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Yang Z, Kubant R, Kranenburg E, Cho CE, Anderson GH. The Effect of Micronutrients on Obese Phenotype of Adult Mice Is Dependent on the Experimental Environment. Nutrients 2024; 16:696. [PMID: 38474824 DOI: 10.3390/nu16050696] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2024] [Revised: 02/14/2024] [Accepted: 02/27/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024] Open
Abstract
The environment of the test laboratory affects the reproducibility of treatment effects on physiological phenotypes of rodents and may be attributed to the plasticity of the epigenome due to nutrient-gene-environment interactions. Here, we explored the reproducibility of adding a multi-vitamin-mineral (MVM) mix to a nutrient-balanced high-fat (HF) diet on obesity, insulin resistance (IR), and gene expression in the tissues of adult male mice. Experiments of the same design were conducted in three independent animal facilities. Adult C57BL/6J male mice were fed an HF diet for 6 weeks (diet induced-obesity model) and then continued for 9-12 weeks on the HF diet with or without 5-fold additions of vitamins A, B1, B6, B12, Zn, and 2-fold Se. The addition of the MVM affected body weight, fat mass, gene expression, and markers of IR in all three locations (p < 0.05). However, the direction of the main effects was influenced by the interaction with the experimental location and its associated environmental conditions known to affect the epigenome. In conclusion, MVM supplementation influenced phenotypes and expression of genes related to adipose function in obese adult male mice, but the experimental location and its associated conditions were significant interacting factors. Preclinical studies investigating the relationship between diet and metabolic outcomes should acknowledge the plasticity of the epigenome and implement measures to reproduce studies in different locations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeyu Yang
- Department of Nutritional Sciences, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - Ruslan Kubant
- Department of Nutritional Sciences, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - Eva Kranenburg
- Department of Nutritional Sciences, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - Clara E Cho
- Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences, College of Biological Science, University of Guelph, Guelph, ON N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - G Harvey Anderson
- Department of Nutritional Sciences, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
- Department of Physiology, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
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Yang Z, Kubant R, Cho CE, Kranenburg E, Beaudry J, Bottiglieri T, Anderson GH. Micronutrients in High-Fat Diet Modify Insulin Resistance and Its Regulatory Genes in Adult Male Mice. Mol Nutr Food Res 2023; 67:e2300199. [PMID: 37526337 DOI: 10.1002/mnfr.202300199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2023] [Revised: 06/13/2023] [Indexed: 08/02/2023]
Abstract
SCOPE Obesity and insulin resistance (IR) are associated with epigenetic changes of gene expression. However, the relationship between micronutrients, epigenetic regulation of gene expression, and IR during development of diet-induced obesity has yet to be defined. Our objective is to describe the effect of micronutrient addition to diets on IR and its related genes during obesity development. METHODS AND RESULTS Male C57BL/6J mice are fed a high-fat (HFD) or low-fat (LFD) diets with or without a multi-vitamin mineral mix (MVM) addition containing vitamins A, B1, B6, B12, and Zn, and Se for 9 weeks. Compared to LFD mice, HFD mice have higher body weight, IR, fasting glucose, insulin, C-peptide, leptin, and hepatic triglyceride concentrations, and dysregulated gene expression in liver, muscle, pancreas, and fat tissues (p < 0.05). The addition of MVM reduces these HFD-induced effects. HFD downregulates 27 genes associated with insulin regulation and adipose tissue function across all tissues by an average of 47% and upregulates five genes by 230% (p < 0.001). Adding MVM downregulates five genes and upregulates one in HFD-fed mice. Both HFD and MVM alter one-carbon metabolites. CONCLUSION Addition of micronutrients to the HFD decreases IR and modifies associated gene expression in obese and lean mice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zeyu Yang
- Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Ruslan Kubant
- Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Clara E Cho
- Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences, College of Biological Science, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada
| | - Eva Kranenburg
- Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jacqueline Beaudry
- Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Teodoro Bottiglieri
- Institute of Metabolic Disease, Baylor Scott & White Health, Austin, TX, USA
| | - G Harvey Anderson
- Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Simonian R, Pannia E, Hammoud R, Noche RR, Cui X, Kranenburg E, Kubant R, Ashcraft P, Wasek B, Bottiglieri T, Dowling JJ, Anderson GH. Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase deficiency and high-dose FA supplementation disrupt embryonic development of energy balance and metabolic homeostasis in zebrafish. Hum Mol Genet 2023; 32:1575-1588. [PMID: 36637428 PMCID: PMC10117162 DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddac308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2022] [Revised: 12/03/2022] [Accepted: 12/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Folic acid (synthetic folate, FA) is consumed in excess in North America and may interact with common pathogenic variants in methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR); the most prevalent inborn error of folate metabolism with wide-ranging obesity-related comorbidities. While preclinical murine models have been valuable to inform on diet-gene interactions, a recent Folate Expert panel has encouraged validation of new animal models. In this study, we characterized a novel zebrafish model of mthfr deficiency and evaluated the effects of genetic loss of mthfr function and FA supplementation during embryonic development on energy homeostasis and metabolism. mthfr-deficient zebrafish were generated using CRISPR mutagenesis and supplemented with no FA (control, 0FA) or 100 μm FA (100FA) throughout embryonic development (0-5 days postfertilization). We show that the genetic loss of mthfr function in zebrafish recapitulates key biochemical hallmarks reported in MTHFR deficiency in humans and leads to greater lipid accumulation and aberrant cholesterol metabolism as reported in the Mthfr murine model. In mthfr-deficient zebrafish, energy homeostasis was also impaired as indicated by altered food intake, reduced metabolic rate and lower expression of central energy-regulatory genes. Microglia abundance, involved in healthy neuronal development, was also reduced. FA supplementation to control zebrafish mimicked many of the adverse effects of mthfr deficiency, some of which were also exacerbated in mthfr-deficient zebrafish. Together, these findings support the translatability of the mthfr-deficient zebrafish as a preclinical model in folate research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Simonian
- Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - Emanuela Pannia
- Department of Genetics and Genome Biology, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Rola Hammoud
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathobiology, Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute, Mount Sinai Hospital, Toronto ON, M5G 1X5, Canada
| | - Ramil R Noche
- Department of Comparative Medicine, Yale Zebrafish Research Core, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06511, USA
| | - Xiucheng Cui
- Department of Genetics and Genome Biology, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - Eva Kranenburg
- Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - Ruslan Kubant
- Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - Paula Ashcraft
- Baylor Scott & White Research Institute, Institute of Metabolic Disease, Dallas, TX 75204, USA
| | - Brandi Wasek
- Baylor Scott & White Research Institute, Institute of Metabolic Disease, Dallas, TX 75204, USA
| | - Teodoro Bottiglieri
- Baylor Scott & White Research Institute, Institute of Metabolic Disease, Dallas, TX 75204, USA
| | - James J Dowling
- Department of Genetics and Genome Biology, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON M5G 0A4, Canada
| | - G Harvey Anderson
- Department of Nutritional Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
- Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
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