Maternal high-fat diet alters Tet-mediated epigenetic regulation during heart development.
作者信息
Yang Yuhan, Rivera Logan, Fang Shaohai, Cavalier Maryn, Suris Ashley, Zhou Yubin, Huang Yun
机构信息
Center for Epigenetics and Disease Prevention, Institute of Biosciences and Technology, Texas A&M University, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
Center for Translational Cancer Research, Institute of Biosciences and Technology, Texas A&M University, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
出版信息
iScience. 2024 Jul 31;27(9):110631. doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2024.110631. eCollection 2024 Sep 20.
Imbalanced dietary intake, such as a high-fat diet (HFD) during pregnancy, has been associated with adverse offspring outcomes. Metabolic stress from imbalanced food intake alters the function of epigenetic regulators, resulting in abnormal transcriptional outputs in embryos to cause congenital disorders. We report herein that maternal HFD exposure causes metabolic changes in pregnant mice and non-compaction cardiomyopathy (NCC) in E15.5 embryos, accompanied by decreased 5-hydroxymethylcytosine (5hmC) levels and altered chromatin accessibility in embryonic heart tissues. Remarkably, maternal vitamin C supplementation mitigates these detrimental effects, likely by restoring iron, a cofactor for Tet enzymes, in a reduced state. Using a genetic approach, we further demonstrated that the cardioprotective benefits of vitamin C under HFD conditions are attributable to enhanced Tet activity. Our results highlight an interaction between maternal diet, specifically HFD or vitamin C, and epigenetic modifications during early heart development, emphasizing the importance of balanced maternal nutrition for healthy embryonic development.