Christia Pelava
University of Nottingham, United Kingdom
Title: Understanding the relationship between sub-optimal paternal diet and preimplantation embryo development in mice
Biography
Biography: Christia Pelava
Abstract
Background: According to the DOHaD concept, parental environment, including the diet, affects the embryo development and offspring health. Barker’s hypothesis supports that parental diet leads to increased risk of developing chronic diseases in the offspring. Although the effect of maternal diet has been well established, the influence of paternal diet is still under research.
Methods: Male C57BL/6 mice were allocated to one of the five diet groups: normal protein diet (NPD; 18% protein), isocaloric low protein diet (LPD, 9% protein), LPD supplemented with methyl donors (MDL), western diet (WD; 24% fat) or methyl donor Western Diet (MDWD) for at least 8-weeks before mating naturally to 8-week-old C57BL/6 females. At embryonic day (E)1.5, oviducts of pregnant dams were flushed. The embryos were cultured until blastocyst stage in KSOM, 5% CO2, 37°C and their development was monitored via Embryo Scope time-lapse system. The morpho kinetics and morphology of pre-implanted embryos were recorded. AMPK-gene expression was examined on blastocyst-stage embryos by qPCR. The stud males’ weight, foetal weight and litter size were measured.
Results: Paternal diet and specifically WD and MDWD results in acceleration of pre-implantation embryo development at pre-compaction stages, the time of the start of the blastocyst and expanded blastocyst, combined with enlargement in their blastomere size. WD and MDWD also promoted decreased gene expression. Regarding the blastomeres shape, LPD embryos adapted a more spherical shape compared to the other groups. WD and MDWD-derived foetuses showed heavier livers and decreased litter size.
Conclusions: The data support that paternal diet affects the pre-implantation embryo development, in agreement with previous studies. It is also linked with altered blastomeres shape in pre-implanted embryos which was not investigated previously. Further investigation is required, specifically on methyl-donor supplementation which has not been investigated in many studies. The effect of paternal diet on blastomeres shape also requires additional research.