van Dalum Jayme, Melum Vebjørn J, Wood Shona H, Hazlerigg David G
Department of Arctic and Marine Biology, UiT - the Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø, Norway.
Front Endocrinol (Lausanne). 2020 Jan 10;10:901. doi: 10.3389/fendo.2019.00901. eCollection 2019.
This mini-review considers the phenomenon of maternal photoperiodic programming (MPP). In order to match neonatal development to environmental conditions at the time of birth, mammals use melatonin produced by the maternal pineal gland as a transplacental signal representing ambient photoperiod. Melatonin acts via receptors in the fetal pituitary gland, exerting actions on the developing medio-basal hypothalamus. Within this structure, a central role for specialized ependymal cells known as tanycytes has emerged, linking melatonin to control of hypothalamic thyroid metabolism and in turn to pup development. This review summarizes current knowledge of this programming mechanism, and its relevance in an eco-evolutionary context. Maternal photoperiodic programming emerges as a useful paradigm for understanding how programing of hypothalamic function leads to life-long effects on growth, reproduction, health and disease in mammals, including humans.
本综述探讨了母体光周期编程（MPP）现象。为了使新生儿发育与出生时的环境条件相匹配，哺乳动物利用母体松果体产生的褪黑素作为代表环境光周期的经胎盘信号。褪黑素通过胎儿垂体中的受体发挥作用，对发育中的中基底下丘脑产生影响。在这个结构中，一种名为室管膜细胞的特殊室管膜细胞发挥着核心作用，将褪黑素与下丘脑甲状腺代谢的控制联系起来，进而与幼崽发育相关联。本综述总结了这种编程机制的现有知识及其在生态进化背景下的相关性。母体光周期编程成为一种有用的范例，有助于理解下丘脑功能的编程如何对包括人类在内的哺乳动物的生长、繁殖、健康和疾病产生终身影响。
