MicroRNA expression analysis in female mice treated with methionine-deficient or -supplemented diets during pregnancy

• Grant number: 12/10872-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: September 01, 2012
• End date: November 30, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Nutrition - Nutrition Biochemistry
• Principal Investigator: Lusânia Maria Greggi Antunes
• Grantee: Alexandre Ferro Aissa
• Supervisor: Igor P. Pogribny
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto (FCFRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), United States
• Associated to the scholarship: 10/01410-0 - Gene-diet interaction in mice supplemented with methionine in the fetal and postnatal periods: studies of genomic instability, methylation and expression of genes related to cardiovascular diseases, BP.DR

Abstract

In the last decade, significant advances have been achieved with regard to the effort to decipher the molecular mechanisms responsible for the impact of nutritional factors in gene regulation, especially pertaining to processes that do not involve the modification of the genetic code. With the elucidation of the mechanisms controlling epigenetic events, such as DNA methylation, acetylation of histones, and the post-transcriptional regulation of gene expression via non-coding microRNAs, new experimental approaches have highlighted the significant short- and long-term effects of diet on specific gene functions. Epidemiological data have suggested that dietary and nutritional interventions may be responsible for the increased risk of developing diseases, such as cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome. Evidence indicates that events in the womb during the embryonic period play an important role in the risk of developing chronic diseases later on in adulthood. As recent studies have demonstrated, microRNAs play an important role in cells of animals fed with diets containing inadequate amounts of methionine. Consequently, it is essential to investigate the possible relationship between these molecules and the development of cardiovascular diseases. Our research aims to study the expression of microRNAs in female mice during pregnancy. This study complements our prior study on the methylation and expression of genes related to cardiovascular diseases in mice that received methionine supplementation during the fetal and postnatal periods. Additionally, this international cooperation will also enable me to receive training in a methodology that is extensively used at major research centers abroad. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

AISSA, ALEXANDRE FERRO; TRYNDYAK, VOLODYMYR; DE CONTI, ALINE; MELNYK, STEPAN; URSULA HERMOGENES GOMES, TARSILA DAYSY; PIRES BIANCHI, MARIA LOURDES; JAMES, S. JILL; BELAND, FREDERICK A.; GREGGI ANTUNES, LUSANIA MARIA; POGRIBNY, IGOR P.. Effect of methionine-deficient and methionine-supplemented diets on the hepatic one-carbon and lipid metabolism in mice. MOLECULAR NUTRITION & FOOD RESEARCH, v. 58, n. 7, p. 1502-1512, JUL 2014. (10/01410-0, 12/10872-2)