Liu SX, Calixto Mancipe N, Gisslen T, Georgieff MK, Tran PV. Identification of Genes Responding to Iron or Choline Treatment for Early-Life Iron Deficiency in the Male Rat Hippocampal Transcriptomes.
J Nutr 2024;
154:1141-1152. [PMID:
38408730 PMCID:
PMC11007743 DOI:
10.1016/j.tjnut.2024.02.021]
[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: 12/07/2023] [Revised: 02/13/2024] [Accepted: 02/21/2024] [Indexed: 02/28/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Developmental iron deficiency (ID) is associated with long-term cognitive and affective behavioral impairments in humans. Preclinical studies have shown that developmental ID has short- and long-term effects on gene regulation. Prenatal choline supplementation partially rescues early-life ID-induced cognitive deficits in adult male rats.
OBJECTIVES
To identify acute and long-term changes in biological processes regulated by developmental ID and modifiable by choline.
METHODS
This study compares the hippocampal transcriptomes of postnatal day (P) 15 iron-deficient (acute) and P65 formerly ID (persistent) rats with or without prenatal choline treatment. Pregnant rats were fed an ID (4 mg/kg Fe) or iron-sufficient (IS) (200 mg/kg Fe) diet from gestational day (G) 2 to P7 with or without choline supplementation (5 g/kg choline) from G11 to G18. Hippocampi were collected from P15 or P65 offspring and analyzed for gene expression by RNA sequencing.
RESULTS
Developmental ID-induced changes suggested modified activity of oxidative phosphorylation and fatty acid metabolism. Prenatal choline supplementation induced robust changes in gene expression, particularly in iron-deficient animals, where it partially mitigated the early-life ID-dysregulated genes. Choline supplementation also altered the hippocampal transcriptome in the IS rats, with indications for both beneficial and adverse effects.
CONCLUSIONS
This study provided global assessments of gene expression regulated by iron and choline. Our new findings highlight genes responding to iron or choline treatments, including a potentially novel choline-regulated transporter (IPO7), with shared effects on neuroinflammation in the male rat hippocampus.
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