Maternal Malnutrition Affects Hepatic Metabolism through Decreased Hepatic Taurine Levels and Changes in HNF4A Methylation.

Fetal programming implies that the maternal diet during pregnancy affects the long-term health of offspring. Although maternal diet influences metabolic disorders and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease in offspring, the hepatic mechanisms related to metabolites are still unknown. Here, we investigated the maternal diet-related alterations in metabolites and the biological pathway in male offspring at three months of age.

Long-term effects of pro-opiomelanocortin methylation induced in food-restricted dams on metabolic phenotypes in male rat offspring.

Objective: Maternal malnutrition affects the growth and metabolic health of the offspring. Little is known about the long-term effect on metabolic indices of epigenetic changes in the brain caused by maternal diet. Thus, we explored the effect of maternal food restriction during pregnancy on metabolic profiles of the offspring, by evaluating the DNA methylation of hypothalamic appetite regulators at 3 weeks of age.