Dataset Information

MiRNA levels in F1-F3 male germ cells and female F2 PFC following prenatal exposure to sGC in guinea pigs

ABSTRACT: Stress and glucocorticoid exposure during pregnancy alters neurodevelopment and behavior in offspring, and these effects extend multiple generations through a paternal lineage. The epigenetic mechanisms that govern this transgenerational transmission are unclear. We hypothesized that maternal exposure to multiple courses of sGC in late pregnancy would result in altered miRNA levels in germs cells of male guinea pigs across three generations. Further, our behavioral data indicate that F2 females exhibit altered behaviors following sGC exposure. Thus, we evaluated the miRNA profile of F2 female prefrontal cortex to determine the mechanisms responsible for these behavioral changes and to compare these data to our germ cell miRNA analysis. We used miRNA microarray to evaluate the miRNA levels in F1-F3 germ cells and F2 female PFC in guinea pigs that were exposed to control and F0 prenatal sGC exposure. We identified no significant changes to miRNA levels in both F1-F3 germ cells and F2 PFC from guinea pigs in the sGC group.

ORGANISM(S): synthetic construct Cavia porcellus

PROVIDER: GSE250055 | GEO | 2024/01/25

REPOSITORIES: GEO

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:Background: DNA methylation (DNAme) erasure and reacquisition occurs during prenatal male germ cell development; some further remodelling takes place after birth during spermatogenesis. Environmental insults during germline epigenetic reprogramming may affect DNAme, presenting a potential mechanism for transmission of environmental exposures across multiple generations. Objectives: We investigated how germ cell DNAme is impacted by lifetime exposures to diets containing either low or high, clinically relevant, levels of the methyl donor folic acid and whether resulting DNAme alterations were inherited in germ cells of male offspring of subsequent generations. Materials and Methods: Female mice were placed on a 7-fold folic acid deficient (7FD) and 10- or 20-fold supplemented (10FS and 20FS) diets before and during pregnancy. Resulting F1 litters were weaned on the respective diets. F2 and F3 males received control diets. Genome-wide DNAme was assessed in F1 spermatogonia, and in F1, F2 and F3 sperm. Results: In F1 germ cells, a greater number of differentially methylated cytosines (DMCs) was observed in spermatogonia as compared with F1 sperm for all folic acid diets. DMCs were lower in number in F2 versus F1 sperm, while an unexpected increase was found in F3 sperm. DMCs were predominantly hypomethylated, with genes in neurodevelopmental pathways commonly affected in F1, F2 and F3 male germ cells. While no DMCs were found to be inherited inter- or transgenerationally, we observed over-representation of repetitive elements, particularly young LINEs. Discussion and Conclusion: These results suggest that the prenatal window is the time most susceptible to folate-induced alterations in sperm DNAme in male germ cells. Altered methylation of specific sites in F1 sperm was not present in later generations. However, the finding of hypomethylated young LINE1 elements in sperm from F1 to F3 males provides insight into potential mechanisms of epigenetic inheritance of the effects of folate deficiency and supplementation.

Dataset Information

MiRNA levels in F1-F3 male germ cells and female F2 PFC following prenatal exposure to sGC in guinea pigs

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure