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Male and Female Placentas Have Divergent Transcriptomic and Epigenomic Responses to Maternal Diets: Not Just Hormones

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Hormones, Intrauterine Health and Programming

Part of the book series: Research and Perspectives in Endocrine Interactions ((RPEI,volume 12))

Abstract

There is mounting evidence that the placenta can be considered as a programming agent of adult health and diseases. Placental weight and shape at term are correlated with the development of metabolic diseases in adulthood in humans. Maternal obesity and malnutrition predispose the offspring to developing metabolic syndrome, a vicious cycle leading to transmission to subsequent generation(s), with differences in response and susceptibility according to the sex of the individual. Adaptations in placental phenotype in response to maternal diet and body composition alter fetal nutrient provision. This finding implies important epigenetic changes. However, the epigenetics of placental development in studies of developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) is still poorly documented, particularly concerning overnutrition. We used histology, microarray analyses and epigenetic techniques to investigate the effects of a high fat diet (HFD) or low protein diet on mouse placental development, respectively. We showed for the first time that not only the gene sets but also their biological functions affected by the HFD differed markedly between the two sexes. Remarkably, genes of the epigenetic machinery as well as global DNA methylation level showed sexual dimorphism. Imprinted gene expression was altered, with locus-specific changes in DNA methylation. Thus, these findings demonstrate a striking sexual dimorphism of programming trajectories in response to the same environmental challenge, implicating sex chromosome genes, not just hormones. Explaining the sex-specific causal variables and how males versus females respond and adapt, and to what extent, to environmental perturbations should help physicians and patients anticipate disease susceptibility.

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Acknowledgments

These studies were supported by the Foundation Cœur et Artères (FCA No 05-T4), the Institut Benjamin Delessert, the Agence Nationale pour la Recherche (ANR 06-PNRA-022-01) and Contrat Cadre d’Aide au Projet d’Innovation Stratégique Industrielle “IT-Diab” OSEO-ISI (18/12/2008).

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  1. BDR Biologie du Développement et Reproduction, Developmental Biology and Reproduction UMR INRA-ENVA-CNRS 1198, Domaine de Vilvert, Batiment 230, 78352, Jouy-en-Josas, France

    Anne Gabory, Alexandre Vigé, Laure Ferry, Linda Attig, Luc Jouneau & Claudine Junien

  2. Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines, 55 avenue de Paris, 78035, Versailles cedex, France

    Anne Gabory, Alexandre Vigé, Laure Ferry, Linda Attig, Luc Jouneau & Claudine Junien

  3. Service de Biostatistique et Informatique Medicale, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, Université Paris-Descartes, Faculté de Médecine, Hôpital Necker-Enfants Malades, 149 rue de Sèvres, 75743, Paris, France

    Jean-Philippe Jais

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  1. Anne Gabory
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  2. Alexandre Vigé
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  7. Claudine Junien
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Correspondence to Claudine Junien .

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  1. Endocrinology Unit, University of Edinburgh Queen's Medical Research Inst, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

    Jonathan R Seckl

  2. Fondation IPSEN, Boulogne-Billancourt Cedex, France

    Yves Christen

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Gabory, A. et al. (2014). Male and Female Placentas Have Divergent Transcriptomic and Epigenomic Responses to Maternal Diets: Not Just Hormones. In: Seckl, J., Christen, Y. (eds) Hormones, Intrauterine Health and Programming. Research and Perspectives in Endocrine Interactions, vol 12. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02591-9_6

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