title: Using neonatal skin to study the developmental programming of aging.
abstract: Numerous studies have examined how both negative and positive maternal exposures (environmental contaminants, nutrition, exercise, etc.) impact offspring risk for age-associated diseases such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, and others. The purpose of this study was to introduce the foreskin as a novel model to examine developmental programming in human neonates, particularly in regard to adipogenesis and insulin receptor signaling, major contributors to age-associated diseases such as obesity and diabetes. Neonatal foreskin was collected following circumcision and primary dermal fibroblasts were isolated to perform adipocyte differentiation and insulin stimulation experiments. Human neonatal foreskin primary fibroblasts take up lipid when stimulated with a differentiation cocktail and demonstrate insulin signaling when stimulated with insulin. Thus, we propose that foreskin tissue can be used to study developmental exposures and programming that occur in the neonate as it relates to age-associated diseases such as obesity and diabetes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536, USA.
authors.forename: Leryn J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Reynolds
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536, USA.
authors.forename: Brett J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Dickens
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Geisel School of Medicine, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03756, USA.
authors.forename: Benjamin B
authors.initials: BB
authors.lastname: Green
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Health, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA 30322, USA.
authors.forename: Carmen J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Marsit
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536, USA. Electronic address: Kevin.pearson@uky.edu.
authors.forename: Kevin J
authors.initials: KJ
authors.lastname: Pearson
mesh_terms: D017667:Adipocytes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D050156:Adipogenesis; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D016922:Cellular Senescence / Q000187:drug effects; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D005347:Fibroblasts / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D052816:Foreskin / Q000166:cytology*; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007328:Insulin / Q000494:pharmacology; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D008297:Male; D015398:Signal Transduction; D015595:Skin Aging / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D007328:Insulin
keywords: Adipogenesis; DOHaD; Epigenetics; Insulin sensitivity; Obesity; Pregnancy