Environmental exposures around conception: developmental pathways leading to lifetime disease risk
Environmental exposures around conception: developmental pathways leading to lifetime disease risk
Environment around conception can influence the developmental programme with lasting effects on gestational and postnatal phenotype and with consequences for adult health and disease risk. Peri-conception exposure comprises a crucial part of the 'Developmental Origins of Health and Disease' (DOHaD) concept. In this review, we consider the effects of maternal undernutrition experienced during the peri-conception period in select human models and in a mouse experimental model of protein restriction. Human datasets indicate that macronutrient deprivation around conception affect the epigenome, with enduring effects on cardiometabolic and neurological health. The mouse model, comprising maternal low protein diet exclusively during the peri-conception period, has revealed a stepwise progression in altered developmental programming following induction through maternal metabolite deficiency. This progression includes differential effects in extra-embryonic and embryonic cell lineages and tissues, leading to maladaptation in the growth trajectory and increased chronic disease comorbidities. The timeline embraces an array of mechanisms across nutrient sensing and signalling, cellular, metabolic, epigenetic and physiological processes with a coordinating role for mTORC1 signalling proposed. Early embryos appear active participants in environmental sensing to optimise the developmental programme for survival but with the trade-off of later disease. Similar adverse health outcomes may derive from other peri-conception environmental experiences, including maternal overnutrition, micronutrient availability, pollutant exposure and assisted reproductive treatments (ART) and support the need for preconception health before pregnancy.
animals, environmental exposure/adverse effects, epigenomics, female, fertilization, mice, overnutrition, pregnancy, reproduction
Fleming, Tom P.
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Sun, Congshan
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Denisenko, Oleg
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Caetano, Laura
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Aljahdali, Anan
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Gould, Joanna M.
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Khurana, Pooja
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Fleming, Tom P.
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Sun, Congshan
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Denisenko, Oleg
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Caetano, Laura
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Aljahdali, Anan
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Gould, Joanna M.
96c504c1-273b-4104-98e6-87931fe763bf
Khurana, Pooja
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Fleming, Tom P., Sun, Congshan, Denisenko, Oleg, Caetano, Laura, Aljahdali, Anan, Gould, Joanna M. and Khurana, Pooja
(2021)
Environmental exposures around conception: developmental pathways leading to lifetime disease risk.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18 (17), [9380].
(doi:10.3390/ijerph18179380).
Abstract
Environment around conception can influence the developmental programme with lasting effects on gestational and postnatal phenotype and with consequences for adult health and disease risk. Peri-conception exposure comprises a crucial part of the 'Developmental Origins of Health and Disease' (DOHaD) concept. In this review, we consider the effects of maternal undernutrition experienced during the peri-conception period in select human models and in a mouse experimental model of protein restriction. Human datasets indicate that macronutrient deprivation around conception affect the epigenome, with enduring effects on cardiometabolic and neurological health. The mouse model, comprising maternal low protein diet exclusively during the peri-conception period, has revealed a stepwise progression in altered developmental programming following induction through maternal metabolite deficiency. This progression includes differential effects in extra-embryonic and embryonic cell lineages and tissues, leading to maladaptation in the growth trajectory and increased chronic disease comorbidities. The timeline embraces an array of mechanisms across nutrient sensing and signalling, cellular, metabolic, epigenetic and physiological processes with a coordinating role for mTORC1 signalling proposed. Early embryos appear active participants in environmental sensing to optimise the developmental programme for survival but with the trade-off of later disease. Similar adverse health outcomes may derive from other peri-conception environmental experiences, including maternal overnutrition, micronutrient availability, pollutant exposure and assisted reproductive treatments (ART) and support the need for preconception health before pregnancy.
Text
ijerph-18-09380
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Accepted/In Press date: 3 September 2021
e-pub ahead of print date: 6 September 2021
Keywords:
animals, environmental exposure/adverse effects, epigenomics, female, fertilization, mice, overnutrition, pregnancy, reproduction
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 480898
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/480898
ISSN: 1660-4601
PURE UUID: fed935d9-6563-4a0f-ab92-12bc5bfb2dbc
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Date deposited: 10 Aug 2023 16:47
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 04:02
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Contributors
Author:
Congshan Sun
Author:
Oleg Denisenko
Author:
Laura Caetano
Author:
Anan Aljahdali
Author:
Joanna M. Gould
Author:
Pooja Khurana
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