Department of Nutrition and Food Science, School of Public Health, Tianjin Medical University, 22 Qixiangtai Road, Heping District, Tianjin 300070, China.
Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, School of Public Health and Health Professions, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY 14214-8028, USA.
Nutrients. 2018 Mar 1;10(3):292. doi: 10.3390/nu10030292.
Periconceptional maternal folate levels may alter DNA methylation patterns and health outcomes in offspring. We hypothesized that maternal folic acid supplementation alters fetal neural development through DNA methylation in the fetal brain. Twenty-eight rats were randomly assigned to four groups: three groups of the female rats were fed folate-normal, folate-deficient or folate-supplemented diets from seven days before mating to delivery. In another group, folic acid supplementation diet short-period group was fed a folate-normal diet, except for 10 days (begin mating) when this group was fed a folate-supplemented diet. After delivery, the diets were changed to folate-normal diet for all four groups. The cliff avoidance and forelimb grip tests were used to assess sensory motor function of rat offspring. The results indicate that maternal folic acid supplementation improved the early development of sensory-motor function in offspring. Maternal folic acid supplementation increased the methylation potential, global DNA methylation (5-mC) and DNA methyltransferase expression and activity in the brains of the offspring. In conclusion, maternal folic acid supplementation increases DNA methylation pattern in offspring brain and improves the early development of sensory-motor function.
围孕期母体叶酸水平可能通过胎儿大脑中的 DNA 甲基化改变后代的 DNA 甲基化模式和健康结果。我们假设，母体叶酸补充剂通过胎儿大脑中的 DNA 甲基化改变胎儿的神经发育。28 只大鼠被随机分为四组：三组雌性大鼠从交配前七天开始分别喂食叶酸正常、叶酸缺乏或叶酸补充饮食至分娩。在另一组中，叶酸补充饮食短期组喂食叶酸正常饮食，除了在开始喂食叶酸补充饮食的 10 天（交配）。分娩后，所有四组的饮食均改为叶酸正常饮食。使用悬崖回避和前肢握持试验评估大鼠后代的感觉运动功能。结果表明，母体叶酸补充可改善后代感觉运动功能的早期发育。母体叶酸补充增加了后代大脑中的甲基化潜能、全基因组 DNA 甲基化（5-mC）和 DNA 甲基转移酶表达和活性。总之，母体叶酸补充增加了后代大脑中的 DNA 甲基化模式，并改善了感觉运动功能的早期发育。
