Effects of Maternal Obesity on Fetal Programming: Molecular Approaches.
Maternal obesity has become a worldwide epidemic. Obesity and a high-fat diet have been shown to have deleterious effects on fetal programming, predisposing offspring to adverse cardiometabolic and neurodevelopmental outcomes. Although large epidemiological studies have shown an association between maternal obesity and adverse outcomes for offspring, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Molecular approaches have played a key role in elucidating the mechanistic underpinnings of fetal malprogramming in the setting of maternal obesity. These approaches include, among others, characterization of epigenetic modifications, microRNA expression, the gut microbiome, the transcriptome, and evaluation of specific mRNA expression via quantitative reverse transcription polmerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) in fetuses and offspring of obese females. This work will review the data from animal models and human fluids/cells regarding the effects of maternal obesity on fetal and offspring neurodevelopment and cardiometabolic outcomes, with a particular focus on molecular approaches.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome 00100, Italy.
Caterina
C
Neri
Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts 02111 Mother Infant Research Institute, Tufts Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts 02111.
Andrea G
AG
Edlow
D000818:Animals; D019175:DNA Methylation / Q000235:genetics; D059305:Diet, High-Fat / Q000009:adverse effects; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D047109:Fetal Development / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D000069196:Gastrointestinal Microbiome / Q000502:physiology; D042421:Histone Code / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D008659:Metabolic Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology; D051379:Mice; D035683:MicroRNAs / Q000235:genetics; D065886:Neurodevelopmental Disorders / Q000209:etiology; D009765:Obesity / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000235:genetics / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000503:physiopathology; D051381:Rats; D017423:Sequence Analysis, RNA
D035683:MicroRNAs