Maternal methionine supplementation in mice affects long-term body weight and locomotor activity of adult female offspring

Maternal methyl donor supplementation: A potential therapy for metabolic disorder in offspring

The prevalences of diabetes mellitus and obesity are increasing yearly and has become a serious social burden. In addition to genetic factors, environmental factors in early life development are critical in influencing the prevalence of metabolic disorders in offspring. A growing body of evidence suggests the critical role of early methyl donor intervention in offspring health. Emerging studies have shown that methyl donors can influence offspring metabolism through epigenetic modifications and changing metabolism-related genes. In this review, we focus on the role of folic acid, betaine, vitamin B12, methionine, and choline in protecting against metabolic disorders in offspring. To address the current evidence on the potential role of maternal methyl donors, we summarize clinical studies as well as experimental animal models that support the impact of maternal methyl donors on offspring metabolism and discuss the mechanisms of action that may bring about these positive effects. Given the worldwide prevalence of metabolic disorders, these findings could be utilized in clinical practice, in which methyl donor supplementation in the early life years may reverse metabolic disorders in offspring and block the harmful intergenerational effect.

Dietary methionine supplementation during the estrous cycle improves follicular development and estrogen synthesis in rats

The follicle is an important unit for the synthesis of steroid hormones and the oocyte development and maturation in mammals. However, the effect of methionine supply on follicle development and its regulatory mechanism are still unclear. In the present study, we found that dietary methionine supplementation during the estrous cycle significantly increased the number of embryo implantation sites, as well as serum contents of a variety of amino acids and methionine metabolic enzymes in rats. Additionally, methionine supplementation markedly enhanced the expression of rat ovarian neutral amino acid transporters, DNA methyltransferases (DNMTs), and cystathionine gamma-lyase (CSE); meanwhile, it significantly increased the ovarian concentrations of the metabolite S-adenosylmethionine (SAM) and glutathione (GSH). In vitro data showed that methionine supply promotes rat follicle development through enhancing the expression of critical gene growth differentiation factor 9 and bone morphogenetic protein 15. Furthermore, methionine enhanced the relative protein and mRNA expression of critical genes related to estrogen synthesis, ultimately increasing estrogen synthesis in primary ovarian granulosa cells. Taken together, our results suggested that methionine promoted follicular growth and estrogen synthesis in rats during the estrus cycle, which improved embryo implantation during early pregnancy. These findings provided a potential nutritional strategy to improve the reproductive performance of animals.