Nutrients 2014, 6, 2165-2178; doi:10.3390/nu6062165
nutrients
ISSN 2072-6643
www.mdpi.com/journal/nutrients
Review
Early Life Nutrition, Epigenetics and Programming of Later
Life Disease
Mark H. Vickers
Liggins Institute and Gravida, National Centre for Growth and Development, University of Auckland,
85 Park Road, Grafton, Auckland 1142, New Zealand; E-Mail: m.vickers@auckland.ac.nz;
Tel.: +64-9-923-6687; Fax +64-9-373-7039
Received: 17 March 2014; in revised form: 21 April 2014 / Accepted: 19 May 2014 /
Published: 2 June 2014
Abstract: The global pandemic of obesity and type 2 diabetes is often causally linked to
marked changes in diet and lifestyle; namely marked increases in dietary intakes of high
energy diets and concomitant reductions in physical activity levels. However, less attention
has been paid to the role of developmental plasticity and alterations in phenotypic
outcomes resulting from altered environmental conditions during the early life period.
Human and experimental animal studies have highlighted the link between alterations in
the early life environment and increased risk of obesity and metabolic disorders in later
life. This link is conceptualised as the developmental programming hypothesis whereby
environmental influences during critical periods of developmental plasticity can elicit
lifelong effects on the health and well-being of the offspring. In particular, the nutritional
environment in which the fetus or infant develops influences the risk of metabolic
disorders in offspring. The late onset of such diseases in response to earlier transient
experiences has led to the suggestion that developmental programming may have an
epigenetic component, as epigenetic marks such as DNA methylation or histone tail
modifications could provide a persistent memory of earlier nutritional states. Moreover,
evidence exists, at least from animal models, that such epigenetic programming should be
viewed as a transgenerational phenomenon. However, the mechanisms by which early
environmental insults can have long-term effects on offspring are relatively unclear. Thus
far, these mechanisms include permanent structural changes to the organ caused by
suboptimal levels of an important factor during a critical developmental period, changes in
gene expression caused by epigenetic modifications (including DNA methylation, histone
modification, and microRNA) and permanent changes in cellular ageing. A better
understanding of the epigenetic basis of developmental programming and how these effects
OPEN ACCESS
Nutrients 2014, 6 2166
may be transmitted across generations is essential for the implementation of initiatives
aimed at curbing the current obesity and diabetes crisis.
Keywords: developmental programming; maternal nutrition; epigenetics; DNA
methylation; transgenerational
1. Background
Obesity and its metabolic sequelae may prove to be the greatest threat to human lifestyle and health
in the developed world this century. The obesity epidemic has seen the incidence of being overweight
almost double in Western societies in the past two decades and the trend is mirrored in developing
nations that are transitioning to first-world economies. Metabolic disease results from a complex
interaction of many factors, including genetic, physiologic, behavioural, and environmental influences.
The rates at which these metabolic disorders have increased over recent time suggests that
environmental (e.g., epigenetic) and behavioural effects, rather than genetic causes, are underpinning
the present epidemic.
The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) hypothesis has highlighted the link
between the periconceptual, fetal, and early infant phases of life and the subsequent development of
adult obesity and related metabolic disorders. The DOHaD model speculates that the fetus makes
predictive adaptations in response to cues from the intrauterine environment, resulting in permanent
adjustments in homeostatic systems to aid immediate survival and improve success in an adverse
postnatal environment. However, inappropriate interpretations of preenatal cues or changes to that
immediate environment may result in a mismatch between prenatal predictions and postnatal reality.
As a result, these adaptations, known as predictive adaptive responses (PARS) [1], may ultimately be
disadvantageous in postnatal life, leading to an increased risk of chronic diseases in adulthood and/or
the inheritance of risk factors and a cycle of disease transmission across generations. In this context, it
now well established that alterations in early life nutrition lead to an increased risk for a range of
metabolic and cardiovascular disorders in later life [2].
A large number of studies are now focusing on the epigenetic contributions to disease manifestation
arising as a consequence of developmental programming. As epigenetic regulation during development
undergoes dynamic changes, the epigenome displays a labile nature, which allows it to respond and
adapt to environmental stressors, including nutritional modification [3]. As an example, supplementation
or restriction of the maternal diet with a range of dietary factors, such as folate, methionine, or choline,
has been shown to affect the establishment of DNA methylation patterns in offspring [4,5]. One class
of genes that has been considered a potential target or mediator of developmental programming events
is imprinted genes, because these genes critically depend upon epigenetic modifications for correct
expression and because many imprinted genes have roles in controlling fetal growth as well as
neonatal and adult metabolism. As an example, one of the most characterised epigenetically regulated
loci, the paternally imprinted insulin-like growth factor-2 (IGF2) gene, is characterised by a labile
methylation pattern dependent on the nutritional stimuli received by the growing organism during early
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life development [6,7]. Of note, work by Waterland showed in post-weaning animals that the paternal
allele of IGF2 DMR2 was hypermethylated in the kidneys of mice fed a control synthetic diet. This
indicates that the type of post-weaning diet can permanently affect expression of IGF2, suggesting that
childhood diet could contribute to IGF2 loss of imprinting in humans [7].
Work in experimental models of programming has now shown that a range of challenges during
pregnancy or early neonatal life results in changes in promoter methylation and thus directly or
indirectly affect gene expression in pathways associated with a range of physiologic processes [8–12].
For example, epigenetic changes have been observed in p53 in the kidney where uteroplacental
insufficiency induces a relative hypomethylation from exon 5 to exon 8, which was associated with
deceased mRNA levels of DNMT1 [9]. Epigenetic changes in the maternal low protein (LP) rat model
have been reported for the angiotensin II type 1b receptor in the adrenal gland with the proximal
promoter of the AT(1b) gene significantly hypomethylated, influencing renal apoptosis and pressor
responses [10]. Work by Weaver et al. [11] has shown that variations in maternal care directly alter the
methylation status of the exon 17 promoter of the GR gene, directly influencing stress responsiveness.
Although most data to data has focused on DNA methylation changes, there are data emerging on
histone modifications in the setting of developmental programming. Histone methylation is a key
structural alteration that can impact gene expression, either promoting or repressing gene expression,
depending on the location. Methylation of either DNA or histone proteins requires methyl donors from
dietary folate and requires the presence of vitamins B6 and B12, choline, methionine, and a range of
methyltransferases [13,14]. Epigenetics also integrates microRNAs (miRNAs) and there is an
emerging framework integrating genomic methylation, histone modifications and the effects of
miRNAs. As above, although research to date has predominantly focused on dietary related changes in
DNA methylation status [15], an increasing number of reports are highlighting the role of nutrition
manipulations on histone structure and function and miRNAs. Work on microRNAs has revealed a
complex network of reciprocal interconnections: not only are they able to control gene expression at a
post-transcriptional level, thus representing a new important class of regulatory molecules, but they are
also directly connected to the epigenetic machinery through a regulatory loop [16]. On one side, the
expression of certain miRNAs is controlled by DNA methylation and chromatin modifications. In turn,
miRNAs could affect the methylation machinery and the expression of proteins involved in histone
modifications. As a combinatorial approach, these mechanisms may then determine gene expression
and the resultant phenotype. As an example epigenetic silencing of miRNAs and miRNAs targeting
histone deacetylases have been described to play a role in cancer but their roles in the context of
nutritional manipulations are not well described.
Of note, the phenotypic effects of epigenetic modifications during development may not manifest
until later in life, especially if they affect genes modulating responses to later environmental
challenges, such as post-weaning dietary challenges with energy dense diets. The extent of the
developmental window for the induction of epigenetic changes in key physiologic systems is not well
characterised, but he period of plasticity appears to extend from the periconceptional period into
postnatal life [4,11].
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2. Evidence from Epidemiology
At a mechanistic level, studies in humans linking epigenetic change to metabolic disease risk remain
limited although there is evidence for inheritance of tissue specific DNA methylation patterns [17].
Differences in environmental exposure lead to different patterns of epigenetic marking in the somatic
tissues of individuals, as evidenced by studies in twins in which DNA methylation and histone
acetylation patterns diverged more strongly in older twin pairs with more marked life history
differences [18]. Work on human disorders, such as Prader-Willi syndrome (arising due to the
absence of the paternally contributed region on chromosome 15q11-q13) or Angelman (lack of
maternally-contributed region 15q11) imprinting syndromes, suggested that epigenetic inheritance may
play a role in human disorders [19]. Most evidence to date regarding the epigenetic basis of
developmental programming has been derived from experimental models and very little human data
are available. The Dutch Famine (1944–1945) cohort is one of the most cited cohorts used to examine
the effects of poor early life nutrition in humans. Individuals who were prenatally exposed to famine
had, six decades later, less DNA methylation of the imprinted IGF2 gene compared with their
unexposed, same-sex siblings. The association was specific for periconceptional exposure, reinforcing
that very early mammalian development is a crucial period for establishing and maintaining epigenetic
marks [20,21].
Although the role of macronutrients is clearly implicated in developmental programming [22],
maternal micronutrient levels are of interest as they are essential for the one-carbon metabolism
involved in DNA methylation and an imbalance in these nutrients can influence DNA methylation
patterns in offspring. As an example, increased maternal vitamin B12 levels during pregnancy are
associated with decreased global DNA methylation in newborns while increased serum B12 levels in
newborns are associated with reduced methylation of the IGFBP3 gene, involved in intrauterine
growth [23]. More recent work in the setting of parental obesity has shown that newborns of obese
parents have altered DNA methylation patterns at imprinted genes [24] and paternal obesity has been
shown to be associated with IGF2 hypomethylation in newborns [25]. Of note, the significant and
independent association between paternal obesity and the offspringʼs methylation status suggests the
susceptibility of the developing sperm for environmental insults. The acquired imprint instability may
be carried onto the next generation and increase the risk for chronic diseases in adulthood [24].
3. Evidence from Animal Models
Several studies, using a range of nutritional challenges, have analysed modifications of DNA
methylation patterns to investigate the impact of nutrition on the epigenetic regulation of both
imprinted and non-imprinted genes [26]. As described above, alterations in early life nutrition can
influence DNA methylation as one-carbon metabolism is dependent upon dietary methyl donors and
cofactors including folic acid, choline and vitamin B12 [26–28]. Further, maternal undernutrition
around the time of conception can induces changes in the expression of miRNAs in offspring which
appears to play a role in the development of insulin resistance in later life [29]. Maternal dietary
manipulations, such as LP exposure, result in aberrant changes in DNA methylation in key genes
changes, which can be prevented by maternal dietary supplementation with cofactors [5,30]. For
Nutrients 2014, 6 2169
example, in the rat, altered promoter methylation and gene expression have been shown for the hepatic
glucocorticoid receptor (GR) and the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α (PPAR-α) [5,31],
influencing carbohydrate and lipid metabolism [32]. A maternal LP diet results in hypomethylation of
PPAR-α and GR in offspring; alterations which can be normalised to that of controls with maternal
folate supplementation [5]. Further, increasing the folic acid content of maternal or post-weaning diets
can induce differential changes in phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) mRNA expression
and promoter methylation in the rat [33]. In addition to folate, evidence is growing for optimal dietary
intake of choline (also involved in one-carbon transfer or methylation) for successful completion of
fetal development [34]. Maternal choline supply during pregnancy in the rat modifies fetal histone and
DNA methylation, suggesting that a concerted epigenomic mechanism contributes to the long term
developmental effects of varied choline intake in utero [35]. Choline has been shown to be involved in
the methylation of histone H3, expression of histone methyltransferases G9a (Kmt1c) and Suv39h1
(Kmt1a), and DNA methylation of their genes in rat fetal liver and brain [35]. The data on vitamin B12
in animal models are less clear. Vitamin B12 deficiency can result in hypomethylation as, along with
folate, B12 is required for the synthesis of methionine and S-adenosyl methionine, the common methyl
donor required for the maintenance of methylation patterns in DNA.
Studies in the rodent have primarily utilised maternal undernutrition (either global or low protein)
or uterine artery ligation to induce intrauterine growth restricted (IUGR) offspring. In the setting of
altered early life nutrition, organisms can fine tune gene expression to achieve environmental
adaptation via epigenetic alterations of histone markers of gene accessibility [36]. One example is in
experimental models of IUGR where uteroplacental insufficiency leads to decreases in postnatal IGF1
mRNA variants, H3 acetylation and the gene elongation mark histone 3 trimethylation of lysine 36 of
the IGF1 gene (H3Me3K36) [36,37]. Further work by Tosh et al. [38] also showed that the pattern of
early growth following IUGR (rapid versus delayed catch-up growth) in the rat leads to differential
changes in hepatic IGF1 mRNA expression and histone H3K4 methylation. One of the molecular
phenotypes associated with IUGR rats is decreased expression of pancreatic and duodenal homeobox
factor-1 (PDX1), a key transcription factor regulating pancreatic development. Recently, reduced
PDX1 activity was associated with alterations in histone modifications [39]. Similar findings were
observed for the glucose transporter GLUT4 in the muscle of IUGR rats [40]. Some metabolic traits
resulting from low birth weights can be transmitted to subsequent generations, suggesting the possibility
of epigenetic changes maintained during meiosis. An example of this is the agouti coat-colour variants
in mice where coat color variation is correlated to epigenetic marks established early in development [8].
This was evidenced by Dolinoy et al. [41] where heterozygous agouti viable yellow mice (Avy
) were
exposed to the flavonoid genistein in utero via the maternal diet. This results in an altered coat colour
towards pseudo-agouti, and conferred protection against obesity in later life, a hallmark of the agouti
phenotype. Work by Waterland et al. [42,43] has also utilised mouse models to show that some alleles
are particularly susceptible to changes in methylation due to maternal nutrition. This work suggested
that maternal nutrition before and during pregnancy may affect the establishment of CpG methylation
and the life-long expression of metastable epialleles (epigenetically modified alleles) [43]. In addition
to maternal dietary restriction models, a number of reports now suggest that maternal obesity and
early life overnutrition can elicit epigenetic changes in offspring. For example, overnutrition during
the suckling period can lead to epigenetic modifications in key genes involved in the insulin
Nutrients 2014, 6 2170
signaling pathway in skeletal muscle and lead to later development of insulin resistance [44].
Marco et al. [45,46] showed that a maternal high fat diet induced hypermethylation of the
hypothalamic pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) promoter and obesity in post-weaning rats and maternal
fat intake has been linked to altered epigenetic regulation of genes related to polyunsaturated fatty acid
synthesis. Offspring of mothers fed a high fat diet display hepatic cell cycle inhibition and associated
changes in gene expression and DNA methylation but these changes did not persist into adulthood [12].
A maternal high fat diet can also alter methylation and gene expression of dopamine and opioid-related
genes, thus, is a further potential mechanism for programming of appetite and preference for energy
dense foods in postnatal life [47].
In addition to DNA methylation changes, work in primates has shown that a caloric-dense maternal
diet leading to obesity can epigenetically alter fetal chromatin structure via covalent modifications of
histones [48]. Work by Strakovsky et al. [49] showed that a maternal HF diet altered hepatic
metabolism in the neonate in a sex-specific manner and these differences, in association with
epigenetic modification of histones, may contribute to the known gender differences in oxidative
balance. Further, a maternal high fat diet has been reported to modulate fetal surtuin 1 (SIRT1) histone
and protein deacetylase activity in nonhuman primates and implicates SIRT1 as a likely mediator of
the fetal epigenome and metabolome in the setting of maternal obesity [50]. miRNAs occasionally also
cause histone modification and DNA methylation of promoter sites, which affects the expression of
target genes [51,52]. Using an ovine model of maternal obesity, fetal muscle miRNA expression is
altered and therefore may enhance intramuscular adipogenesis during fetal muscle development [53].
Animal models have also allowed investigation of possible intervention strategies to ameliorate or
reverse the effects of developmental programming including those detailed above re maternal methyl
donor supplementation. The adipokine leptin has been a recent focus of programming-related studies
with neonatal leptin treatment shown to reverse the effects of maternal undernutrition in rodents [54,55].
Mechanisms underlying epigenetic modification of tissue function resulting in a predisposition to
altered programming of leptin and insulin signalling are discussed by Holness et al. [56]. Leptin has a
3-kb promoter region embedded within a CpG island and contains many putative binding sites for
known transcription factors including a glucocorticoid response element. It has been shown that
leptin’s promoter is subject to epigenetic programming, and leptin’s expression can be modulated by
DNA methylation [57–59]. Protective effects of leptin during the suckling period against later obesity
may be associated with changes in promoter methylation of the hypothalamic POMC gene [60]. In
addition, activation of the leptin receptor also induces expression of suppressor of cytokine signaling-3
(SOCS-3). This protein inhibits further leptin signal transduction and also potently inhibits signalling by
the insulin receptor. Altered SOCS-3 methylation may therefore have lasting effects on the leptin-insulin
feedback loop (the adipoinsular axis) and adversely impact developmental programming [56].
Yokomori et al. [61] have shown that methylation of specific CpG sites and a methylation-sensitive
protein could contribute to leptin gene expression during adipocyte differentiation in 3T3-L1 cells.
The same laboratory group has also shown that both methylation of specific CpG sites and a
methylation-sensitive transcription factor contributes to GLUT4 gene regulation during preadipocyte
to adipocyte differentiation [62]. In addition, differential DNA methylation was observed in promoters
of genes involved in glucose metabolism including GLUT4 [62] and uncoupling protein 2
(UCP-2) [63]. It addition to leptin, it has been shown that the GLP-1 analog Exendin-4 increases
Nutrients 2014, 6 2171
histone acetylase activity and reverses epigenetic modifications that silence PDX1 in the IUGR
rat [64]. Further, in line with lifestyle modifications preventing mitochondrial alterations and
metabolic disorders, exercise has also been shown to change DNA methylation of the promoter of
PGC1a to favor gene expression responsible for mitochondrial biogenesis and function [65]. Dietary
supplementation with methyl donors has also been well described. Maternal methylation donor
supplementation reduces fatty liver and modifies the fatty acid synthase DNA methylation profile in
rats fed an obesogenic diet [66]. Similarly, maternal methyl donor supplementation during lactation
can prevent the hyperhomocysteinemia induced by a high-fat-sucrose intake by dams [67].
Aims currently pursued are the early identification of epigenetic biomarkers concerned in individual’s
disease susceptibility and the description of protocols for tailored dietary treatments/advice to
counterbalance adverse epigenomic events. These approaches will allow diagnosis and prognosis
implementation and facilitate therapeutic strategies in a personalised “epigenomically modeled”
manner to combat obesity and metabolic disorders [68].
4. Transgenerational Epigenetic Programming
The experimental and human evidence to date suggests that developmental programming should be
regarded as a transgenerational phenomenon and is therefore often viewed as a form of epigenetic
inheritance, either via the maternal or paternal line. Evidence exists for both germline and somatic
inheritance of epigenetic modifications which may be responsible for phenotypic changes in further
generations [69]. Transgenerational epigenetic transmission of traits allows future generations to be
maximally competitive in their environment [70]. Under this assumption, adaptive gene programs
acquired during the parental lifespan persist in the subsequent generation, enabling future generations
to better survive in a potentially adverse environment. However, evidence suggests that environmental
exposures such as poor early life nutrition result in maladaptive parental responses that can be passed
to offspring. These epigenetic traits have the potential to result in a population-wide manifestation of a
phenotype over several generations—such transmission can exacerbate the rapid onset of phenotypes
such as obesity and diabetes currently observed in human populations [70].
A number of nutritional challenges can induce transgenerational, non-genomically determined
phenotypic changes in mammals [19]. For example changes in rodents the methylation of the GR
promoter in the liver are also reflected in the F2 generation in the absence of any dietary manipulation
of F1 female offspring [71]. Work by Waterland et al. [72] demonstrated that methyl donor
supplementation could prevent transgenerational amplification of obesity. Although a number of
studies have now reported transmission to the F2 lineage, transmission to the F3 or subsequent
generation (a true marker of transgenerational transmission as it avoids the confounding contributions
of the initial maternal insult) is less clear with some studies reporting a resolution of the phenotype by
the F3 generation. In the meta-analysis by Aiken and Ozanne, of nine transgenerational studies carried
through to F3, five failed to show any effect [69]. The impact of paternal nutritional background in
transgenerational inheritance has also been reported in recent work by Fullston et al. [73]. Paternal
obesity was shown to initiate metabolic disturbances in two generations of mice albeit with incomplete
penetrance to the F2 generation. Diet-induced paternal obesity modulated sperm microRNA content
and germ methylation status which are potential signals that program offspring health and initiate the
Nutrients 2014, 6 2172
transmission of obesity to future generations. Studies in F1 sperm have suggested a role for altered
IGF2 and H19 expression in transmission of a phenotype to the F2 offspring [74]. However, not all
studies reporting a paternal line transmission have reported epigenetic alterations in the F1 sperm [75].
Work by Radford et al. [76] did not show any evidence that the epigenetic reprogramming of
imprinting control regions in the germline was susceptible to nutritional restriction thus suggesting that
mechanisms other than direct germline transmission are responsible.
Although transgenerational phenotype transmission is often seen as a form of epigenetic inheritance
there is also evidence for non-genomic components and the interaction between the developing fetus
with the in utero environment in perpetuation of programmed phenotypes. These include a suboptimal
reproductive tract environment, altered maternal adaptations to pregnancy or other societal factors.
Work by Aiken and Ozanne suggests that developmental programming effects could be propagated
through the maternal line de novo in generations beyond F2 as a consequence of development in a
suboptimal intrauterine tract and not necessarily though directly transmitted epigenetic mechanisms.
Further, as the effects of age exacerbate the programmed metabolic phenotype, advancing maternal age
may increase the likelihood of developmental programming effects being transmitted to future
generations [69].
5. Conclusions
A wide range of nutritional interventions in pregnancy and lactation, including both undernutrition
and maternal obesity, can lead to range of metabolic disorders in offspring, which are mediated in part
by epigenetic processes encompassing the chromatin information encrypted by DNA methylation
patterns, histone covalent modifications and non-coding RNA or microRNA [68]. Defining the
mechanisms underpinning transmission of developmental programming is an area urgently requiring
further research and is particularly relevant to populations in transition between traditional and
Western lifestyles. That some traits appear to be resolved where others persist suggests that divergent
mechanisms of transmission are involved and that those metabolic traits that do persist are capable of
being transmitted via the male germline [70]. However, human evidence remains largely
unsubstantiated with the strongest argument for transgenerational epigenetic inheritance in humans
being data derived from the rodent [77]. Understanding the role of early life nutrition and mechanisms
of transgenerational epigenetic inheritance is essential for the development of future intervention
strategies to modulate not only that of the immediate adult phenotype but also that of offspring,
grandoffspring and beyond. The evidence surrounding maternal folic acid and vitamin supplements,
one carbon metabolism and altered DNA methylation patterns also raises the issue that more attention
should be given to the potential long-term effects of such supplements on offspring given that around
80% of women in the US take supplements during pregnancy. Since the epigenetic processes are
long-term and potentially reversible, once the mechanistic basis of the disease is understood,
intervention and strategies aimed at reversal can be devised and implemented. However, there are still
many key questions to be answered: How plastic is the system for intervention and what are the critical
windows of development at which strategies should be targeted; how many generations does it take to
reverse epigenetic imprinting and can reliable markers be developed for disease prediction? [78]
Nutrients 2014, 6 2173
Acknowledgments
The author acknowledges funding support from the Health Research Council of New Zealand,
the Marsden Fund of the Royal Society of New Zealand, the Kelliher Trust and Gravida: National
Centre for Growth and Development.
Conflicts of Interest
The author declares no conflict of interest.
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