Ibrahim Mariam, Bednarczyk Marek, Stadnicka Katarzyna, Grochowska Ewa
Faculty of Health Sciences, Collegium Medicum, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Łukasiewicza 1, 85-821 Bydgoszcz, Poland.
PBS Doctoral School, Bydgoszcz University of Science and Technology, Aleje prof. S. Kaliskiego 7, 85-796 Bydgoszcz, Poland.
Int J Mol Sci. 2025 Jan 29;26(3):1174. doi: 10.3390/ijms26031174.
Exploring how early-life nutritional interventions may impact future generations, this study examines the inter- and transgenerational effects of in ovo injection of bioactive compounds on gene expression in the cecal tonsils and cecal mucosa using a chicken model. Synbiotic PoultryStar (Biomin) and choline were injected in ovo on the 12th day of egg incubation. Three experimental groups were established in the generation F1: (1) a control group (C) receiving 0.9% physiological saline (NaCl), (2) a synbiotic group (SYN) receiving 2 mg/embryo, and (3) a combined synbiotic and choline group (SYNCH) receiving 2 mg synbiotic and 0.25 mg choline per embryo. For the generations F2 and F3, the SYN and SYNCH groups were each divided into two subgroups: (A) those injected solely in F1 (SYNs and SYNCHs) and (B) those injected in each generation (SYNr and SYNCHr). At 21 weeks posthatching, cecal tonsil and cecal mucosa samples were collected from F1, F2, and F3 birds for transcriptomic analysis. Gene expression profiling revealed distinct intergenerational and transgenerational patterns in both tissues. In cecal tonsils, a significant transgenerational impact on gene expression was noted in the generation F3, following a drop in F2. In contrast, cecal mucosa showed more gene expression changes in F2, indicating intergenerational effects. While some effects carried into F3, they were less pronounced, except in the SYNs group, which experienced an increase compared to F2. The study highlights that transgenerational effects of epigenetic modifications are dynamic and unpredictable, with effects potentially re-emerging in later generations under certain conditions or fading or intensifying over time. This study provides valuable insights into how epigenetic nutritional stimulation during embryonic development may regulate processes in the cecal tonsils and cecal mucosa across multiple generations. Our findings provide evidence supporting the phenomenon of epigenetic dynamics in a chicken model.
本研究通过鸡模型，探讨早期营养干预如何影响后代，研究了在卵内注射生物活性化合物对盲肠扁桃体和盲肠黏膜基因表达的代内和跨代效应。在卵孵化的第12天，向卵内注射合生元家禽之星（百奥明）和胆碱。在F1代建立了三个实验组：（1）对照组（C），接受0.9%生理盐水（NaCl）；（2）合生元组（SYN），接受2mg/胚胎；（3）合生元与胆碱联合组（SYNCH），接受2mg合生元和0.25mg胆碱/胚胎。对于F2代和F3代，SYN组和SYNCH组各自分为两个亚组：（A）仅在F1代注射的组（SYNs和SYNCHs）；（B）在每一代都注射的组（SYNr和SYNCHr）。在孵化后21周，从F1、F2和F3代鸡中采集盲肠扁桃体和盲肠黏膜样本进行转录组分析。基因表达谱分析显示，两种组织中存在明显的代内和跨代表型。在盲肠扁桃体中，F2代基因表达下降后，F3代对基因表达有显著的跨代影响。相比之下，盲肠黏膜在F2代显示出更多的基因表达变化，表明存在代内效应。虽然一些效应延续到了F3代，但不太明显，除了SYNs组，与F2代相比有所增加。该研究强调，表观遗传修饰的跨代效应是动态且不可预测的，在某些条件下，效应可能在后代中重新出现，或者随着时间的推移而减弱或增强。本研究为胚胎发育期间的表观遗传营养刺激如何在多代中调节盲肠扁桃体和盲肠黏膜的过程提供了有价值的见解。我们的研究结果为鸡模型中的表观遗传动力学现象提供了证据支持。
