Maternal Under- and Over-Nutrition during Gestation Causes Islet Hypertrophy and Sex-Specific Changes to Pancreas DNA Methylation in Fetal Sheep.

The mechanisms by which fetal programming predisposes offspring to reduced β-cell function later in life are poorly understood. We hypothesized that maternal under- and over-nutrition during gestation would negatively affect offspring pancreas development and alter DNA methylation patterns. Pregnant ewes ( = 78) were fed 100, 60, or 140% of NRC requirements beginning at d 30.