not been considered in the glucocorticoid-induced misprogramming of metabolism. Herein we review what is known about the mechanisms by which glucocorticoids crosstalk with estrogen, androgen, and progestogen action. We propose that glucocorticoid sex-steroid crosstalk is an understudied mechanism of action that requires consideration when examining the developmental misprogramming of metabolism, especially when assessing sex-specific outcomes.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Ruiz
- Committee on Molecular Metabolism and Nutrition, University of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.,Department of Human Genetics, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia
| | | | - Robert M Sargis
- Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes, and Metabolism; Department of Medicine; University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois.,Chicago Center for Health and Environment, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Illinois
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Zhu Z, Cao F, Li X. Epigenetic Programming and Fetal Metabolic Programming. Front Endocrinol (Lausanne) 2019; 10:764. [PMID: 31849831 PMCID: PMC6901800 DOI: 10.3389/fendo.2019.00764] [Citation(s) in RCA: 65] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2018] [Accepted: 10/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Fetal metabolic programming caused by the adverse intrauterine environment can induce metabolic syndrome in adult offspring. Adverse intrauterine environment introduces fetal long-term relatively irreversible changes in organs and metabolism, and thus causes fetal metabolic programming leading metabolic syndrome in adult offspring. Fetal metabolic programming of obesity and insulin resistance plays a key role in this process. The mechanism of fetal metabolic programming is still not very clear. It is suggested that epigenetic programming, also induced by the adverse intrauterine environment, is a critical underlying mechanism of fetal metabolic programming. Fetal epigenetic programming affects gene expression changes and cellular function through epigenetic modifications without DNA nucleotide sequence changes. Epigenetic modifications can be relatively stably retained and transmitted through mitosis and generations, and thereby induce the development of metabolic syndrome in adult offspring. This manuscript provides an overview of the critical role of epigenetic programming in fetal metabolic programming.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ziqiang Zhu
- Children's Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China
- Changzhou Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou, China
| | - Fang Cao
- Changzhou Maternity and Child Health Care Hospital affiliated to Nanjing Medical University, Changzhou, China
| | - Xiaozhong Li
- Children's Hospital of Soochow University, Suzhou, China
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Abbott DH, Dumesic DA, Levine JE. Hyperandrogenic origins of polycystic ovary syndrome - implications for pathophysiology and therapy. Expert Rev Endocrinol Metab 2019; 14:131-143. [PMID: 30767580 PMCID: PMC6992448 DOI: 10.1080/17446651.2019.1576522] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2018] [Accepted: 01/28/2019] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) diagnosis comprises combinations of female hyperandrogenism, menstrual irregularity and polycystic ovaries. While it is a familial and highly prevalent endocrine disorder, progress towards a cure is hindered by absence of a definitive pathogenic mechanism and lack of an animal model of naturally occurring PCOS. AREAS COVERED These include an overview of PCOS and its potential etiology, and an examination of insights gained into its pathogenic origins. Animal models derived from experimentally-induced hyperandrogenism during gestation, or from naturally-occurring PCOS-like traits, most reliably demonstrate reproductive, neuroendocrine and metabolic pathogenesis. EXPERT OPINION Genetic studies, while identifying at least 17 PCOS risk genes, account for <10% of women with PCOS. A number of PCOS risk genes involve regulation of gonadotropin secretion or action, suggesting a reproductive neuroendocrine basis for PCOS pathogenesis. Consistent with this notion, a number of animal models employing fetal androgen excess demonstrate epigenetic induction of PCOS-like traits, including reproductive neuroendocrine and metabolic dysfunction. Monkey models are most comprehensive, while mouse models provide molecular insight, including identifying the androgen receptor, particularly in neurons, as mediating androgen-induced PCOS-like programming. Naturally-occurring female hyperandrogenism is also demonstrated in monkeys. Animal models are poised to delineate molecular gateways to PCOS pathogenesis.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- David H Abbott
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
- Department of Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
| | - Daniel A Dumesic
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jon E Levine
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI, USA
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Kim SO, Aberdeen G, Lynch TJ, Albrecht ED, Pepe GJ. Adipose and Liver Function in Primate Offspring with Insulin Resistance Induced by Estrogen Deprivation in Utero. ENDOCRINOLOGY, DIABETES AND METABOLISM JOURNAL 2017; 1:http://researchopenworld.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/EDMJ-2017-109-Gerald-J.-Pepe-USA.pdf. [PMID: 29983904 PMCID: PMC6035008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
PURPOSE We recently demonstrated that offspring delivered to baboons deprived of estrogen during the second half of gestation exhibited insulin resistance. Therefore, because skeletal muscle accounts for >80% of insulin dependent glucose disposal, we suggested that estrogen in utero programs factors in fetal skeletal muscle important for insulin sensitivity in offspring. However, liver and adipose are also sites of insulin action and adipose insulin resistance can increase serum free fatty acid (FFA) levels and thereby reduce skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity. Therefore, in the current study we determined whether estrogen-deprived offspring exhibit normal adipose and hepatic function. RESULTS The fasting serum levels of adiponectin, leptin, glucose, and analytes of liver function as well as the basal levels of serum FFA were similar in offspring of estrogen replete/suppressed baboons. Moreover, the normal glucose-induced decline in serum FFA levels measured in untreated offspring was also measured in offspring of letrozole-treated baboons. Fetal serum levels of adiponectin and leptin in late gestation also were similar and expression of nitrotyrosine negligible in fetal liver and adipose of untreated and letrozole-treated animals. CONCLUSIONS These results indicate that offspring of letrozole-treated baboons have normal adipose and liver function and do not exhibit adipose insulin resistance. Therefore, we suggest that the insulin resistance observed in estrogen-deprived offspring primarily reflects a decline in insulin-stimulated glucose clearance by skeletal muscle and which supports our original suggestion that estrogen in utero programs factors in fetal skeletal muscle that promote insulin sensitivity in offspring.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Soon Ok Kim
- Department of Physiological Sciences, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA, USA
| | - Graham Aberdeen
- Departments of Obstetrics/Gynecology/Reproductive Sciences and Physiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Terrie J. Lynch
- Department of Physiological Sciences, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA, USA
| | - Eugene D. Albrecht
- Departments of Obstetrics/Gynecology/Reproductive Sciences and Physiology, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Gerald J. Pepe
- Department of Physiological Sciences, Eastern Virginia Medical School, Norfolk, VA, USA
| |
Collapse
|