Insulin Resistance- you are what your mother ate

[Guest guest]

Maybe what we ate during pregancy had something to do with RSS. My

doctor told me that RSS children have a much higher propensity for

insulin resistance problems (diabetes) as they get older. I found

the Duke University study that I pasted below enlightening about the

connection between nutrition, insulin resistance and genes. It does

have me feeling a bit gulity about my poor dietary habits of eating

all sorts of bad carbohydrates during 's pregnancy. On

the positive side, at least now the family is eating a healthy diet

and truly reaping the benefits including .

Beth

" You are what your mother ate, suggests study "

Journal reference: Molecular and Cellular Biology (vol 23, p 5293)

NewScientist.com news service

by Philip Cohen

What mothers eat during pregancy could have a fundamental and

lifelong effect on the genes of their children, suggests an

intriguing new study in mice.

Researchers found they could change the coat color of baby mice by

feeding their mothers different levels of four common nutrients

during pregnancy. These altered how the pups' cells read their

genes. As a result the mice were also less prone to obesity and

diabetes than genetically identical mice whose mothers received no

supplement.

The work establishes the tightest link yet between diet and a

strange form of inheritance known as epigenetics. Unlike a mutation

which changes the DNA sequence of genes, epigenetic factors can

alter how a gene is used, while leaving the DNA sequence unchanged.

The mouse study was conducted by Randy Jirtle, at Duke University

Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, and his colleague

Waterland. Jirtle says the work belies a " more is better " philosophy

about food supplements.

" The rationale is that there is no downside - you can't get too much

of this stuff, " he says. " But there could be a lifelong downside and

we have no clue yet about what those effects are. "

Carbon tags

One suggested mechanism for epigenetic inheritance is via

methylation. A gene can be switched on or off by the adding or

removing of carbon tags known as methyl groups to the DNA near a

gene.

These are generally set as part of the normal genetic program. But

experiments in mice have shown that the tags can be reset by a

variety of factors including viral infection or ingestion of certain

drugs. Once these new methylation marks are established, they can be

inherited by future generations.

To find out is something as simple as components of a regular diet

could influence methylation, Jirtle and Waterland used a well known

model mouse. In this mouse the activity of a gene called agouti,

which establishes coat colour, is controlled by the degree of

methylation within the gene. The more the gene is methylated, the

more agouti activity decreases and the more brown the rodent's coat

becomes.

They fed female mice a normal diet or a diet supplemented with folic

acid, vitamin B12, choline and betaine - all nutrients that are used

by protein enzymes to create methylation marks.

Close link

Sure enough, the vitamin-enriched mums gave birth to pups with

browner coats. Because agouti also affects other aspects of

metabolism, the browner mice are less prone to obesity and diabetes.

Jirtle says his group is planning to look for similar dietary

effects on methylation in humans.

" It's a very important result, " says Emma Whitelaw of the University

of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia who studies epigenetic

effects in mice. " It establishes a close link between diet,

methylation and gene activity which is going to lead to some

interesting experiments. "

[Guest guest]

Interesting!! As for me, I have never taken better care of myself and had a

better diet than during my pregnancy with her. When I got pregnant this

time I joked that when I did everything right it backfired so I was eating

donuts everyday with Lauryn! It kept us laughing!

Dayna, Mom to Alyssa-3 RSS and Lauryn 10wks

_____

From: beth_joe_williams

Sent: Tuesday, January 04, 2005 5:19 PM

To: RSS-Support

Subject: Insulin Resistance- you are what your mother ate

Maybe what we ate during pregancy had something to do with RSS. My

doctor told me that RSS children have a much higher propensity for

insulin resistance problems (diabetes) as they get older. I found

the Duke University study that I pasted below enlightening about the

connection between nutrition, insulin resistance and genes. It does

have me feeling a bit gulity about my poor dietary habits of eating

all sorts of bad carbohydrates during 's pregnancy. On

the positive side, at least now the family is eating a healthy diet

and truly reaping the benefits including .

Beth

" You are what your mother ate, suggests study "

Journal reference: Molecular and Cellular Biology (vol 23, p 5293)

NewScientist.com news service

by Philip Cohen

What mothers eat during pregancy could have a fundamental and

lifelong effect on the genes of their children, suggests an

intriguing new study in mice.

Researchers found they could change the coat color of baby mice by

feeding their mothers different levels of four common nutrients

during pregnancy. These altered how the pups' cells read their

genes. As a result the mice were also less prone to obesity and

diabetes than genetically identical mice whose mothers received no

supplement.

The work establishes the tightest link yet between diet and a

strange form of inheritance known as epigenetics. Unlike a mutation

which changes the DNA sequence of genes, epigenetic factors can

alter how a gene is used, while leaving the DNA sequence unchanged.

The mouse study was conducted by Randy Jirtle, at Duke University

Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, and his colleague

Waterland. Jirtle says the work belies a " more is better " philosophy

about food supplements.

" The rationale is that there is no downside - you can't get too much

of this stuff, " he says. " But there could be a lifelong downside and

we have no clue yet about what those effects are. "

Carbon tags

One suggested mechanism for epigenetic inheritance is via

methylation. A gene can be switched on or off by the adding or

removing of carbon tags known as methyl groups to the DNA near a

gene.

These are generally set as part of the normal genetic program. But

experiments in mice have shown that the tags can be reset by a

variety of factors including viral infection or ingestion of certain

drugs. Once these new methylation marks are established, they can be

inherited by future generations.

To find out is something as simple as components of a regular diet

could influence methylation, Jirtle and Waterland used a well known

model mouse. In this mouse the activity of a gene called agouti,

which establishes coat colour, is controlled by the degree of

methylation within the gene. The more the gene is methylated, the

more agouti activity decreases and the more brown the rodent's coat

becomes.

They fed female mice a normal diet or a diet supplemented with folic

acid, vitamin B12, choline and betaine - all nutrients that are used

by protein enzymes to create methylation marks.

Close link

Sure enough, the vitamin-enriched mums gave birth to pups with

browner coats. Because agouti also affects other aspects of

metabolism, the browner mice are less prone to obesity and diabetes.

Jirtle says his group is planning to look for similar dietary

effects on methylation in humans.

" It's a very important result, " says Emma Whitelaw of the University

of Sydney in New South Wales, Australia who studies epigenetic

effects in mice. " It establishes a close link between diet,

methylation and gene activity which is going to lead to some

interesting experiments. "

_____