Molecular mechanism that mediates a link between fetal conditions and
later health

Date:
August 10, 2021
Source:
Tampere University
Summary:
Periconceptional conditions are known to influence the later health
of individuals. Fetal growth and development set the framework for
future health, but recently it has also been suggested that the
individual is epigenetically prepared for the conditions in which
he or she will be born. If food or nutrient intake is scarce during
pregnancy, the emerging individual seems to be better prepared
to absorb energy and nutrients than a similar individual whose
developmental conditions have been more favorable.



FULL STORY ==========================================================================
A study at Tampere University has identified one possible epigenetic
mechanism through which the conditions at conception may affect the health
of an individual in later life. The study, led by Finnish Academy Research Fellow Emma Raitoharju, shows that the family's occupational status,
income level and maternal age at conception are linked to specific
molecular changes in offspring up to adulthood.


==========================================================================
The link was detected in the DNA methylation in the region of the
non-coding RNA 886 gene (nc886 gene).

"DNA methylation is an epigenetic mechanism that switches off gene
expression.

Gene expression regulates cell and tissue function. In this case,
the chromosome inherited from the father is always unmethylated and
expresses the nc886 gene in all humans," says Saara Marttila, postdoctoral researcher and first author of the paper.

"The number of individuals whose maternal chromosome is also unmethylated
and also expresses RNA appears to be lower in those born into families
of highest socio-economic status and in those whose mothers were between
21 and 30 years old," Marttila says.

The study shows that this early developmentally determined status of
DNA methylation in the nc886 gene is stable from childhood to adulthood, throughout a 40-year follow-up. People with both chromosomes unmethylated
have twice the amount of nc886 RNA in their blood, and the study also
found direct evidence of this at the level of RNA expression over 30
years of follow-up.

"From a molecular biologist's point of view, this is a beautiful example
of epigenetic imprinting," Marttila and Raitoharju say.

"However, the results also became more interesting from a health
perspective when we found that people who also express the nc886 gene
from their maternal chromosome -- about 25 percent of the population --
have higher insulin and lower glucose levels in their adolescence, and men
in this group also have higher cholesterol levels," Raitoharju explains.

"The molecular profile determined early in the fetus is therefore linked
to adult health," she continues.

The role of a single gene in the whole is small, but in this case the difference in the expression of nc886 is present in all tissues throughout life. The association with glucose and lipid metabolism suggests that
this may play a role in an individual's subsequent risk of disease.

The research group will further investigate the health effects of nc886
gene expression differences in the future.

The data used in the study included, among other things, the follow-up
data from the Young Finns Study, which has been running for 40 years,
and the corresponding German KORA data.

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Tampere_University. Note: Content
may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Saara Marttila, Leena E. Viiri, Pashupati P. Mishra, Brigitte
Ku"hnel,
Pamela R. Matias-Garcia, Leo-Pekka Lyytika"inen, Tiina Ceder,
Nina Mononen, Wolfgang Rathmann, Juliane Winkelmann, Annette
Peters, Mika Ka"ho"nen, Nina Hutri-Ka"ho"nen, Markus Juonala,
Katriina Aalto-Seta"la", Olli Raitakari, Terho Lehtima"ki, Melanie
Waldenberger, Emma Raitoharju.

Methylation status of nc886 epiallele reflects periconceptional
conditions and is associated with glucose metabolism through
nc886 RNAs.

Clinical Epigenetics, 2021; 13 (1) DOI: 10.1186/s13148-021-01132-3 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/08/210810104643.htm

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