Epigenetic Dysregulation of Dopaminergic System by Maternal Cafeteria Diet During Early Postnatal Development

Publication date: Available online 1 November 2019Source: NeuroscienceAuthor(s): M.F. Rossetti, R. Schumacher, M.P. Gastiazoro, G.P. Lazzarino, M.F. Andreoli, C. Stoker, J. Varayoud, J.G. RamosAbstractDopamine is a neurotransmitter crucial for motor, motivational, and reward-related functions. Our aim was to determine the effect of a palatable maternal diet on the transcriptional regulation of dopaminergic-related genes during perinatal development of the offspring. For that, female offspring from dams fed with a control (CON) or a cafeteria (CAF) diet were sacrificed on embryonic day 21 (E21) and postnatal day 10 (PND10). Using micropunch techniques, ventral tegmental area (VTA) and nucleus accumbens (NAc) were isolated from brain’s offspring. Bioinformatic analysis of the promoter regions, mRNA quantification and methylation studies were done. The increase in tyroxine hidroxylase (TH), dopamine receptor (DRD) 1 and ghrelin receptor (GHSR) expression in VTA and NAc from E21 to PND10 was correlated with changes in DNA methylation of their promoter regions. Maternal diet did not affect the expression patterns in E21. At PND10, maternal CAF diet decreased the transcription of TH, GHSR, DRD2 and dopamine transporter (DAT) in VTA. Interestingly, the changes in TH, DRD2 and DAT expression were related to the methylation status of their promoters. In NAc, maternal CAF diet reduced DRD1, DRD2 and DAT expression in the offspring at PND10, although alternations in the meth...
Source: Neuroscience - Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research