Maternal dietary factors reduce the risk of inflammatory bowel disease through epigenetic regulation in mice offspring
Description: In this study, symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) were alleviated in male offspring of IBD mice whose mothers consumed specific food during gestation and lactation, as indicated by a reduced weight/length ratio of the large intestine. Integrated methylome and transcriptome analyses of colonic mucosa revealed lower DNA methylation and upregulated expression of a key IBD-related transcription factor, along with suppressed target genes and pro-inflammatory cytokines. Furthermore, maternal food intake enhanced bacterial richness, increased inflammation-suppressing bacteria, and raised organic acid levels. These findings suggest that maternal food consumption may reduce offspring IBD risk via epigenetic regulation, suppressing inflammation and improving microbial balance.
Amount: ¥4,420,000
Funding type: research
Funder scheme: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
Start date: 2018-04-01
End date: 2021-03-31
Investigator: Huijuan Jia
Institution: The University of Tokyo
Funded outputs count: 7
Funder award ID: 18K11095
OpenAlex ID: G7005319917