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Freire T, Pulpitel T, Clark X, Mackay F, Raubenheimer D, Simpson SJ, Solon-Biet SM, Crean AJ. The effects of paternal dietary fat versus sugar on offspring body composition and anxiety-related behavior. Physiol Behav 2024; 279:114533. [PMID: 38552707 DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2024.114533] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2023] [Revised: 02/26/2024] [Accepted: 03/26/2024] [Indexed: 04/09/2024]
Abstract
Increasing evidence suggests that the pre-conception parental environment has long-term consequences for offspring health and disease susceptibility. Though much of the work in this field concentrates on maternal influences, there is growing understanding that fathers also play a significant role in affecting offspring phenotypes. In this study, we investigate effects of altering the proportion of dietary fats and carbohydrates on paternal and offspring body composition and anxiety-related behavior in C57Bl/6-JArc mice. We show that in an isocaloric context, greater dietary fat increased body fat and reduced anxiety-like behavior of studs, whereas increased dietary sucrose had no significant effect. These dietary effects were not reflected in offspring traits, rather, we found sex-specific effects that differed between offspring body composition and behavioral traits. This finding is consistent with past paternal effect studies, where transgenerational effects have been shown to be more prominent in one sex over the other. Here, male offspring of fathers fed high-fat diets were heavier at 10 weeks of age due to increased lean body mass, whereas paternal diet had no significant effect on female offspring body fat or lean mass. In contrast, paternal dietary sugar appeared to have the strongest effects on male offspring behavior, with male offspring of high-sucrose fathers spending less time in the closed arms of the elevated plus maze. Both high-fat and high-sugar paternal diets were found to reduce anxiety-like behavior of female offspring, although this effect was only evident when offspring were fed a control diet. This study provides new understanding of the ways in which diet can shape the behavior of fathers and their offspring and contribute to the development of dietary guidelines to improve obesity and mental health conditions, such as anxiety.
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Affiliation(s)
- Therese Freire
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney NSW, Australia; School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney NSW, Australia.
| | - Tamara Pulpitel
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney NSW, Australia; School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney NSW, Australia
| | - Ximonie Clark
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney NSW, Australia
| | - Flora Mackay
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney NSW, Australia
| | - David Raubenheimer
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney NSW, Australia; School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney NSW, Australia
| | - Stephen J Simpson
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney NSW, Australia; School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney NSW, Australia
| | - Samantha M Solon-Biet
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney NSW, Australia; School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney NSW, Australia
| | - Angela J Crean
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney NSW, Australia; School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney NSW, Australia
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Pérez Casasús S, Luongo FP, Haxhiu A, Orini M, Scupoli G, Governini L, Piomboni P, Buratini J, Dal Canto M, Luddi A. Paternal Age Amplifies Cryopreservation-Induced Stress in Human Spermatozoa. Cells 2024; 13:625. [PMID: 38607064 PMCID: PMC11011712 DOI: 10.3390/cells13070625] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2024] [Revised: 03/27/2024] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024] Open
Abstract
The global fall in male fertility is a complicated process driven by a variety of factors, including environmental exposure, lifestyle, obesity, stress, and aging. The availability of assisted reproductive technology (ART) has allowed older couples to conceive, increasing the average paternal age at first childbirth. Advanced paternal age (APA), most often considered male age ≥40, has been described to impact several aspects of male reproductive physiology. In this prospective cohort study including 200 normozoospermic patients, 105 of whom were ≤35 years (non-APA), and 95 of whom were ≥42 years (APA), we assessed the impact of paternal age on different endpoints representative of sperm quality and cryopreservation tolerance. Non-APA patients had superior fresh semen quality; DNA fragmentation was notably increased in APA as compared to non-APA individuals (21.7% vs. 15.4%). Cryopreservation further increased the DNA fragmentation index in APA (26.7%) but not in non-APA patients. Additionally, APA was associated with increased mtDNAcn in both fresh and frozen/thawed sperm, which is indicative of poorer mitochondrial quality. Cryopreservation negatively impacted acrosome integrity in both age groups, as indicated by reduced incidences of unreacted acrosome in relation to fresh counterparts in non-APA (from 71.5% to 57.7%) and APA patients (from 75% to 63%). Finally, cryopreservation significantly reduced the phosphorylation status of proteins containing tyrosine residues in sperm from young males. Therefore, the present findings shed light on the effects of paternal age and cryopreservation on sperm quality and serve as valuable new parameters to improve our understanding of the mechanisms underlying sperm developmental competence that are under threat in current ART practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Silvia Pérez Casasús
- Department of Molecular and Developmental Medicine, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy; (S.P.C.); (F.P.L.); (A.H.); (M.O.); (G.S.); (L.G.); (A.L.)
| | - Francesca Paola Luongo
- Department of Molecular and Developmental Medicine, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy; (S.P.C.); (F.P.L.); (A.H.); (M.O.); (G.S.); (L.G.); (A.L.)
| | - Alesandro Haxhiu
- Department of Molecular and Developmental Medicine, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy; (S.P.C.); (F.P.L.); (A.H.); (M.O.); (G.S.); (L.G.); (A.L.)
| | - Martina Orini
- Department of Molecular and Developmental Medicine, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy; (S.P.C.); (F.P.L.); (A.H.); (M.O.); (G.S.); (L.G.); (A.L.)
| | - Giorgia Scupoli
- Department of Molecular and Developmental Medicine, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy; (S.P.C.); (F.P.L.); (A.H.); (M.O.); (G.S.); (L.G.); (A.L.)
| | - Laura Governini
- Department of Molecular and Developmental Medicine, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy; (S.P.C.); (F.P.L.); (A.H.); (M.O.); (G.S.); (L.G.); (A.L.)
| | - Paola Piomboni
- Department of Molecular and Developmental Medicine, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy; (S.P.C.); (F.P.L.); (A.H.); (M.O.); (G.S.); (L.G.); (A.L.)
| | - Jose Buratini
- Biogenesi Reproductive Medicine Center, Istituti Clinici Zucchi, 20900 Monza, Italy; (J.B.); (M.D.C.)
| | - Mariabeatrice Dal Canto
- Biogenesi Reproductive Medicine Center, Istituti Clinici Zucchi, 20900 Monza, Italy; (J.B.); (M.D.C.)
| | - Alice Luddi
- Department of Molecular and Developmental Medicine, University of Siena, 53100 Siena, Italy; (S.P.C.); (F.P.L.); (A.H.); (M.O.); (G.S.); (L.G.); (A.L.)
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3
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Rice RC, Gil DV, Baratta AM, Frawley RR, Hill SY, Farris SP, Homanics GE. Inter- and transgenerational heritability of preconception chronic stress or alcohol exposure: Translational outcomes in brain and behavior. Neurobiol Stress 2024; 29:100603. [PMID: 38234394 PMCID: PMC10792982 DOI: 10.1016/j.ynstr.2023.100603] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2023] [Revised: 12/18/2023] [Accepted: 12/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2024] Open
Abstract
Chronic stress and alcohol (ethanol) use are highly interrelated and can change an individual's behavior through molecular adaptations that do not change the DNA sequence, but instead change gene expression. A recent wealth of research has found that these nongenomic changes can be transmitted across generations, which could partially account for the "missing heritability" observed in genome-wide association studies of alcohol use disorder and other stress-related neuropsychiatric disorders. In this review, we summarize the molecular and behavioral outcomes of nongenomic inheritance of chronic stress and ethanol exposure and the germline mechanisms that could give rise to this heritability. In doing so, we outline the need for further research to: (1) Investigate individual germline mechanisms of paternal, maternal, and biparental nongenomic chronic stress- and ethanol-related inheritance; (2) Synthesize and dissect cross-generational chronic stress and ethanol exposure; (3) Determine cross-generational molecular outcomes of preconception ethanol exposure that contribute to alcohol-related disease risk, using cancer as an example. A detailed understanding of the cross-generational nongenomic effects of stress and/or ethanol will yield novel insight into the impact of ancestral perturbations on disease risk across generations and uncover actionable targets to improve human health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rachel C. Rice
- Center for Neuroscience at the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Daniela V. Gil
- Center for Neuroscience at the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Annalisa M. Baratta
- Center for Neuroscience at the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Remy R. Frawley
- Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Shirley Y. Hill
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Human Genetics, School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Sean P. Farris
- Center for Neuroscience at the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Biomedical Informatics, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Gregg E. Homanics
- Center for Neuroscience at the University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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Gallagher MT, Krasauskaite I, Kirkman-Brown JC. Only the Best of the Bunch-Sperm Preparation Is Not Just about Numbers. Semin Reprod Med 2023; 41:273-278. [PMID: 38113923 DOI: 10.1055/s-0043-1777756] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2023]
Abstract
In this Seminar, we present an overview of the current and emerging methods and technologies for optimizing the man and the sperm sample for fertility treatment. We argue that sperms are the secret to success, and that there are many avenues for improving both treatment and basic understanding of their role in outcomes. These outcomes encompass not just whether treatment is successful or not, but the wider intergenerational health of the offspring. We discuss outstanding challenges and opportunities of new technologies such as microfluidics and artificial intelligence, including potential pitfalls and advantages. This article aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the importance of sperm in fertility treatment and suggests future directions for research and innovation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meurig T Gallagher
- Centre for Human Reproductive Science, Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research, University of Birmingham and Birmingham Women's Fertility Centre, Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom
- Centre for Systems Modelling and Quantitative Biomedicine, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom
| | - Ingrida Krasauskaite
- Centre for Human Reproductive Science, Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research, University of Birmingham and Birmingham Women's Fertility Centre, Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom
| | - Jackson C Kirkman-Brown
- Centre for Human Reproductive Science, Institute of Metabolism and Systems Research, University of Birmingham and Birmingham Women's Fertility Centre, Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham, B15 2TT, United Kingdom
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5
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Clark FE, Greggor AL, Montgomery SH, Plotnik JM. The endangered brain: actively preserving ex-situ animal behaviour and cognition will benefit in-situ conservation. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 10:230707. [PMID: 37650055 PMCID: PMC10465207 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.230707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 09/01/2023]
Abstract
Endangered species have small, unsustainable population sizes that are geographically or genetically restricted. Ex-situ conservation programmes are therefore faced with the challenge of breeding sufficiently sized, genetically diverse populations earmarked for reintroduction that have the behavioural skills to survive and breed in the wild. Yet, maintaining historically beneficial behaviours may be insufficient, as research continues to suggest that certain cognitive-behavioural skills and flexibility are necessary to cope with human-induced rapid environmental change (HIREC). This paper begins by reviewing interdisciplinary studies on the 'captivity effect' in laboratory, farmed, domesticated and feral vertebrates and finds that captivity imposes rapid yet often reversible changes to the brain, cognition and behaviour. However, research on this effect in ex-situ conservation sites is lacking. This paper reveals an apparent mismatch between ex-situ enrichment aims and the cognitive-behavioural skills possessed by animals currently coping with HIREC. After synthesizing literature across neuroscience, behavioural biology, comparative cognition and field conservation, it seems that ex-situ endangered species deemed for reintroduction may have better chances of coping with HIREC if their natural cognition and behavioural repertoires are actively preserved. Evaluating the effects of environmental challenges rather than captivity per se is recommended, in addition to using targeted cognitive enrichment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fay E. Clark
- School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, UK
| | | | | | - Joshua M. Plotnik
- Department of Psychology, Hunter College, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA
- Department of Psychology, The Graduate Center, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA
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Lahimer M, Montjean D, Cabry R, Capelle S, Lefranc E, Bach V, Ajina M, Ben Ali H, Khorsi-Cauet H, Benkhalifa M. Paternal Age Matters: Association with Sperm Criteria's- Spermatozoa DNA Integrity and Methylation Profile. J Clin Med 2023; 12:4928. [PMID: 37568329 PMCID: PMC10420110 DOI: 10.3390/jcm12154928] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2023] [Revised: 06/24/2023] [Accepted: 07/24/2023] [Indexed: 08/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Advanced age has been reported to negatively affect sperm parameters and spermatozoa DNA integrity. A decline in sperm criteria was also associated with altered epigenetic marks such as DNA methylation with a potential downstream impact on in vitro fertilization success and clinical outcomes. The aim of the present retrospective study was to clarify the association between advanced paternal age (APA) and sperm parameters, DNA integrity and DNA methylation profile. A total of 671 patients consulting for infertility underwent sperm analysis, sperm DNA integrity assessment and methylation level measurement. The principal finding was that individuals over 40 years of age exhibit a significant increase in DNA fragmentation levels compared to the younger group (15% versus 9%, respectively, p = 0.04). However, there was no significant difference in DNA decondensation and sperm parameters in association with APA. In addition, a drop in the global methylation level was also found in men over 40 years (6% in the young group versus 2% in the old group, p = 0.03). As a conclusion, men over 40 years are at higher risk of elevated sperm DNA fragmentation and lower methylation level. Based on these observations, it is recommended that the assessment of sperm DNA fragmentation should be taken into consideration particularly after the age of 40. Our findings support the idea that paternal age is a crucial factor that should not be neglected during fertility evaluation and treatment since it is associated with epigenetics changes in sperm. Although the underlying mechanism remains to be clarified, we believe that environmental and professional exposure factors are likely involved in the process.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marwa Lahimer
- Reproductive Medicine, Reproductive Biology & Genetics, University Hospital and School of Medicine, Picardie University Jules Verne, CHU Sud, 80054 Amiens, France; (M.L.); (R.C.); (S.C.); (E.L.); (M.B.)
- PERITOX—Périnatalité et Risques Toxiques—UMR-I1, Picardie University Jules Verne, CHU Sud, 80025 Amiens, France;
- Exercise Physiology and Physiopathology: From Integrated to Molecular “Biology, Medicine and Health” (Code: LR19ES09), Sousse 4002, Tunisia
| | - Debbie Montjean
- Fertilys, Centres de Fertilité, Laval and Brossard, Québec, QC H7S 1Z5, Canada;
| | - Rosalie Cabry
- Reproductive Medicine, Reproductive Biology & Genetics, University Hospital and School of Medicine, Picardie University Jules Verne, CHU Sud, 80054 Amiens, France; (M.L.); (R.C.); (S.C.); (E.L.); (M.B.)
- PERITOX—Périnatalité et Risques Toxiques—UMR-I1, Picardie University Jules Verne, CHU Sud, 80025 Amiens, France;
| | - Severine Capelle
- Reproductive Medicine, Reproductive Biology & Genetics, University Hospital and School of Medicine, Picardie University Jules Verne, CHU Sud, 80054 Amiens, France; (M.L.); (R.C.); (S.C.); (E.L.); (M.B.)
| | - Elodie Lefranc
- Reproductive Medicine, Reproductive Biology & Genetics, University Hospital and School of Medicine, Picardie University Jules Verne, CHU Sud, 80054 Amiens, France; (M.L.); (R.C.); (S.C.); (E.L.); (M.B.)
| | - Véronique Bach
- PERITOX—Périnatalité et Risques Toxiques—UMR-I1, Picardie University Jules Verne, CHU Sud, 80025 Amiens, France;
| | - Mounir Ajina
- Unit of Reproductive Medicine, University Hospital Farhat Hached, Sousse 4000, Tunisia;
| | - Habib Ben Ali
- Faculty of Medicine of Sousse, University of Sousse, Sousse 4000, Tunisia;
| | - Hafida Khorsi-Cauet
- Reproductive Medicine, Reproductive Biology & Genetics, University Hospital and School of Medicine, Picardie University Jules Verne, CHU Sud, 80054 Amiens, France; (M.L.); (R.C.); (S.C.); (E.L.); (M.B.)
- PERITOX—Périnatalité et Risques Toxiques—UMR-I1, Picardie University Jules Verne, CHU Sud, 80025 Amiens, France;
| | - Moncef Benkhalifa
- Reproductive Medicine, Reproductive Biology & Genetics, University Hospital and School of Medicine, Picardie University Jules Verne, CHU Sud, 80054 Amiens, France; (M.L.); (R.C.); (S.C.); (E.L.); (M.B.)
- PERITOX—Périnatalité et Risques Toxiques—UMR-I1, Picardie University Jules Verne, CHU Sud, 80025 Amiens, France;
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Mashoodh R, Habrylo IB, Gudsnuk K, Champagne FA. Sex-specific effects of chronic paternal stress on offspring development are partially mediated via mothers. Horm Behav 2023; 152:105357. [PMID: 37062113 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2023.105357] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/13/2022] [Revised: 03/28/2023] [Accepted: 03/30/2023] [Indexed: 04/18/2023]
Abstract
Paternal stress exposure is known to impact the development of stress-related behaviors in offspring. Previous work has highlighted the importance of sperm mediated factors, such as RNAs, in transmitting the effects of parental stress. However, a key unanswered question is whether mothers behavior could drive or modulate the transmission of paternal stress effects on offspring development. Here we investigate how chronic variable stress in Balb/C mice influences the sex-specific development of anxiety- and depression-like neural and behavioral development in offspring. Moreover, we examined how stressed fathers influenced mate maternal investment towards their offspring and how this may modulate the transmission of paternal stress effects on offspring. We show that paternal stress leads to sex-specific effects on offspring behavior. Males that are chronically stressed sire female offspring that show increased anxiety and depression-like behaviors. However, male offspring of stressed fathers show reductions in anxiety- and depression-behaviors and are generally more exploratory. Moreover, we show that females mated with stressed males gain less weight during pregnancy and provide less care towards their offspring which additionally influenced offspring development. These data indicate that paternal stress can influence offspring development both directly and indirectly via changes in mothers, with implications for sex-specific offspring development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rahia Mashoodh
- University of Cambridge, Department of Zoology, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, United Kingdom.
| | - Ireneusz B Habrylo
- Columbia University, Department of Psychology, 1190 Amsterdam Avenue, Schermerhorn Hall, New York, NY 10027, United States of America
| | - Kathryn Gudsnuk
- Columbia University, Department of Psychology, 1190 Amsterdam Avenue, Schermerhorn Hall, New York, NY 10027, United States of America
| | - Frances A Champagne
- Columbia University, Department of Psychology, 1190 Amsterdam Avenue, Schermerhorn Hall, New York, NY 10027, United States of America; University of Texas Austin, Department of Psychology, 108 Dean Keeton, Austin, TX 78712, United States of America
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8
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Lecorguillé M, Navarro P, Chen LW, Murrin C, Viljoen K, Mehegan J, Shivappa N, Hébert JR, Kelleher CC, Suderman M, Phillips CM. Maternal and Paternal Dietary Quality and Dietary Inflammation Associations with Offspring DNA Methylation and Epigenetic Biomarkers of Aging in the Lifeways Cross-Generation Study. J Nutr 2023; 153:1075-1088. [PMID: 36842935 PMCID: PMC10196589 DOI: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2023.01.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2022] [Revised: 12/21/2022] [Accepted: 01/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Early-life nutritional exposures may contribute to offspring epigenetic modifications. However, few studies have evaluated parental dietary quality effects on offspring DNA methylation (DNAm). OBJECTIVES We aim to fill this gap by elucidating the influence of maternal and paternal whole-diet quality and inflammatory potential on offspring DNAm in the Lifeways Cross-generation cohort. METHODS Families (n = 1124) were recruited around 16 weeks of gestation in the Republic of Ireland between 2001 and 2003. Maternal dietary intake during the first trimester and paternal diet during the 12 previous months were assessed with an FFQ. Parental dietary inflammatory potential and quality were determined using the energy-adjusted Dietary Inflammatory Index (E-DII), the Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI-2015), and the maternal DASH score. DNAm in the saliva of 246 children at age nine was measured using the Illumina Infinium HumanMethylationEPIC array. DNAm-derived biomarkers of aging, the Pediatric-Buccal-Epigenetic clock and DNAm estimator of telomere length, were calculated. Parental diet associations with the DNAm concentrations of 850K Cytosine-phosphate-guanine sites (CpG sites) and with DNAm-derived biomarkers of aging were examined using an epigenome-wide association study and linear regressions, respectively. RESULTS Maternal HEI-2015 scores were inversely associated with DNAm at CpG site (cg21840035) located near the PLEKHM1 gene, whose functions involve regulation of bone development (β = -0.0036, per 1 point increase in the score; P = 5.6 × 10-8). Higher paternal HEI-2015 score was related to lower methylation at CpG site (cg22431767), located near cell signaling gene LUZP1 (β = -0.0022, per 1 point increase in the score, P = 4.1 × 10-8). There were no associations with parental E-DII and DASH scores, and no evidence of major effects on biomarkers of aging. CONCLUSIONS Parental dietary quality in the prenatal period, evaluated by the HEI-2015, may influence offspring DNAm during childhood. Further research to improve our understanding of parental nutritional programming is warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marion Lecorguillé
- School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
| | - Pilar Navarro
- School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Ling-Wei Chen
- School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland; Institute of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Celine Murrin
- School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Karien Viljoen
- School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - John Mehegan
- School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Nitin Shivappa
- Cancer Prevention and Control Program and Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA
| | - James R Hébert
- Cancer Prevention and Control Program and Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Arnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, USA; Connecting Health Innovations, LLC, Columbia, SC, USA
| | - Cecily C Kelleher
- School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
| | - Matthew Suderman
- MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
| | - Catherine M Phillips
- School of Public Health, Physiotherapy and Sports Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
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9
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EKMEKCİ HS, MUFTAREVİÇ S. Epigenetic Effects of Social Stress and Epigenetic Inheritance. PSIKIYATRIDE GUNCEL YAKLASIMLAR - CURRENT APPROACHES IN PSYCHIATRY 2023. [DOI: 10.18863/pgy.1059315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/12/2023]
Abstract
Social events that cause stress can cause epigenetic changes on living things. The study of the effects of social events experienced by an individual on epigenetic marks on the genome has created the field of social epigenetics. Social epigenetics examines the effects of psychosocial stress factors such as poverty, war trauma and childhood abuse on epigenetic mechanisms. Epigenetic mechanisms alter chemical markers in the genome structure without changing the DNA sequence. Among these mechanisms, DNA methylation in particular may have different phenotypic effects in response to stressors that may occur in the psychosocial environment. Post-traumatic stress disorder is one of the most significant proofs of the effects of epigenetic expressions altered due to traumatic events on the phenotype. The field of epigenetic inheritance has shown that epigenetic changes triggered by environmental influences can, in some cases, be transmitted through generations. This field provides a better understanding of the basis of many psychological disorders. This review provides an overview of social epigenetics, PTSD, and epigenetic inheritance.
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10
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Fricke C, Sanghvi K, Emery M, Lindenbaum I, Wigby S, Ramm SA, Sepil I. Timeless or tainted? The effects of male ageing on seminal fluid. Front Ecol Evol 2023. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2023.1066022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Reproductive ageing can occur due to the deterioration of both the soma and germline. In males, it has mostly been studied with respect to age-related changes in sperm. However, the somatic component of the ejaculate, seminal fluid, is also essential for maintaining reproductive function. Whilst we know that seminal fluid proteins (SFPs) are required for male reproductive success across diverse taxa, age-related changes in SFP quantity and composition are little understood. Additionally, only few studies have explored the reproductive ageing of the tissues that produce SFPs, and the resulting reproductive outcomes. Here we provide a systematic review of studies addressing how advancing male age affects the production and properties of seminal fluid, in particular SFPs and oxidative stress, highlighting many open questions and generating new hypotheses for further research. We additionally discuss how declines in function of different components of seminal fluid, such as SFPs and antioxidants, could contribute to age-related loss of reproductive ability. Overall, we find evidence that ageing results in increased oxidative stress in seminal fluid and a decrease in the abundance of various SFPs. These results suggest that seminal fluid contributes towards important age-related changes influencing male reproduction. Thus, it is essential to study this mostly ignored component of the ejaculate to understand male reproductive ageing, and its consequences for sexual selection and paternal age effects on offspring.
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11
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Kaltsas A, Moustakli E, Zikopoulos A, Georgiou I, Dimitriadis F, Symeonidis EN, Markou E, Michaelidis TM, Tien DMB, Giannakis I, Ioannidou EM, Papatsoris A, Tsounapi P, Takenaka A, Sofikitis N, Zachariou A. Impact of Advanced Paternal Age on Fertility and Risks of Genetic Disorders in Offspring. Genes (Basel) 2023; 14:486. [PMID: 36833413 PMCID: PMC9957550 DOI: 10.3390/genes14020486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2023] [Revised: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 02/13/2023] [Indexed: 02/17/2023] Open
Abstract
The average age of fathers at first pregnancy has risen significantly over the last decade owing to various variables, including a longer life expectancy, more access to contraception, later marriage, and other factors. As has been proven in several studies, women over 35 years of age have an increased risk of infertility, pregnancy problems, spontaneous abortion, congenital malformations, and postnatal issues. There are varying opinions on whether a father's age affects the quality of his sperm or his ability to father a child. First, there is no single accepted definition of old age in a father. Second, much research has reported contradictory findings in the literature, particularly concerning the most frequently examined criteria. Increasing evidence suggests that the father's age contributes to his offspring's higher vulnerability to inheritable diseases. Our comprehensive literature evaluation shows a direct correlation between paternal age and decreased sperm quality and testicular function. Genetic abnormalities, such as DNA mutations and chromosomal aneuploidies, and epigenetic modifications, such as the silencing of essential genes, have all been linked to the father's advancing years. Paternal age has been shown to affect reproductive and fertility outcomes, such as the success rate of in vitro fertilisation (IVF), intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI), and premature birth rate. Several diseases, including autism, schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, and paediatric leukaemia, have been linked to the father's advanced years. Therefore, informing infertile couples of the alarming correlations between older fathers and a rise in their offspring's diseases is crucial, so that they can be effectively guided through their reproductive years.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aris Kaltsas
- Laboratory of Spermatology, Department of Urology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece
| | - Efthalia Moustakli
- Laboratory of Medical Genetics in Clinical Practice, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece
| | - Athanasios Zikopoulos
- Laboratory of Spermatology, Department of Urology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece
| | - Ioannis Georgiou
- Laboratory of Medical Genetics in Clinical Practice, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece
| | - Fotios Dimitriadis
- Department of Urology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Evangelos N. Symeonidis
- Department of Urology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Eleftheria Markou
- Department of Microbiology, University Hospital of Ioannina, 45500 Ioannina, Greece
| | - Theologos M. Michaelidis
- Department of Biological Applications and Technologies, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece
- Biomedical Research Institute, Foundation for Research and Technology-Hellas, 45500 Ioannina, Greece
| | - Dung Mai Ba Tien
- Department of Andrology, Binh Dan Hospital, Ho chi Minh City 70000, Vietnam
| | - Ioannis Giannakis
- Laboratory of Spermatology, Department of Urology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece
| | | | - Athanasios Papatsoris
- 2nd Department of Urology, School of Medicine, Sismanoglio Hospital, National and Kapodistrian Univesity of Athens, 15126 Athens, Greece
| | - Panagiota Tsounapi
- Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Yonago 683-8503, Japan
| | - Atsushi Takenaka
- Division of Urology, Department of Surgery, School of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Tottori University, Yonago 683-8503, Japan
| | - Nikolaos Sofikitis
- Laboratory of Spermatology, Department of Urology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece
| | - Athanasios Zachariou
- Laboratory of Spermatology, Department of Urology, Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences, University of Ioannina, 45110 Ioannina, Greece
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12
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Sun S, Dziuba MK, Jaye RN, Duffy MA. Transgenerational plasticity in a zooplankton in response to elevated temperature and parasitism. Ecol Evol 2023; 13:e9767. [PMID: 36760704 PMCID: PMC9897957 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.9767] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2022] [Revised: 01/05/2023] [Accepted: 01/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Organisms are increasingly facing multiple stressors, which can simultaneously interact to cause unpredictable impacts compared with a single stressor alone. Recent evidence suggests that phenotypic plasticity can allow for rapid responses to altered environments, including biotic and abiotic stressors, both within a generation and across generations (transgenerational plasticity). Parents can potentially "prime" their offspring to better cope with similar stressors or, alternatively, might produce offspring that are less fit because of energetic constraints. At present, it remains unclear exactly how biotic and abiotic stressors jointly mediate the responses of transgenerational plasticity and whether this plasticity is adaptive. Here, we test the effects of biotic and abiotic environmental changes on within- and transgenerational plasticity using a Daphnia-Metschnikowia zooplankton-fungal parasite system. By exposing parents and their offspring consecutively to the single and combined effects of elevated temperature and parasite infection, we showed that transgenerational plasticity induced by temperature and parasite stress influenced host fecundity and lifespan; offsprings of mothers who were exposed to one of the stressors were better able to tolerate elevated temperature, compared with the offspring of mothers who were exposed to neither or both stressors. Yet, the negative effects caused by parasite infection were much stronger, and this greater reduction in host fitness was not mitigated by transgenerational plasticity. We also showed that elevated temperature led to a lower average immune response, and that the relationship between immune response and lifetime fecundity reversed under elevated temperature: the daughters of exposed mothers showed decreased fecundity with increased hemocyte production at ambient temperature but the opposite relationship at elevated temperature. Together, our results highlight the need to address questions at the interface of multiple stressors and transgenerational plasticity and the importance of considering multiple fitness-associated traits when evaluating the adaptive value of transgenerational plasticity under changing environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Syuan‐Jyun Sun
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMichiganUSA,International Degree Program in Climate Change and Sustainable DevelopmentNational Taiwan UniversityTaipeiTaiwan
| | - Marcin K. Dziuba
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMichiganUSA
| | - Riley N. Jaye
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMichiganUSA
| | - Meghan A. Duffy
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of MichiganAnn ArborMichiganUSA
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13
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Green MR, Swaney WT. Interacting effects of environmental enrichment across multiple generations on early life phenotypes in zebrafish. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL ZOOLOGY PART B: MOLECULAR AND DEVELOPMENTAL EVOLUTION 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/jez.b.23184] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2022] [Revised: 11/15/2022] [Accepted: 11/18/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Michael R. Green
- School of Biological and Environmental Sciences Liverpool John Moores University Liverpool UK
- Chester Medical School University of Chester Chester UK
| | - William T. Swaney
- School of Biological and Environmental Sciences Liverpool John Moores University Liverpool UK
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14
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Maciejewski MF, Bell AM. Insights into Parental Care from Studies on Non-mammalian Vertebrates. AFFECTIVE SCIENCE 2022; 3:792-798. [PMID: 36519149 PMCID: PMC9743901 DOI: 10.1007/s42761-022-00127-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2021] [Accepted: 05/30/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Parental care has attracted attention from both proximate and ultimate perspectives. While understanding the adaptive significance of care has been the focus of work in diverse organisms in behavioral ecology, most of what we know about the proximate mechanisms underlying parental care behavior comes from studies in mammals. Although studies on mammals have greatly improved our understanding of care, viewing parental care solely through a mammalian lens can limit our understanding. Here, we draw upon examples from non-mammalian vertebrate systems to show that in many ways mammals are the exception rather than the rule for caregiving: across vertebrates, maternal care is often not the ancestral or the most common mode of care and fathering is not derivative of mothering. Embracing the diversity of parental care can improve our understanding of both the proximate basis and adaptive significance of parental care and the affective processes involved in caregiving.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meghan F. Maciejewski
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behavior, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL USA
| | - Alison M. Bell
- Department of Evolution, Ecology and Behavior, School of Integrative Biology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL USA
- Program in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL USA
- Carl R. Woese Institute for Genomic Biology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL USA
- Program in Neuroscience, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL USA
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15
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Patlar B. On the Role of Seminal Fluid Protein and Nucleic Acid Content in Paternal Epigenetic Inheritance. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:ijms232314533. [PMID: 36498858 PMCID: PMC9739459 DOI: 10.3390/ijms232314533] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/16/2022] [Revised: 11/10/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The evidence supports the occurrence of environmentally-induced paternal epigenetic inheritance that shapes the offspring phenotype in the absence of direct or indirect paternal care and clearly demonstrates that sperm epigenetics is one of the major actors mediating these paternal effects. However, in most animals, while sperm makes up only a small portion of the seminal fluid, males also have a complex mixture of proteins, peptides, different types of small noncoding RNAs, and cell-free DNA fragments in their ejaculate. These seminal fluid contents (Sfcs) are in close contact with the reproductive cells, tissues, organs, and other molecules of both males and females during reproduction. Moreover, their production and use are adjusted in response to environmental conditions, making them potential markers of environmentally- and developmentally-induced paternal effects on the next generation(s). Although there is some intriguing evidence for Sfc-mediated paternal effects, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain poorly defined. In this review, the current evidence regarding the links between seminal fluid and environmental paternal effects and the potential pathways and mechanisms that seminal fluid may follow in mediating paternal epigenetic inheritance are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bahar Patlar
- Animal Ecology, Department of Zoology, Martin-Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, 06099 Halle (Saale), Germany
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16
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Veronica CS, Ivan GM, Francisco GG. Evolutionary consequences of pesticide exposure include transgenerational plasticity and potential terminal investment transgenerational effects. Evolution 2022; 76:2649-2668. [PMID: 36117275 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/21/2021] [Revised: 06/17/2022] [Accepted: 06/30/2022] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Transgenerational plasticity, the influence of the environment experienced by parents on the phenotype and fitness of subsequent generations, is being increasingly recognized. Human-altered environments, such as those resulting from the increasing use of pesticides, may be major drivers of such cross-generational influences, which in turn may have profound evolutionary and ecological repercussions. Most of these consequences are, however, unknown. Whether transgenerational plasticity elicited by pesticide exposure is common, and the consequences of its potential carryover effects on fitness and population dynamics, remains to be determined. Here, we investigate whether exposure of parents to a common pesticide elicits intra-, inter-, and transgenerational responses (in F0, F1, and F2 generations) in life history (fecundity, longevity, and lifetime reproductive success), in an insect model system, the seed beetle Callosobruchus maculatus. We also assessed sex specificity of the effects. We found sex-specific and hormetic intergenerational and transgenerational effects on longevity and lifetime reproductive success, manifested both in the form of maternal and paternal effects. In addition, the transgenerational effects via mothers detected in this study are consistent with a new concept: terminal investment transgenerational effects. Such effects could underlie cross-generational responses to environmental perturbation. Our results indicate that pesticide exposure leads to unanticipated effects on population dynamics and have far-reaching ecological and evolutionary implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Castano-Sanz Veronica
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Estación Biológica de Doñana-CSIC, Seville, 41092, Spain
| | - Gomez-Mestre Ivan
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Estación Biológica de Doñana-CSIC, Seville, 41092, Spain
| | - Garcia-Gonzalez Francisco
- Department of Ecology and Evolution, Estación Biológica de Doñana-CSIC, Seville, 41092, Spain.,Centre for Evolutionary Biology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, 6009, Australia
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17
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Mezheritskiy MI, Dyakonova VE. Direct and Inherited Epigenetic Changes in the Nervous System Caused by Intensive Locomotion: Possible Adaptive Significance. Russ J Dev Biol 2022. [DOI: 10.1134/s1062360422050058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
This review is devoted to the analysis of works that investigated the long-term effects of species-specific forms of intensive locomotion on the cognitive functions of animals and humans, which can be transmitted to the next generation. To date, the anxiolytic and cognitive-enhancing long-term effects of intensive locomotion have been demonstrated in humans, rodents, fish, insects, mollusks, and nematodes. In rodents, changes in the central nervous system caused by intense locomotion can be transmitted through the maternal and paternal line to the descendants of the first generation. These include reduced anxiety, improved spatial learning and memory, increased levels of brain neurotrophic factor and vascular endothelial growth factor in the hippocampus and frontal cortex. The shift of the balance of histone acetylation in the hippocampus of rodents towards hyperacetylation, and the balance of DNA methylation towards demethylation manifests itself both as a direct and as a first-generation inherited effect of motor activity. The question about the mechanisms that link locomotion with an increase in the plasticity of a genome in the brain of descendants remains poorly understood, and invertebrate model organisms can be an ideal object for its study. Currently, there is a lack of a theoretical model explaining why motor activity leads to long-term improvement of some cognitive functions that can be transmitted to the next generation and why such an influence could have appeared in evolution. The answer to these questions is not only of fundamental interest, but it is necessary for predicting therapeutic and possible side effects of motor activity in humans. In this regard, the article pays special attention to the review of ideas on the evolutionary aspects of the problem. We propose our own hypothesis, according to which the activating effect of intensive locomotion on the function of the nervous system could have been formed in evolution as a preadaptation to a possible entry into a new environment.
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18
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Earhart ML, Blanchard TS, Harman AA, Schulte PM. Hypoxia and High Temperature as Interacting Stressors: Will Plasticity Promote Resilience of Fishes in a Changing World? THE BIOLOGICAL BULLETIN 2022; 243:149-170. [PMID: 36548973 DOI: 10.1086/722115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
AbstractDetermining the resilience of a species or population to climate change stressors is an important but difficult task because resilience can be affected both by genetically based variation and by various types of phenotypic plasticity. In addition, most of what is known about organismal responses is for single stressors in isolation, but environmental change involves multiple environmental factors acting in combination. Here, our goal is to summarize what is known about phenotypic plasticity in fishes in response to high temperature and low oxygen (hypoxia) in combination across multiple timescales, to ask how much resilience plasticity may provide in the face of climate change. There are relatively few studies investigating plasticity in response to these environmental stressors in combination; but the available data suggest that although fish have some capacity to adjust their phenotype and compensate for the negative effects of acute exposure to high temperature and hypoxia through acclimation or developmental plasticity, compensation is generally only partial. There is very little known about intergenerational and transgenerational effects, although studies on each stressor in isolation suggest that both positive and negative impacts may occur. Overall, the capacity for phenotypic plasticity in response to these two stressors is highly variable among species and extremely dependent on the specific context of the experiment, including the extent and timing of stressor exposure. This variability in the nature and extent of plasticity suggests that existing phenotypic plasticity is unlikely to adequately buffer fishes against the combined stressors of high temperature and hypoxia as our climate warms.
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19
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Aizawa S, Tochihara A, Yamamuro Y. Paternal high-fat diet alters triglyceride metabolism-related gene expression in liver and white adipose tissue of male mouse offspring. Biochem Biophys Rep 2022; 31:101330. [PMID: 35990577 PMCID: PMC9388883 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrep.2022.101330] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2022] [Revised: 08/03/2022] [Accepted: 08/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Obesity is a major public health problem, and its prevalence is progressively increasing worldwide. In addition, accumulating evidence suggests that diverse nutritional and metabolic disturbances including obesity can be transmitted from parents to offspring via transgenerational epigenetic inheritance. The previous reports have shown that paternal obesity has profound impacts on the development and metabolic health of their progeny. However, little information is available concerning the effects of paternal high-fat diet (HFD) exposure on triglyceride metabolism in the offspring. Therefore, we investigated the effects of paternal HFD on triglyceride metabolism and related gene expression in male mouse offspring. We found that paternal HFD exposure significantly increased the body weight, liver and epididymal white adipose tissue (eWAT) weights, and liver triglyceride content in male offspring, despite consuming control diet. In addition, paternal HFD exposure had induced changes in the mRNA expression of genes involved in lipid and triglyceride metabolism in the liver and eWAT. These findings indicate transgenerational inheritance from the paternal metabolic disturbance of triglyceride and support the effects of paternal lifestyle choices on offspring development and health later in life. Paternal HFD exposure increased body weight, liver, and eWAT weights in male offspring. Paternal HFD exposure induced triglyceride metabolism disturbance in male offspring. Triglyceride metabolism-related gene expression in the offspring liver and eWAT was altered by paternal HFD exposure.
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20
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Aich U, Chowdhury S, Jennions MD. Separating the effects of paternal age and mating history: Evidence for sex-specific paternal effect in eastern mosquitofish. Evolution 2022; 76:1565-1577. [PMID: 35544673 PMCID: PMC9543789 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14498] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2021] [Revised: 03/20/2022] [Accepted: 03/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Paternal age and past mating effort by males are often confounded, which can affect our understanding of a father's age effects. To our knowledge, only a few studies have standardized mating history when testing for effects of paternal age, and none has simultaneously disentangled how paternal age and mating history might jointly influence offspring traits. Here, we experimentally manipulated male mating history to tease apart its effects from those of paternal age on female fertility and offspring traits in the eastern mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki). Male age did not affect female fertility. However, males with greater past mating effort produced significantly larger broods. Paternal age and mating history interacted to affect sons' body size: sons sired by old-virgin males were larger than those sired by old-mated males, but this was not the case for younger fathers. Intriguingly, however, sons sired by old-virgin males tended to produce fewer sperms than those sired by old-mated males, indicating a potential trade-off in beneficial paternal effects. Finally, neither paternal age nor mating history affected daughter's fitness. Our results highlight that variation in offspring traits attributed to paternal age effect could partly arise due to a father's mating history, and not simply to his chronological age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Upama Aich
- Division of Ecology & EvolutionResearch School of BiologyThe Australian National UniversityCanberraAustralia,School of Biological SciencesMonash UniversityClaytonVictoriaAustralia
| | - Shawan Chowdhury
- School of Biological SciencesUniversity of QueenslandSaint LuciaQueenslandAustralia
| | - Michael D. Jennions
- Division of Ecology & EvolutionResearch School of BiologyThe Australian National UniversityCanberraAustralia
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21
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Microbiome–Gut Dissociation in the Neonate: Obesity and Coeliac Disease as Examples of Microbiome Function Deficiency Disorder. GASTROINTESTINAL DISORDERS 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/gidisord4030012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to provide a direction for translational research based on an analysis of the nature of complex, immune-related conditions such as obesity and coeliac disease. In essence, it seems that the prevalence of these non-communicable diseases is related to the degradation of the microbiome during the industrialisation of society, and that their nature can be used to infer the functions of the “pre-industrial” microbiome. Based on this analysis, the key point is the necessity for the fully functioning microbiome, acting alongside the parental genetic inheritance of the child, to be in place immediately after birth. In our view, this is achieved by the seemingly accidental process of maternal microbial inheritance during normal birth. Note, however, that this is not possible if the microbiome of the mother is itself degraded following previous problems. Under these conditions the health of a child may be affected from the moment of birth, although, with the exception of atopic diseases, such as eczema and food allergy, the consequences may not become apparent until late childhood or as an adult. In this way, this microbiome function deficiency hypothesis incorporates the epidemiological observations of David Strachan and David Barker in that their onset can be traced to early childhood. Coeliac disease has been chosen as an illustrative example of a multifactorial disorder due to the fact that, in addition to a series of immune system manifestations and a potential problem with food absorption, there is also a significant psychological component. Finally, it is worth noting that an ingestible sensor calibrated to the detection of interkingdom communication molecules (semiochemicals) within the intestine may offer a practical way of assessment and, perhaps, amelioration of at least some of the consequences of non-communicable disease.
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22
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Korgan AC, Foxx CL, Hashmi H, Sago SA, Stamper CE, Heinze JD, O'Leary E, King JL, Perrot TS, Lowry CA, Weaver ICG. Effects of paternal high-fat diet and maternal rearing environment on the gut microbiota and behavior. Sci Rep 2022; 12:10179. [PMID: 35715467 PMCID: PMC9205913 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-14095-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2021] [Accepted: 06/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Exposing a male rat to an obesogenic high-fat diet (HFD) influences attractiveness to potential female mates, the subsequent interaction of female mates with infant offspring, and the development of stress-related behavioral and neural responses in offspring. To examine the stomach and fecal microbiome's potential roles, fecal samples from 44 offspring and stomach samples from offspring and their fathers were collected and bacterial community composition was studied by 16 small subunit ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) gene sequencing. Paternal diet (control, high-fat), maternal housing conditions (standard or semi-naturalistic housing), and maternal care (quality of nursing and other maternal behaviors) affected the within-subjects alpha-diversity of the offspring stomach and fecal microbiomes. We provide evidence from beta-diversity analyses that paternal diet and maternal behavior induced community-wide shifts to the adult offspring gut microbiome. Additionally, we show that paternal HFD significantly altered the adult offspring Firmicutes to Bacteroidetes ratio, an indicator of obesogenic potential in the gut microbiome. Additional machine-learning analyses indicated that microbial species driving these differences converged on Bifidobacterium pseudolongum. These results suggest that differences in early-life care induced by paternal diet and maternal care significantly influence the microbiota composition of offspring through the microbiota-gut-brain axis, having implications for adult stress reactivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Austin C Korgan
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, B3H 4R2, Canada
- The Jackson Laboratory, 600 Main Street, Bar Harbor, ME, 04609, USA
| | - Christine L Foxx
- Department of Integrative Physiology and Center for Microbial Exploration, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA
- Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education Research Participation Program, Oak Ridge, TN, 37830, USA
- U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), National Animal Health Laboratory Network (NAHLN), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), Ames, IA, 50010, USA
| | - Heraa Hashmi
- Department of Integrative Physiology and Center for Microbial Exploration, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA
| | - Saydie A Sago
- Department of Integrative Physiology and Center for Microbial Exploration, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA
| | - Christopher E Stamper
- Department of Integrative Physiology and Center for Microbial Exploration, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA
- Rocky Mountain MIRECC for Veteran Suicide Prevention, 1700 N Wheeling St, G-3-116M, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA
| | - Jared D Heinze
- Department of Integrative Physiology and Center for Microbial Exploration, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA
| | - Elizabeth O'Leary
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Jillian L King
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, B3H 4R2, Canada
- The Jackson Laboratory, 600 Main Street, Bar Harbor, ME, 04609, USA
| | - Tara S Perrot
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, B3H 4R2, Canada
- Brain Repair Centre, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Christopher A Lowry
- Department of Integrative Physiology and Center for Microbial Exploration, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience and Center for Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, 80309, USA
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and Center for Neuroscience, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO, 80045, USA
- Veterans Health Administration, Rocky Mountain Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), The Rocky Mountain Regional Veterans Affairs Medical Center (RMRVAMC), Aurora, CO, 80045, USA
- Military and Veteran Microbiome Consortium for Research and Education (MVM-CoRE), Aurora, CO, 80045, USA
| | - Ian C G Weaver
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, B3H 4R2, Canada.
- Brain Repair Centre, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, B3H 4R2, Canada.
- Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, B3H 4R2, Canada.
- Department of Pathology, Dalhousie University, Halifax, NS, B3H 4R2, Canada.
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23
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Shenoi VN, Brengdahl MI, Grace JL, Eriksson B, Rydén P, Friberg U. A genome-wide test for paternal indirect genetic effects on lifespan in Drosophila melanogaster. Proc Biol Sci 2022; 289:20212707. [PMID: 35538781 PMCID: PMC9091837 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2021.2707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Exposing sires to various environmental manipulations has demonstrated that paternal effects can be non-trivial also in species where male investment in offspring is almost exclusively limited to sperm. Whether paternal effects also have a genetic component (i.e. paternal indirect genetic effects (PIGEs)) in such species is however largely unknown, primarily because of methodological difficulties separating indirect from direct effects of genes. PIGEs may nevertheless be important since they have the capacity to contribute to evolutionary change. Here we use Drosophila genetics to construct a breeding design that allows testing nearly complete haploid genomes (more than 99%) for PIGEs. Using this technique, we estimate the variance in male lifespan due to PIGEs among four populations and compare this to the total paternal genetic variance (the sum of paternal indirect and direct genetic effects). Our results indicate that a substantial part of the total paternal genetic variance results from PIGEs. A screen of 38 haploid genomes, randomly sampled from a single population, suggests that PIGEs also influence variation in lifespan within populations. Collectively, our results demonstrate that PIGEs may constitute an underappreciated source of phenotypic variation.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Jaime L. Grace
- Department of Biology, Loyola University Chicago, 1032 W. Sheridan Rd., Chicago, IL 60660, USA
| | - Björn Eriksson
- Unit of Chemical Ecology, Department of Plant Protection Biology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sundsvägen 14, Box 102, 230 53 Alnarp, Sweden
| | - Patrik Rydén
- Department of Mathematics and Mathematical Statistics, Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden,Computational Life Science Cluster (CLiC), Umeå University, 901 87 Umeå, Sweden
| | - Urban Friberg
- IFM Biology, Linköping University, 581 83 Linköping, Sweden
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Rachakatla A, Kalashikam RR. Calorie Restriction-Regulated Molecular Pathways and Its Impact on Various Age Groups: An Overview. DNA Cell Biol 2022; 41:459-468. [PMID: 35451872 DOI: 10.1089/dna.2021.0922] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Calorie restriction (CR) if planned properly with regular exercise at different ages can result in healthy weight loss. CR can also have different beneficial effects on improving lifespan and decreasing the age-associated diseases by regulating physiological, biochemical, and molecular markers. The different pathways regulated by CR include:(1) AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which involves PGC-1α, SIRT1, and SIRT3. AMPK also effects myocyte enhancer factor 2 (MEF2), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor delta, and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha, which are involved in mitochondrial biogenesis and lipid oxidation; (2) Forkhead box transcription factor's signaling is related to the DNA repair, lipid metabolism, protection of protein structure, autophagy, and resistance to oxidative stress; (3) Mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling, which involves key factors, such as S6 protein kinase-1 (S6K1), mTOR complex-1 (mTORC1), and 4E-binding protein (4E-BP). Under CR conditions, AMPK activation and mTOR inhibition helps in the activation of Ulk1 complex along with the acetyltransferase Mec-17, which is necessary for autophagy; (4) Insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) pathway downregulation protects against cancer and slows the aging process; (5) Nuclear factor kappa B pathway downregulation decreases the inflammation; and (6) c-Jun N-terminal kinase and p38 kinase regulation as a response to the stress. The acute and chronic CR both shows antidepression and anxiolytic action by effecting ghrelin/GHS-R1a signaling. CR also regulates GSK3β kinase and protects against age-related brain atrophy. CR at young age may show many deleterious effects by effecting different mechanisms. Parental CR before or during conception will also affect the health and development of the offspring by causing many epigenetic modifications that show transgenerational transmission. Maternal CR is associated with intrauterine growth retardation effecting the offspring in their adulthood by developing different metabolic syndromes. The epigenetic changes with response to paternal food supply also linked to offspring health. CR at middle and old age provides a significant preventive impact against the development of age-associated diseases.
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Le Corre L, Brulport A, Vaiman D, Chagnon MC. Epoxiconazole alters the histology and transcriptome of mouse liver in a transgenerational pattern. Chem Biol Interact 2022; 360:109952. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cbi.2022.109952] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2021] [Revised: 04/08/2022] [Accepted: 04/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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Mou X, Zhang H, Arshad SH. Identifying intergenerational patterns of correlated methylation sites. Ann Appl Stat 2022. [DOI: 10.1214/21-aoas1511] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Xichen Mou
- Division of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, University of Memphis
| | - Hongmei Zhang
- Division of Epidemiology, Biostatistics, and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, University of Memphis
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The Enclosed Intestinal Microbiome: Semiochemical Signals from the Precambrian and Their Disruption by Heavy Metal Pollution. Life (Basel) 2022; 12:life12020287. [PMID: 35207574 PMCID: PMC8879143 DOI: 10.3390/life12020287] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/28/2021] [Revised: 02/07/2022] [Accepted: 02/09/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
It is increasingly likely that many non-communicable diseases of humans and associated animals are due to the degradation of their intestinal microbiomes, a situation often referred to as dysbiosis. An analysis of the resultant diseases offers an opportunity to probe the function of these microbial partners of multicellular animals. In our view, it now seems likely that vertebrate animals and their microbiomes have coevolved throughout the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition and beyond, operating by semiochemical messaging between the multicellular host and its microbial community guest. A consideration of the overall role of the mutualistic intestinal microbiome as an enclosed bioreactor throws up a variety of challenging concepts. In particular: the significance of the microbiome with respect to the immune system suggests that microeukaryotes could act as microbial sentinel cells; the ubiquity of bacteriophage viruses implies the rapid turnover of microbial composition by a viral-shunt mechanism; and high microbial diversity is needed to ensure that horizontal gene transfer allows valuable genetic functions to be expressed. We have previously postulated that microbes of sufficient diversity must be transferred from mother to infant by seemingly accidental contamination during the process of natural birth. We termed this maternal microbial inheritance and suggested that it operates alongside parental genetic inheritance to modify gene expression. In this way, the adjustment of the neonate immune system by the microbiome may represent one of the ways in which the genome of a vertebrate animal interacts with its microbial environment. The absence of such critical functions in the neonate may help to explain the observation of persistent immune-system problems in affected adults. Equally, granted that the survival of the guest microbiome depends on the viability of its host, one function of microbiome-generated semiochemicals could be to facilitate the movement of food through the digestive tract, effectively partitioning nutrition between host and guest. In the event of famine, downregulation of microbial growth and therefore of semiochemical production would allow all available food to be consumed by the host. Although it is often thought that non-communicable diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, are caused by consumption of food containing insufficient dietary fibre, our hypothesis suggests that poor-quality food is not the prime cause but that the tendency for disease follows the degradation of the intestinal microbiome, when fat build-up occurs because the relevant semiochemicals can no longer be produced. It is the purpose of this paper to highlight the possibility that the origins of the microbiome lie in the Precambrian and that the disconnection of body and microbiome gives rise to non-communicable disease through the loss of semiochemical signalling. We further surmise that this disconnect has been largely brought about by heavy metal poisoning, potentially illuminating a facet of the exposome, the sum total of environmental insults that influence the expression of the genetic inheritance of an animal.
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Like Father, Like Child? Paternal Age at Birth and Offspring’s Facial Asymmetry and Distinctiveness. Symmetry (Basel) 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/sym14020344] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Paternal age at birth, a potential proxy of mutation load transmitted to the offspring, has previously been related to the offspring’s health, biological condition and reproductive potential. As higher facial asymmetry and distinctiveness serve as putative markers of the lower genetic quality of an individual, we hypothesize that more advanced paternal age at birth will be related to children’s higher levels of facial asymmetry and distinctiveness. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study evaluating the link between paternal age at birth and facial asymmetry in offspring. Based on archived photographs of 159 children born within 47 Polish families, we have conducted facial geometric morphometric measurements and calculated the levels of facial asymmetry and distinctiveness. The relationship between paternal age at birth and the offspring’s facial features was explored with the use of Bayesian Linear Mixed-effects Models, controlling for sex, age and birth order of the offspring, and maternal age at child’s birth. No associations between paternal age at birth and facial asymmetry or distinctiveness in children were found. The lack of such a relationship might be a result of the potentially insufficient influence of newly accumulated paternal mutations affecting the offspring’s phenotype or higher importance of maternal (prenatal) and postnatal environments in shaping facial features.
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Paternal stress in rats increased oxytocin, oxytocin receptor, and arginine vasopressin gene expression in the male offspring amygdala with no effect on their social interaction behaviors. Neuroreport 2022; 33:48-54. [DOI: 10.1097/wnr.0000000000001749] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
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30
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D Palmer R, Papa V, Vaccarezza M. The Ability of Nutrition to Mitigate Epigenetic Drift: A Novel Look at Regulating Gene Expression. J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo) 2022; 67:359-365. [PMID: 34980713 DOI: 10.3177/jnsv.67.359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Epigenetic drift causes modification in gene expression during aging and a myriad of physiological changes that are mostly undesirable, remove youthful phenotype and are related to biological decay and disease onset. The epigenome is considered a stable regulator of genetic expression. Moreover, evidence is now accumulating that commonly available compounds found in foods can influence the epigenome to embrace a more youthful and therefore, more disease resistant state. Here we explore the correlation between nutriment and the epigenetic regulation through various types of alimentation. The aim is not to discuss specific chemicals involved in disease onset. Instead, we offer a brief glance at pathogens and offer a practical pathway into epigenetic regulation, hypothesizing that epigenetic drift might be attenuated by several foods able to drive a more youthful and disease resistant phenotype.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Veronica Papa
- Department of Motor Sciences and Wellness, University of Naples "Parthenope".,FABAP Research Center
| | - Mauro Vaccarezza
- Curtin Medical School, Faculty of Health Sciences, Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute (CHIRI), Curtin University.,Department of Translational Medicine, University of Ferrara
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31
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Finelli R, Mottola F, Agarwal A. Impact of Alcohol Consumption on Male Fertility Potential: A Narrative Review. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 19:ijerph19010328. [PMID: 35010587 PMCID: PMC8751073 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19010328] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2021] [Revised: 12/11/2021] [Accepted: 12/23/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Alcohol abuse disorder is a serious condition, implicating more than 15 million people aged 12 years and older in 2019 in the United States. Ethanol (or ethyl alcohol) is mainly oxidized in the liver, resulting in the synthesis of acetaldehyde and acetate, which are toxic and carcinogenic metabolites, as well as in the generation of a reductive cellular environment. Moreover, ethanol can interact with lipids, generating fatty acid ethyl esters and phosphatidylethanol, which interfere with physiological cellular pathways. This narrative review summarizes the impact of excessive alcohol consumption on male fertility by describing its metabolism and how ethanol consumption may induce cellular damage. Furthermore, the impact of alcohol consumption on hormonal regulation, semen quality, and genetic and epigenetic regulations is discussed based on evidence from animal and human studies, focusing on the consequences on the offspring. Finally, the limitations of the current evidence are discussed. Our review highlights the association between chronic alcohol consumption and poor semen quality, mainly due to the development of oxidative stress, as well as its genotoxic impact on hormonal regulation and DNA integrity, affecting the offspring’s health. New landscapes of investigation are proposed for the identification of molecular markers for alcohol-associated infertility, with a focus on advanced OMICS-based approaches applied to the analysis of semen samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renata Finelli
- American Center for Reproductive Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA;
| | - Filomena Mottola
- Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical Sciences and Technologies, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, 81100 Caserta, Italy;
| | - Ashok Agarwal
- American Center for Reproductive Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH 44106, USA;
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +1-(214)-444-9485
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Menouni A, Duca RC, Berni I, Khouchoua M, Ghosh M, El Ghazi B, Zouine N, Lhilali I, Akroute D, Pauwels S, Creta M, Poels K, Hoet P, Vanoirbeeck J, Kestemont MP, Janssen P, Attwood TS, Godderis L, El Jaafari S. The Parental Pesticide and Offspring's Epigenome Study: Towards an Integrated Use of Human Biomonitoring of Exposure and Effect Biomarkers. TOXICS 2021; 9:332. [PMID: 34941766 PMCID: PMC8703387 DOI: 10.3390/toxics9120332] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2021] [Revised: 10/30/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
In Morocco, due to the lack of education and the presence of a counterfeit market, pesticides constitute a major problem to be addressed by occupational and environmental health agencies. This paper aims to introduce the PaPOE (Parental Pesticides and Offspring Epigenome) prospective study and its goals, to motivate the study rationale and design, and to examine comprehensively whether multi-residue exposure to commonly used pesticides could induce epigenetic alterations through the oxidative stress pathway. The PaPOE project includes a cross-sectional study assessing the occupational exposure among 300 farmworkers in Meknes, and initiates a birth cohort of 1000 pregnant women. Data and biological samples are collected among farmworkers, and throughout pregnancy, and at birth. Oxidative stress biomarkers include Glutathione, Malondialdehyde, and 8-OHdG. Global and gene-specific DNA methylation is assessed. The study began enrollment in 2019 and is ongoing. As of 30 June 2021, 300 farmworkers and 125 pregnant women have enrolled. The results are expected to showcase the importance of biomonitoring for understanding individual risks, and to identify a number of regions where DNA methylation status is altered in the pesticides-exposed population, paving the way for an integrated biomonitoring system in Morocco and Africa to assess environmental exposures and their long-term health consequences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aziza Menouni
- Cluster of Competence Environment and Health, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes 50000, Morocco; (I.B.); (M.K.); (B.E.G.); (N.Z.); (I.L.); (D.A.); (S.E.J.)
- Health and Environment Unit, Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (R.C.D.); (M.G.); (S.P.); (M.C.); (K.P.); (P.H.); (J.V.); (L.G.)
| | - Radu Corneliu Duca
- Health and Environment Unit, Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (R.C.D.); (M.G.); (S.P.); (M.C.); (K.P.); (P.H.); (J.V.); (L.G.)
- Unit of Environmental Hygiene and Biological Monitoring, Department of Health Protection, Laboratoire National de Santé (LNS), L-3555 Dudelange, Luxembourg
| | - Imane Berni
- Cluster of Competence Environment and Health, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes 50000, Morocco; (I.B.); (M.K.); (B.E.G.); (N.Z.); (I.L.); (D.A.); (S.E.J.)
| | - Mohamed Khouchoua
- Cluster of Competence Environment and Health, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes 50000, Morocco; (I.B.); (M.K.); (B.E.G.); (N.Z.); (I.L.); (D.A.); (S.E.J.)
| | - Manosij Ghosh
- Health and Environment Unit, Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (R.C.D.); (M.G.); (S.P.); (M.C.); (K.P.); (P.H.); (J.V.); (L.G.)
| | - Brahim El Ghazi
- Cluster of Competence Environment and Health, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes 50000, Morocco; (I.B.); (M.K.); (B.E.G.); (N.Z.); (I.L.); (D.A.); (S.E.J.)
| | - Noura Zouine
- Cluster of Competence Environment and Health, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes 50000, Morocco; (I.B.); (M.K.); (B.E.G.); (N.Z.); (I.L.); (D.A.); (S.E.J.)
| | - Ilham Lhilali
- Cluster of Competence Environment and Health, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes 50000, Morocco; (I.B.); (M.K.); (B.E.G.); (N.Z.); (I.L.); (D.A.); (S.E.J.)
| | - Dina Akroute
- Cluster of Competence Environment and Health, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes 50000, Morocco; (I.B.); (M.K.); (B.E.G.); (N.Z.); (I.L.); (D.A.); (S.E.J.)
| | - Sara Pauwels
- Health and Environment Unit, Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (R.C.D.); (M.G.); (S.P.); (M.C.); (K.P.); (P.H.); (J.V.); (L.G.)
| | - Matteo Creta
- Health and Environment Unit, Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (R.C.D.); (M.G.); (S.P.); (M.C.); (K.P.); (P.H.); (J.V.); (L.G.)
- Unit of Environmental Hygiene and Biological Monitoring, Department of Health Protection, Laboratoire National de Santé (LNS), L-3555 Dudelange, Luxembourg
| | - Katrien Poels
- Health and Environment Unit, Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (R.C.D.); (M.G.); (S.P.); (M.C.); (K.P.); (P.H.); (J.V.); (L.G.)
| | - Peter Hoet
- Health and Environment Unit, Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (R.C.D.); (M.G.); (S.P.); (M.C.); (K.P.); (P.H.); (J.V.); (L.G.)
| | - Jeroen Vanoirbeeck
- Health and Environment Unit, Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (R.C.D.); (M.G.); (S.P.); (M.C.); (K.P.); (P.H.); (J.V.); (L.G.)
| | - Marie-Paule Kestemont
- Louvain School of Management, Université Catholique de Louvain, 1348 Louvain-La-Neuve, Belgium;
| | - Paul Janssen
- Center for Statistics, Hasselt University, 3590 Hasselt, Belgium;
| | - Tara Sabo Attwood
- Department of Environmental and Global Health, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611, USA;
| | - Lode Godderis
- Health and Environment Unit, Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven, 3000 Leuven, Belgium; (R.C.D.); (M.G.); (S.P.); (M.C.); (K.P.); (P.H.); (J.V.); (L.G.)
- IDEWE, External Service for Prevention and Protection at Work, 3001 Heverlee, Belgium
| | - Samir El Jaafari
- Cluster of Competence Environment and Health, Moulay Ismail University, Meknes 50000, Morocco; (I.B.); (M.K.); (B.E.G.); (N.Z.); (I.L.); (D.A.); (S.E.J.)
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Moschilla JA, Tomkins JL, Simmons LW. Nongenetic inheritance of behavioural variability is context specific and sex specific. Funct Ecol 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13931] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Joe A. Moschilla
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology School of Biological Sciences (M092) The University of Western Australia Crawley WA Australia
| | - Joseph L. Tomkins
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology School of Biological Sciences (M092) The University of Western Australia Crawley WA Australia
| | - Leigh W. Simmons
- Centre for Evolutionary Biology School of Biological Sciences (M092) The University of Western Australia Crawley WA Australia
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Zambrano E, Nathanielsz PW, Rodríguez-González GL. Developmental programming and ageing of male reproductive function. Eur J Clin Invest 2021; 51:e13637. [PMID: 34107063 DOI: 10.1111/eci.13637] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/17/2021] [Revised: 05/25/2021] [Accepted: 06/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Developmental programming predisposes offspring to metabolic, behavioural and reproductive dysfunction in adult life. Evidence is accumulating that ageing phenotype and longevity are in part developmentally programmed in each individual. Unfortunately, there are few studies addressing the effects of developmental programming by maternal nutrition on the rate of ageing of the male reproductive system. This review will discuss effects of foetal exposure to maternal environmental challenges on male offspring fertility and normal ageing of the male reproductive system. We focus on several key factors involved in reproductive ageing such as decreased hormone production, DNA fragmentation, oxidative stress, telomere shortening, epigenetics, maternal lifestyle and nutrition. There is compelling evidence that ageing of the male reproductive system is developmentally programmed. Both maternal over- or undernutrition accelerate ageing of male offspring reproductive function through similar mechanisms such as decreased serum testosterone levels, increase in oxidative stress biomarkers in both the testes and sperm and changes in sperm quality. Importantly, even in adult life, exercise in male offspring of obese mothers improves adverse effects of programming on reproductive function. Maternal consumption of a low-protein diet causes transgenerational effects in progeny via the paternal line. The seminal fluid has effects on the intrauterine environment. Programming by male factors may involve more than just the sperm. Improving knowledge on developmental programming ageing interactions will improve not only male health and life span but also the health of future generations by reducing programming via the paternal line.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elena Zambrano
- Reproductive Biology Department, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Mexico City, México
| | | | - Guadalupe L Rodríguez-González
- Reproductive Biology Department, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán, Mexico City, México
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Environmental Alterations during Embryonic Development: Studying the Impact of Stressors on Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cardiomyocytes. Genes (Basel) 2021; 12:genes12101564. [PMID: 34680959 PMCID: PMC8536136 DOI: 10.3390/genes12101564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2021] [Revised: 09/27/2021] [Accepted: 09/27/2021] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Non-communicable diseases (NCDs) sauch as diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular diseases are rising rapidly in all countries world-wide. Environmental maternal factors (e.g., diet, oxidative stress, drugs and many others), maternal illnesses and other stressors can predispose the newborn to develop diseases during different stages of life. The connection between environmental factors and NCDs was formulated by David Barker and colleagues as the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) hypothesis. In this review, we describe the DOHaD concept and the effects of several environmental stressors on the health of the progeny, providing both animal and human evidence. We focus on cardiovascular diseases which represent the leading cause of death worldwide. The purpose of this review is to discuss how in vitro studies with pluripotent stem cells (PSCs), such as embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells (ESC, iPSC), can underpin the research on non-genetic heart conditions. The PSCs could provide a tool to recapitulate aspects of embryonic development “in a dish”, studying the effects of environmental exposure during cardiomyocyte (CM) differentiation and maturation, establishing a link to molecular mechanism and epigenetics.
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Abstract
The reduction of excessive weight remains a major public health challenge, with control currently limited to a calorie reduction strategy. Currently, attempts are being made at revisiting the fibre hypothesis based on the African studies of Denis Burkitt, that the lack of dietary fibre in the modern diet was responsible for the occurrence of obesity and many of the other non-communicable diseases of what he called “Western civilization”. However, the dilemma is that Burkitt himself stressed that other peoples of his day, such as the Maasai, remained healthy without consuming such high fibre diets. Equally, the present obesity epidemic is accompanied by diseases of a malfunctioning immune system and of poor mental health that do not seem to be adequately explained simply by a deficiency of dietary fibre. Though unknown in Burkitt’s day, an increasing degradation of a mutualistic intestinal microbiome would offer a better fit to the observed epidemiology, especially if the microbiome is not effectively passed on from mother to child at birth. Taking the broader view, in this article we posit a view of the microbiome as a cofactor of mammalian evolution, in which a maternal microbial inheritance complements the parental genetic inheritance of the animal, both engaging epigenetic processes. As this would require the microbiome to be fully integrated with the animal as it develops into an adult, so we have a meaningful evolutionary role for the microbiome–gut–brain axis. By a failure to correctly establish a microbiome–gut interface, the inhibition of maternal microbial inheritance sets the scene for the future development of non-communicable disease: compromised immune system function on the one hand and dysfunctional gut–brain communication on the other. The basic principle is that the fully functioning, diverse, microbiome achieves interkingdom communication by the generation of messenger chemicals, semiochemicals. It is envisaged that the in situ detection of these as yet ill-defined chemical entities by means of an ingestible sensor would indicate the severity of disease and provide a guide as to its amelioration.
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Harten L, Gonceer N, Handel M, Dash O, Fokidis HB, Yovel Y. Urban bat pups take after their mothers and are bolder and faster learners than rural pups. BMC Biol 2021; 19:190. [PMID: 34493290 PMCID: PMC8422611 DOI: 10.1186/s12915-021-01131-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2020] [Accepted: 08/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Urbanization is rapidly changing our planet and animals that live in urban environments must quickly adjust their behavior. One of the most prevalent behavioral characteristics of urban dwelling animals is an increased level of risk-taking. Here, we aimed to reveal how urban fruitbats become risk-takers, and how they differ behaviorally from rural bats, studying both genetic and non-genetic factors that might play a role in the process. We assessed the personality of newborn pups from both rural and urban colonies before they acquired experience outdoors, examining risk-taking, exploration, and learning rates. RESULTS Urban pups exhibited significantly higher risk-taking levels, they were faster learners, but less exploratory than their rural counterparts. A cross-fostering experiment revealed that pups were more similar to their adoptive mothers, thus suggesting a non-genetic mechanism and pointing towards a maternal effect. We moreover found that lactating urban mothers have higher cortisol levels in their milk, which could potentially explain the transmission of some personality traits from mother to pup. CONCLUSIONS Young bats seem to acquire environment suitable traits via post-birth non-genetic maternal effects. We offer a potential mechanism for how urban pups can acquire urban-suitable behavioral traits through hormonal transfer from their mothers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lee Harten
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Nesim Gonceer
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Michal Handel
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Orit Dash
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - H Bobby Fokidis
- Department of Biology, Rollins College, P.O. Box 874601, Winter Park, Florida, 32708, USA
| | - Yossi Yovel
- School of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Tel Aviv University, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel.
- Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, 69978, Tel Aviv, Israel.
- Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
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Kraft FLH, Crino OL, Buchanan KL. Developmental conditions have intergenerational effects on corticosterone levels in a passerine. Horm Behav 2021; 134:105023. [PMID: 34224992 DOI: 10.1016/j.yhbeh.2021.105023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/10/2020] [Revised: 06/03/2021] [Accepted: 06/18/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
The developmental environment can have powerful, canalizing effects that last throughout an animal's life and even across generations. Intergenerational effects of early-life conditions may affect offspring phenotype through changes in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA). However, such effects remain largely untested in altricial birds. Here, we tested the impact of maternal and paternal developmental conditions on offspring physiology and morphology in the zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata). Specifically, we exposed one generation (F1) to elevated corticosterone (CORT) during development and quantified the impact on offspring (F2) phenotype. We predicted that intergenerational effects would be apparent through effects of parental developmental treatment on offspring body mass, growth, body condition, body composition, and CORT levels. We found an intergenerational impact on CORT levels, such that F2 birds reared by CORT-treated fathers had higher baseline CORT than F2 birds reared by control fathers. This result shows the potential for intergenerational effects on endocrine function, resulting from developmental conditions. We found no effect of parental treatment on F2 body mass, size, or body condition, but we found that the body mass and tarsus length for offspring and parent were correlated. Our study demonstrates the subtle effects of developmental conditions across generations and highlights the importance of distinguishing between maternal and paternal effects when studying intergenerational effects, especially for species with biparental care.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ondi L Crino
- Department of Biological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Katherine L Buchanan
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, 3228 Victoria, Australia
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Montano L, Donato F, Bianco PM, Lettieri G, Guglielmino A, Motta O, Bonapace IM, Piscopo M. Semen quality as a potential susceptibility indicator to SARS-CoV-2 insults in polluted areas. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2021; 28:37031-37040. [PMID: 34053043 PMCID: PMC8164491 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-14579-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2021] [Accepted: 05/21/2021] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
The epidemic of the new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has impacted worldwide with its infectious spread and mortality rate. Thousands of articles have been published to tackle this crisis and many of these have indicated that high air pollution levels may be a contributing factor to high outbreak rates of COVID-19. Atmospheric pollutants, indeed, producing oxidative stress, inflammation, immuno-unbalance, and systemic coagulation, may be a possible significant co-factor of further damage, rendering the body prone to infections by a variety of pathogens, including viruses. Spermatozoa are extremely responsive to prooxidative effects produced by environmental pollutants and may serve as a powerful alert that signals the extent that environmental pressure, in a specific area, is doing damage to humans. In order to improve our current knowledge on this topic, this review article summarizes the relevant current observations emphasizing the weight that environmental pollution has on the sensitivity of a given population to several diseases and how semen quality, may be a potential indicator of sensitivity for virus insults (including SARS-CoV-2) in high polluted areas, and help to predict the risk for harmful effects of the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic. In addition, this review focused on the potential routes of virus transmission that may represent a population health risk and also identified the areas of critical importance that require urgent research to assess and manage the COVID-19 outbreak.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luigi Montano
- Andrology Unit, EcoFoodFertility Project, Coordination Unit, Local Health Authority (ASL) Salerno, Oliveto Citra, Via M. Clemente, 84020 Oliveto Citra, SA Italy
| | - Francesco Donato
- Department of Medical and Surgical Specialties Radiological Sciences and Public Health, Unit of Hygiene, Epidemiology, and Public Health, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
| | - Pietro Massimiliano Bianco
- ISPRA, Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Via Vitaliano Brancati 60, 00144 Rome, Italy
| | - Gennaro Lettieri
- Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Via Cinthia 21, 80126 Napoli, Italy
| | | | - Oriana Motta
- Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry, University of Salerno, Fisciano, Italy
| | - Ian Marc Bonapace
- Department of Biotechnology and Life Sciences, University of Insubria (VA), Varese, Italy
| | - Marina Piscopo
- Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Via Cinthia 21, 80126 Napoli, Italy
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40
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Breton CV, Landon R, Kahn LG, Enlow MB, Peterson AK, Bastain T, Braun J, Comstock SS, Duarte CS, Hipwell A, Ji H, LaSalle JM, Miller RL, Musci R, Posner J, Schmidt R, Suglia SF, Tung I, Weisenberger D, Zhu Y, Fry R. Exploring the evidence for epigenetic regulation of environmental influences on child health across generations. Commun Biol 2021; 4:769. [PMID: 34158610 PMCID: PMC8219763 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-021-02316-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2020] [Accepted: 06/03/2021] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Environmental exposures, psychosocial stressors and nutrition are all potentially important influences that may impact health outcomes directly or via interactions with the genome or epigenome over generations. While there have been clear successes in large-scale human genetic studies in recent decades, there is still a substantial amount of missing heritability to be elucidated for complex childhood disorders. Mounting evidence, primarily in animals, suggests environmental exposures may generate or perpetuate altered health outcomes across one or more generations. One putative mechanism for these environmental health effects is via altered epigenetic regulation. This review highlights the current epidemiologic literature and supporting animal studies that describe intergenerational and transgenerational health effects of environmental exposures. Both maternal and paternal exposures and transmission patterns are considered, with attention paid to the attendant ethical, legal and social implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carrie V Breton
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
| | - Remy Landon
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Linda G Kahn
- Department of Pediatrics, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA
| | - Michelle Bosquet Enlow
- Department of Psychiatry, Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Alicia K Peterson
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Theresa Bastain
- Department of Preventive Medicine, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Joseph Braun
- Department of Epidemiology, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, RI, USA
| | - Sarah S Comstock
- Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA
| | - Cristiane S Duarte
- Department of Psychiatry, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University Irving Medical Center and New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | - Alison Hipwell
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Hong Ji
- Department of Anatomy, Physiology and Cell Biology, School of Veterinary Medicine, California National Primate Research Center, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | - Janine M LaSalle
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, MIND Institute, Genome Center, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, USA
| | | | - Rashelle Musci
- Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Jonathan Posner
- Department of Psychiatry, Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University Irving Medical Center and New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, USA
| | - Rebecca Schmidt
- Department of Public Health Sciences, UC Davis School of Medicine, Davis, CA, USA
| | | | - Irene Tung
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
| | - Daniel Weisenberger
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Yeyi Zhu
- Division of Research, Kaiser Permanente Northern California and Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco, Oakland, CA, USA
| | - Rebecca Fry
- Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health, UNC Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA
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No trans-generational maternal effects of early-life corticosterone exposure on neophobia and antipredator behaviour in the house sparrow. J ETHOL 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s10164-021-00712-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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42
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Van Opstal J, Fieuws S, Spiessens C, Soubry A. Male age interferes with embryo growth in IVF treatment. Hum Reprod 2021; 36:107-115. [PMID: 33164068 DOI: 10.1093/humrep/deaa256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2020] [Revised: 09/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
STUDY QUESTION Does male age affect embryo growth or quality in couples undergoing IVF treatment? SUMMARY ANSWER Advanced paternal age (APA) is negatively associated with the chance of an optimal eight-cell embryo on the third day of development. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY Literature shows that APA is associated with decreased sperm quality and fecundity. However, the effect of male age on embryo growth in an IVF setting remains inconclusive. Literature concerning male influences on IVF success is scarce and approaches used to analyse embryo outcomes differ by study. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION This study was part of the longitudinal Epigenetic Legacy of Paternal Obesity (ELPO) study for which fathers and mothers were followed from pre-pregnancy until the birth of their child. Couples were recruited from April 2015 to September 2017. A total of 1057 embryos from 87 couples were studied. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS Dutch-speaking couples planning to undergo an IVF treatment were recruited at the Leuven University Fertility Center in Flanders, Belgium. Anthropometrics were documented and compared to the general Flemish population. Semen characteristics, pregnancy rates and the following embryo characteristics were recorded: number of blastomeres, symmetry and percentage fragmentation. Statistical modelling was applied taking into account correlation of within-cycle outcomes and use of multiple cycles per couple. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE We observed a significant inverse association between APA and a key determinant for scoring of embryo quality: older men were less likely to produce an embryo of eight blastomeres at Day 3, compared to younger fathers; odds ratio for the effect of 1 year equals 0.960 (95% CI: 0.930-0.991; P = 0.011). Our finding remained significant after adjusting for female age and male and female BMI. Degree of fragmentation and symmetry were not significantly related to male age. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION Because of the study's small sample size and its monocentric nature, a larger study is warranted to confirm our results. In addition, distribution of BMI and level of education were not representative of the general Flemish population. Although we corrected for BMI status, we do not exclude that obesity may be one of the determinants of infertility in our study population. Furthermore, it is known from other European countries that a higher education eases access to fertility treatment. Hence, caution should be taken when interpreting our findings from a fertility setting to the general population. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS We suggest a heightened need for future research into male age and its potential effects on embryo growth, embryo quality and ART outcomes. Clinical decision-making and preventative public health programmes would benefit from a better understanding of the role of men, carried forward by the Paternal Origins of Health and Disease (POHaD) paradigm. We hope the current finding will encourage others to examine the role of the sperm epigenome in embryo development according to paternal age. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S) This work was supported by a research grant from KU Leuven University (OT/14/109). The authors declare no competing financial, professional or personal interests. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER KU Leuven S57378 (ML11309), B322201523225.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jolien Van Opstal
- Epidemiology Research Center, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven - University of Leuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium
| | - Steffen Fieuws
- L-Biostat, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven - University of Leuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium
| | - Carl Spiessens
- Leuven University Fertility Clinic, KU Leuven - University of Leuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium
| | - Adelheid Soubry
- Epidemiology Research Center, Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Faculty of Medicine, KU Leuven - University of Leuven, Leuven 3000, Belgium
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43
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Yip EC, Smith DR, Lubin Y. Causes of plasticity and consistency of dispersal behaviour in a group-living spider. Anim Behav 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.02.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
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44
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Joinau-Zoulovits F, Bertille N, Cohen JF, Khoshnood B. Association between advanced paternal age and congenital heart defects: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Hum Reprod 2021; 35:2113. [PMID: 32730591 DOI: 10.1093/humrep/deaa105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2019] [Revised: 04/18/2020] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Abstract
STUDY QUESTION Is there an association between advanced paternal age and congenital heart defects (CHD)? SUMMARY ANSWER Advanced paternal age is associated with a 16% increase in the overall odds of CHD. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY CHD are the most common congenital malformations. Several risk factors for CHD have been identified in the literature, but the association between advanced paternal age and CHD remains unclear. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION We conducted a systematic literature search on MEDLINE and EMBASE (1960-2019) to identify studies assessing the association between advanced paternal age (≥35 years) and the risk of CHD, unrestrictive of language or sample size. We used a combination of Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) terms and free text words such as 'paternal age', 'paternal factors', 'father's age', 'parental age', 'heart', 'cardiac', 'cardiovascular', 'abnormalities, congenital', 'birth defects', 'congenital malformations' and 'congenital abnormalities'. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS We included observational studies aiming at assessing the association between paternal age and CHD. The included population could be live births, fetal deaths and terminations of pregnancy for fetal anomaly. To be included, studies had to provide either odds ratios (OR) with their 95% confidence interval (CI) or sufficient information to recalculate ORs with 95% CIs per paternal age category. We excluded studies if they had no comparative group and if they were reviews or case reports. Two independent reviewers selected the studies, extracted the data and assessed risk of bias using a modified Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. We used random-effects meta-analysis to produce summary estimates of crude OR. Associations were also tested in subgroups. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE Of 191 studies identified, we included nine studies in the meta-analysis (9 917 011 participants, including 34 447 CHD), including four population-based studies. Five studies were judged at low risk of bias. Only one population-based study specifically investigated isolated CHD. The risk of CHD was higher with advanced paternal age (summary OR 1.16, 95% CI, 1.07-1.25). Effect sizes were stable in population-based studies and in those with low risk of bias. LIMITATIONS AND REASONS FOR CAUTION The available evidence did not allow to assess (i) the risk of isolated CHD in population-based studies, (ii) the association between paternal age and the risk for specific CHD and (iii) the association between paternal age and CHD after adjustment for other risk factors, such as maternal age. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS Our findings suggest that advanced paternal age may be a risk factor for CHD. However, because the association is modest in magnitude, its usefulness as a criterion for targeted screening for CHD seems limited. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S) None. PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER CRD42019135061.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Joinau-Zoulovits
- INSERM UMR 1153, Obstetrical, Perinatal and Pediatric Epidemiology Research Team (EPOPé), Center for Epidemiology and Statistics, Sorbonne Paris Cité (CRESS), DHU Risks in Pregnancy, Paris Descartes University, F-75004 Paris, France.,Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Centre hospitalier général de Saint-Denis, Saint-Denis, France
| | - N Bertille
- INSERM UMR 1153, Obstetrical, Perinatal and Pediatric Epidemiology Research Team (EPOPé), Center for Epidemiology and Statistics, Sorbonne Paris Cité (CRESS), DHU Risks in Pregnancy, Paris Descartes University, F-75004 Paris, France
| | - J F Cohen
- INSERM UMR 1153, Obstetrical, Perinatal and Pediatric Epidemiology Research Team (EPOPé), Center for Epidemiology and Statistics, Sorbonne Paris Cité (CRESS), DHU Risks in Pregnancy, Paris Descartes University, F-75004 Paris, France.,Department of General Pediatrics and Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Necker-Enfants malades Hospital, APHP, Paris Descartes University, Paris, France
| | - B Khoshnood
- INSERM UMR 1153, Obstetrical, Perinatal and Pediatric Epidemiology Research Team (EPOPé), Center for Epidemiology and Statistics, Sorbonne Paris Cité (CRESS), DHU Risks in Pregnancy, Paris Descartes University, F-75004 Paris, France
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45
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Wagener C, Kruger N, Measey J. Progeny of Xenopus laevis from altitudinal extremes display adaptive physiological performance. J Exp Biol 2021; 224:jeb.233031. [PMID: 34424980 DOI: 10.1242/jeb.233031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2020] [Accepted: 02/11/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Environmental temperature variation generates adaptive phenotypic differentiation in widespread populations. We used a common garden experiment to determine whether offspring with varying parental origins display adaptive phenotypic variation related to different thermal conditions experienced in parental environments. We compared burst swimming performance and critical thermal limits of African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis) tadpoles bred from adults captured at high (∼2000 m above sea level) and low (∼ 5 m above sea level) altitudes. Maternal origin significantly affected swimming performance. Optimal swimming performance temperature (Topt) had a >9°C difference between tadpoles with low altitude maternal origins (pure- and cross-bred, 35.0°C) and high-altitude maternal origins (pure-bred, 25.5°C; cross-bred, 25.9°C). Parental origin significantly affected critical thermal (CT) limits. Pure-bred tadpoles with low-altitude parental origins had higher CTmax (37.8±0.8°C) than pure-bred tadpoles with high-altitude parental origins and all cross-bred tadpoles (37.0±0.8 and 37.1±0.8°C). Pure-bred tadpoles with low-altitude parental origins and all cross-bred tadpoles had higher CTmin (4.2±0.7 and 4.2±0.7°C) than pure-bred tadpoles with high-altitude parental origins (2.5±0.6°C). Our study shows that the varying thermal physiological traits of Xenopus laevis tadpoles are the result of adaptive responses to their parental thermal environments. This study is one of few demonstrating potential intraspecific evolution of critical thermal limits in a vertebrate species. Multi-generation common garden experiments and genetic analyses would be required to further tease apart the relative contribution of plastic and genetic effects to the adaptive phenotypic variation observed in these tadpoles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carla Wagener
- Centre for Invasion Biology, Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, 7602 South Africa
| | - Natasha Kruger
- Centre for Invasion Biology, Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, 7602 South Africa.,Univ Lyon, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, ENTPE, UMR 5023 LEHNA, F-69622, Villeurbanne, France
| | - John Measey
- Centre for Invasion Biology, Department of Botany and Zoology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, 7602 South Africa
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46
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Watt AM, Marcec-Greaves R, Hinkson KM, Poo S, Roberts B, Pitcher TE. Effects of age on sperm quality metrics in endangered Mississippi gopher frogs (Lithobates sevosus) from captive populations used for controlled propagation and reintroduction efforts. Zoo Biol 2021; 40:218-226. [PMID: 33606315 DOI: 10.1002/zoo.21594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2020] [Accepted: 02/08/2021] [Indexed: 01/13/2023]
Abstract
A decline in sperm quality with age is a common prediction of senescence-based hypotheses and empirical studies. While widely studied across taxa, there is little known on the effect of ageing on sperm quality in amphibians, especially in captive populations used for controlled propagation and reintroduction efforts. Here, we investigated variation in sperm quality metrics (i.e., motility, concentration, and morphology) in the endangered Mississippi gopher frog (Lithobates sevosus) among males of three age categories using individuals from captive breeding populations housed at three different zoological institutions. Different aged males across the species expectant lifespan (1-9, 1-2, 3-4, and 8-9-year-old subcategories) were chosen in an attempt to identify an optimal breeding age relevant for captive breeding programs. Moreover, we explored and statistically controlled for potential differences in sperm quality which may be attributed to the type of induction hormones and source populations that differed among institutions. Results indicated that males of different ages did not differ in sperm motility or concentration. However, we did find that older males (8-9 years old) had significantly longer sperm than other age categories and younger males (1-2 years old) had significantly more atypical sperm than other age categories. Furthermore, we found no significant differences in any sperm quality metrics between the different induction hormones or source populations used at the different institutions. Within a captive breeding program, this information is especially valuable as our results indicate that males that have only recently sexually matured may not be ready to breed, while older males maintain sperm quality metrics presumably related to fertilization success.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashley M Watt
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
| | - Ruth Marcec-Greaves
- National Amphibian Conservation Center, Detroit Zoological Society, Royal Oak, Michigan, USA
| | - Kristin M Hinkson
- Department of Conservation and Research, Memphis Zoological Society, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
| | - Sinlan Poo
- Department of Conservation and Research, Memphis Zoological Society, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
| | - Beth Roberts
- Department of Conservation and Research, Memphis Zoological Society, Memphis, Tennessee, USA
| | - Trevor E Pitcher
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada.,Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada
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47
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Vuarin P, Lesobre L, Levêque G, Saint Jalme M, Lacroix F, Hingrat Y, Sorci G. Paternal age negatively affects sperm production of the progeny. Ecol Lett 2021; 24:719-727. [PMID: 33565248 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2020] [Revised: 12/28/2020] [Accepted: 01/06/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Parental age has profound consequences for offspring's phenotype. However, whether patrilineal age affects offspring sperm production remains unknown, despite the importance of sperm production for male reproductive success in species facing post-copulatory sexual selection. Using a longitudinal dataset on ejaculate attributes of the houbara bustard, we showed that offspring sired by old fathers had different age-dependent trajectories of sperm production compared to offspring sired by young fathers. Specifically, they produced less sperm (-48%) in their first year of life, and 14% less during their lifetime. Paternal age had the strongest effect, with weak evidence for grandpaternal or great grandpaternal age effects. These results show that paternal age can affect offspring reproductive success by reducing sperm production, establishing an intergenerational link between ageing and sexual selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pauline Vuarin
- Reneco International Wildlife Consultants LLC, Abu Dhabi, PoBox 61741, United Arab Emirates.,Biogéosciences, UMR 6282 CNRS, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 6 boulevard Gabriel, Dijon, 21000, France
| | - Loïc Lesobre
- Reneco International Wildlife Consultants LLC, Abu Dhabi, PoBox 61741, United Arab Emirates
| | - Gwènaëlle Levêque
- Emirates Center for Wildlife Propagation, BP 47, route de Midelt, Missour, 33250, Morocco
| | - Michel Saint Jalme
- Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la Conservation, UMR 7204 MNHN CNRS-UPMC, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 43 et 61 rue Buffon, Paris, 75005, France
| | - Frédéric Lacroix
- Reneco International Wildlife Consultants LLC, Abu Dhabi, PoBox 61741, United Arab Emirates
| | - Yves Hingrat
- Reneco International Wildlife Consultants LLC, Abu Dhabi, PoBox 61741, United Arab Emirates
| | - Gabriele Sorci
- Biogéosciences, UMR 6282 CNRS, Université de Bourgogne Franche-Comté, 6 boulevard Gabriel, Dijon, 21000, France
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Pang TY, Yaeger JDW, Summers CH, Mitra R. Cardinal role of the environment in stress induced changes across life stages and generations. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 124:137-150. [PMID: 33549740 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.01.012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/15/2020] [Revised: 11/20/2020] [Accepted: 01/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
The stress response in rodents and humans is exquisitely dependent on the environmental context. The interactive element of the environment is typically studied by creating laboratory models of stress-induced plasticity manifested in behavior or the underlying neuroendocrine mediators of the behavior. Here, we discuss three representative sets of studies where the role of the environment in mediating stress sensitivity or stress resilience is considered across varying windows of time. Collectively, these studies testify that environmental variation at an earlier time point modifies the relationship between stressor and stress response at a later stage. The metaplastic effects of the environment on the stress response remain possible across various endpoints, including behavior, neuroendocrine regulation, region-specific neural plasticity, and regulation of receptors. The timescale of such variation spans adulthood, across stages of life history and generational boundaries. Thus, environmental variables are powerful determinants of the observed diversity in stress response. The predominant role of the environment suggests that it is possible to promote stress resilience through purposeful modification of the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Terence Y Pang
- Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, Parkville, 3052, VIC, Australia; Department of Anatomy and Neuroscience, The University of Melbourne, 3010, VIC, Australia
| | - Jazmine D W Yaeger
- Department of Biology, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD, 57069, USA; Neuroscience Group, Division of Basic Biomedical Sciences, Sanford School of Medicine, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD, 57069, USA; Veterans Affairs Research Service, Sioux Falls VA Health Care System, Sioux Falls, SD, 57105, USA
| | - Cliff H Summers
- Department of Biology, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD, 57069, USA; Neuroscience Group, Division of Basic Biomedical Sciences, Sanford School of Medicine, University of South Dakota, Vermillion, SD, 57069, USA; Veterans Affairs Research Service, Sioux Falls VA Health Care System, Sioux Falls, SD, 57105, USA
| | - Rupshi Mitra
- School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, 637551, Singapore.
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49
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Milliken-Smith S, Potter CM. Paternal origins of obesity: Emerging evidence for incorporating epigenetic pathways into the social determinants of health framework. Soc Sci Med 2021; 271:112066. [DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2018.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2018] [Revised: 11/22/2018] [Accepted: 12/06/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
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50
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Ozkocer SE, Konac E. The current perspective on genetic and epigenetic factors in sperm maturation in the epididymis. Andrologia 2021; 53:e13989. [PMID: 33491190 DOI: 10.1111/and.13989] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2020] [Revised: 01/07/2021] [Accepted: 01/08/2021] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Male infertility affects approximately 30% of infertile couples. As spermatozoa mature in the epididymal lumen, their potential for mobility increases, and their protein, lipid and small RNA (sRNA) content changes, whereas capacitation and fertilisation take place in the female reproductive tract. Both of the latter processes are affected by maturation, because impaired maturation causes premature capacitation and fertilization. The epididymis produces a suitable environment for sperm maturation via ion transport, vesicle secretion and protein matrix formation. The microenvironment for sperm maturation varies in three broad segments: the caput, the corpus and the cauda epididymis. Epididymosomes transfer proteins, lipids and sRNAs from the epididymal epithelium to spermatozoa and genetic alterations of epididymal genes can lead to decreased sperm motility, morphological abnormalities of spermatozoa and subfertility. Genetic factors are involved in all aetiological categories in male infertility. However, studies conducted on the genes involved in epididymal functions are limited. The sRNA content of spermatozoa changes during epididymal migration, and these sRNAs play a role in embryo development and epigenetic inheritance. This review aims to clarify the role of the epididymal epithelium in the maturation of spermatozoa in light of the current molecular genomic knowledge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Suheyla Esra Ozkocer
- Faculty of Medicine, Department of Medical Biology and Genetics, Gazi University, Besevler, Ankara, Turkey.,Faculty of Medicine, Department of Histology and Embryology, Gazi University, Besevler, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Ece Konac
- Faculty of Medicine, Department of Medical Biology and Genetics, Gazi University, Besevler, Ankara, Turkey
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