title: Maternal vitamin D deficiency causes smaller muscle fibers and altered transcript levels of genes involved in protein degradation, myogenesis, and cytoskeleton organization in the newborn rat.
abstract: METHODS
  Epidemiologic data reveal associations between low serum concentrations of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) and higher risk of falls and muscle weakness. Fetal stage is critical for the development of skeletal muscle, but little information is available on the impact of maternal vitamin D deficiency on muscles of offspring.
  
  
  RESULTS
  To investigate the morphology and transcriptome of gastrocnemius muscle in newborns in response to maternal vitamin D deficiency, 14 female rats were fed either a vitamin D₃ deficient (0 IU/kg) or a vitamin D₃ adequate diet (1000 IU/kg) 8 weeks prior to conception, during pregnancy, and lactation. Analysis of cholecalciferol, 25(OH)D₃ and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D₃ show that dams fed the vitamin D deficient diet and their newborns suffered from a relevant vitamin D deficiency. Muscle cells of vitamin D deficient newborns were smaller than those of vitamin D adequate newborns (p < 0.05). Muscle transcriptome of the newborns revealed 426 probe sets as differentially expressed (259 upregulated, 167 downregulated) in response to vitamin D deficiency (fold change ≥1.5, p < 0.05). The effected genes are involved in protein catabolism, cell differentiation and proliferation, muscle cell development, and cytoskeleton organization.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Maternal vitamin D deficiency has a major impact on morphology and gene expression profile of skeletal muscle in newborns.
authors: Institute of Agricultural and Nutritional Sciences, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Halle/Saale, Germany.
authors: Daniela
authors: D
authors: Max
authors: Corinna
authors: C
authors: Brandsch
authors: Sarah
authors: S
authors: Schumann
authors: Hagen
authors: H
authors: Kühne
authors: Matthias
authors: M
authors: Frommhagen
authors: Alexandra
authors: A
authors: Schutkowski
authors: Frank
authors: F
authors: Hirche
authors: Martin S
authors: MS
authors: Staege
authors: Gabriele I
authors: GI
authors: Stangl
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D002454:Cell Differentiation; D049109:Cell Proliferation; D002762:Cholecalciferol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood*; D003599:Cytoskeleton / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005786:Gene Expression Regulation; D039382:Maternal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D024510:Muscle Development / Q000502:physiology; D018485:Muscle Fibers, Skeletal / Q000473:pathology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D059748:Proteolysis; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D059467:Transcriptome; D014808:Vitamin D Deficiency / Q000097:blood* / Q000150:complications
chemical_list: D002762:Cholecalciferol
keywords: Maternal vitamin D deficiency; Offspring; Rat; Skeletal muscle; Transcript profiling