A study on mice reveals that males with poor diets can significantly increase the risk of atherosclerosis in their female offspring.
- Paternal diet high in cholesterol causes changes in sperm profiles.
- This leads to a significant increase in atherosclerosis in female offspring.
- Currently, researchers do not know exactly why only female offspring are affected by cardiovascular disease.
“Recent research suggests that various parental exposures affect offspring cardiovascular health, but the specific mechanisms, particularly the influence of paternal cardiovascular disease risk factors on offspring cardiovascular health, remain elusive,” advance researchers from the University of California at Riverside (United States). This is why they conducted a study, published in the journal JCI Insightto explore how the father’s hypercholesterolemia (i.e. excessively high concentrations of cholesterol in the blood) affects the development of atherosclerosis (i.e. the deposition of plaque composed mainly of lipids on the wall of the arteries ) in his children.
Male mice were put on a high-cholesterol diet before breeding
To carry out the work, the team carried out an experiment on genetically modified male mice. She put them on a high-cholesterol diet, which allowed them to develop hyperlipidemia, a disorder that, if left untreated, can lead to heart disease and stroke. These animals were then mated with female mice fed a normal, low-cholesterol diet. Their children were also put on a low-cholesterol diet. In parallel, the scientists examined sperm small RNAs in mice using the PANDORA-seq method. As a reminder, sperm contain an abundance of small non-coding RNA molecules, which are important for gene regulation and many cellular processes. When modified, their functions change significantly in various biological processes.
Atherosclerosis: 2 to 3 times greater in females whose fathers had hypercholesterolemia
The authors found that small RNA molecules in the sperm of mice fed a high-cholesterol diet underwent changes in response to exposure to the diet. The modified small RNA molecules could also affect early gene expression in mouse embryonic stem cells. Result: this led to an increased risk of atherosclerosis in the rodents’ offspring, particularly in women who had a two to three times higher risk. The team does not know exactly why only female offspring are affected by cardiovascular disease.
“Our study contributes to the understanding of the etiology of chronic diseases resulting from parental exposure. We hope that our results will stimulate research on the impact of paternal exposures on the cardiovascular health of offspring in humans”concluded Changchengzhouwho led the research.
