Father's lifestyle affects his child's epigenome
https://skinner.wsu.edu/documents/2017/05/5_2017_jama_pressarticle.pdf
Excerpt: "Researchers now understand that sperm contains a memory of a male’s life experiences, ranging from his nutritional status to his exposure to toxic chemicals, said Michael Skinner, PhD, a professor in the school of biological sciences at Washington State University. This information is captured in alterations to the epigenome, the suite ofmolecular on-off switches that regulate gene expression.
Excerpt: "Researchers now understand that sperm contains a memory of a male’s life experiences, ranging from his nutritional status to his exposure to toxic chemicals, said Michael Skinner, PhD, a professor in the school of biological sciences at Washington State University. This information is captured in alterations to the epigenome, the suite ofmolecular on-off switches that regulate gene expression.
Epigenetic information can be embedded
in sperm in the form of changes in DNA
methylation—the addition of chemical “tags”
that switch genes “on” or “off”—or histone
modifications—chemical tags on histone proteins,
which regulate how DNA is condensed.
In addition to these epigenetic
marks, researchers also have become increasingly
interested in changes in noncoding
RNAs, such as microRNAs (miRNAs),
which are involved in gene silencing and can
be present in sperm.
Last year, a review of human and animal
research suggested that epigenetic
changes may be the underlying mechanism
by which paternal factors such as age, diet,
weight, stress, and alcohol consumption
contribute to a range of health outcomes in
offspring including birth defects, behavioral
problems, developmental disorders,
obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease,
and cancer.
A series of studies of historic cohorts from
Överkalix in northern Sweden published
last decade suggested that information
about life experiences could be passed
down several generations through the
male line and could influence descendants’
health. In 2001 Lars Olov Bygren and
coinvestigators from Umeå University in
Sweden demonstrated that men born in
1905 who experienced food scarcity before
puberty—when primordial sperm cells are
developing into mature sperm—had paternal
grandchildren with a lower relative risk
of early death. The reverse was true for
men who had plenty to eat: Their sons’ children
were more likely to die young.
...When the collaboration began, Pembrey
was director of genetics on the landmark
Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) at the University of
Bristol. In the 2006 article, he and his coauthors
also presented data from a cohort
of fathers in the ALSPAC study. In this
group, men who took up smoking before
puberty had 9-year-old sons with higher
BMIs than men who first lit up later in life,
suggesting that the timing of the ancestral
exposure matters. A follow-up study published
in 2014 found that the sons of early
smokers—who themselves were not necessarily
overweight—had an average of 5
to 10 kg more body fat in their teens than
their peers.
Several other epidemiological associations
between a father’s health prior to
conceiving and the health of his children
have emerged. For example, there are also
some indications that a father’s drinking
may contribute to fetal alcohol syndrome–
like symptoms, specifically low birth
weight, congenital heart defects, and mild
cognitive impairments.
Early this decade, a spate of animal
studies demonstrated that, in addition to
toxins and alcohol, paternal weight and
eating patterns—such as high-fat or lowprotein
diets—also appear to alter the
sperm epigenome and offspring health. In
one mouse study, a paternal diet low
in folate was associated with an increase in
birth defects in offspring compared with a
paternal diet sufficient in folate. The fathers
who consumed less folate had abnormal
methylation of genes implicated in development
and chronic disease such as diabetes
and cancer.
Studies published last year also suggest
a link between paternaldietary patterns
or diet-induced weight gain and increased
birth weight and breast cancer risk in female
offspring.One of these studies identified
shared epigenetic changes present in
both the sperm of overweightmalemice and
the breast tissue of their female offspring.
These alterations included reduced expression
of miRNAs that regulate insulin receptor
signaling, among several other wellcharacterized
signaling pathways known to
play a role in tumorigenesis. Alterations in
miRNA expression may therefore underlie
the metabolic reprogramming that, in turn,
increases breast cancer risk.
Researchers are just beginning to tease out
these underlying epigenetic mechanisms in
humans. Investigators on the Newborn
Epigenetics Study (NEST) at Duke University
provided the first molecular evidence in
2013 and 2015 that a man’s lifestyle may be
imprinted on his child’s epigenome.
Soubry suggested that physicians can
encourage male patients who plan on conceiving
to eat a nutritious diet, quit smoking
(even temporarily), drink moderately,
and manage stress—all of which the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention
already recommends for fathers-to-be.
“That advice cannot harm, and I think it
can even help to reduce the risks later on
for the child,” Soubry said. Of course, behavior
matters during pregnancy, too.
Fathers—along with mothers and domestic
partners—can have a profound effect on
the health of pregnancies."
My comment: Abnormal methylation profiles of genes and histones result from poor nutrition, lack of exercise, smoking, alcohol consumption, toxicants and even negative thoughts. Epigenome is your molecular memory and there are several mechanisms in the cell that makes epigenetic memories inheritable. The most stable epigenetic markings are maintained by histone methylation/acetylation and by piRNA-mediated epigenetic silencing. Modern science is aware of lifestyle driven epigenetic changes that are the underlying mechanism by which paternal factors such as age, diet, weight, stress, and alcohol consumption contribute to a range of health outcomes in offspring including birth defects, behavioral problems, developmental disorders, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.
Life is not driven by gene sequences. Genes are driven by lifestyle. Don't get lost.
My comment: Abnormal methylation profiles of genes and histones result from poor nutrition, lack of exercise, smoking, alcohol consumption, toxicants and even negative thoughts. Epigenome is your molecular memory and there are several mechanisms in the cell that makes epigenetic memories inheritable. The most stable epigenetic markings are maintained by histone methylation/acetylation and by piRNA-mediated epigenetic silencing. Modern science is aware of lifestyle driven epigenetic changes that are the underlying mechanism by which paternal factors such as age, diet, weight, stress, and alcohol consumption contribute to a range of health outcomes in offspring including birth defects, behavioral problems, developmental disorders, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.
Life is not driven by gene sequences. Genes are driven by lifestyle. Don't get lost.