A study led by the University of California, Riverside reveals that men consuming a high-cholesterol diet may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease in their daughters, as unhealthy paternal diets can alter the RNA in sperm, affecting the offspring’s health.
Men consuming a high-cholesterol diet may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease in their daughters, as unhealthy paternal diets can alter the RNA in sperm, affecting the offspring’s health. This risk, highlighted through mouse models, shows a significant increase in atherosclerosis among female offspring.
When they become fathers, men who have an unhealthy, high-cholesterol diet can cause increased risk of cardiovascular disease, or CVD, in their daughters, a University of California, Riverside-led mouse study has found.
The research, published today (September 10) in the journal JCI Insight, is the first to demonstrate this result seen only in female offspring. The study was led by the University of California, Riverside.
CVD, the leading cause of death globally, is a group of disorders that affects the heart and blood vessels. Hypertension (high blood pressure) is a leading risk factor for CVD. In the United States, nearly 703,000 people died in 2022 from heart disease, the equivalent of one in every five deaths.
Cardiovascular Risks Linked to Paternal Health Factors
“It had been previously thought that sperm contribute only their genome during fertilization,” said Changcheng Zhou, a professor of biomedical sciences in the School of Medicine and the study’s lead author. “However, recent studies by us and others have demonstrated that environmental exposures, including unhealthy diet, environmental toxicants, and stress, can alter the RNA in sperm to mediate intergenerational inheritance.”
Ribonucleic acid, or RNA, is present in all living cells. Bearing structural similarities to DNA, this nucleic acid is essential for most biological functions in living organisms and viruses.
“Men who plan to have children should consider eating a healthy, low-cholesterol diet and reducing their own CVD risk factors,” Zhou said. “These factors appear to affect their sperm in influencing the health of their female offspring. Our study suggests the sperm passes this information to the next generation.”
Sperm RNA and Intergenerational Health Effects
The study focused on atherosclerosis, a chronic inflammatory disease that is the leading cause of CVD. In atherosclerosis, plaque, a sticky substance made up of cholesterol, fat, and other substances in the blood, builds up in the walls of arteries. When the plaque hardens, it narrows the arteries, limiting blood flow to the body and reducing the supply of oxygen to tissues of vital organs.
Sperm contains an abundance of small non-coding RNA molecules, which are important for gene regulation and many cellular processes. When they are modified, their functions change significantly across various biological processes. The researchers found that the small RNA molecules in sperm of mice fed a high-cholesterol diet undergo alterations in response to exposure to the diet. They also found that the altered small RNA molecules can affect early gene expression in mouse embryonic stem cells.
Gender-Specific Transmission of Health Risks
Zhou explained that most studies have focused on the effects of maternal factors on offspring health. The impact of paternal exposures on offspring health has been largely overlooked, he said.
“It is challenging to study the impact of parental exposures on chronic disease development in their offspring because the experiments, in general, are time-consuming and require more resources and careful planning,” he said.
The researchers are not clear why only female offspring are affected with CVD. In their experiments, Zhou and his team fed male genetically engineered mice a high-cholesterol diet, which caused them to have hyperlipidemia, a disorder that, if left untreated, can lead to heart disease and stroke. These mice were then mated with female mice that were fed a regular, low-cholesterol diet. Their litter was also fed a low-cholesterol diet. The female offspring were found to have 2-3-fold increases in atherosclerosis.
“Our study contributes to understanding the etiology of chronic diseases originating from parental exposures,” Zhou said. “We hope our findings stimulate investigations of the impact of paternal exposures on offspring cardiovascular health in humans.”
Reference: “Paternal hypercholesterolemia elicits sex-specific exacerbation of atherosclerosis in offspring” by Rebecca Hernandez, Xiuchun Li, Junchao Shi, Tejasvi R. Dave, Tong Zhou, Qi Chen and Changcheng Zhou, 10 September 2024, JCI Insight.
DOI: 10.1172/jci.insight.179291
Zhou was joined in the study by Rebecca Hernandez, Xiuchun Li, Junchao Shi, and Tejasvi R. Dave of UCR; Tong Zhou of the University of Nevada, Reno; and Qi Chen of the University of Utah, Salt Lake City.
The study was supported by grants to Zhou from the National Institutes of Health, or NIH. Hernandez was supported by an American Heart Association predoctoral fellowship. Dave was supported by a UCR mini-grant for undergraduate research and creative activities.
To study sperm small RNA, the researchers used the PANDORA-seq method developed at UCR.
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4 Comments
Another useless mouse study. “In their experiments, Zhou and his team fed male genetically engineered mice a high-cholesterol diet, which caused them to have hyperlipidemia, a disorder that, if left untreated, can lead to heart disease and stroke.” Wrong! These mice are genetically engineered and have a short lifespan, compared to a human. You cannot study a chronic disease in humans, which takes decades to slowly develop, to a short lifespan, genetically modified rodent. It also ignores all the non-biochemical causes of heart disease and stroke, many of which are cultural and include stress, irritating chemicals in the diet, and other factors that affect humans and not GE mice.
“Our study contributes to understanding the etiology of chronic diseases originating from parental exposures,” Zhou said. “We hope our findings stimulate investigations of the impact of paternal exposures on offspring cardiovascular health in humans.” So here they admit that their study has nothing to do with humans. And yet, the article also says, “Men consuming a high-cholesterol diet may increase the risk of cardiovascular disease in their daughters, as unhealthy paternal diets can alter the RNA in sperm, affecting the offspring’s health. This risk, highlighted through mouse models, shows a significant increase in atherosclerosis among female offspring.”
No, it isn’t highlighted by the mouse study. All that is highlighted is that these scientists are trying to sell their method to study small RNA in cells. Note the last sentence in the article: “To study sperm small RNA, the researchers used the PANDORA-seq method developed at UCR.” That’s the plug. They want to use their special, patented method, and need to generate interest with a hyperbolic and misleading study on mice.
See my article, Animal Research: The Rot at the Core of Medicine.
https://www.academia.edu/123055005/Animal_Research_The_Rot_at_the_Core_of_Medicine
Ideally, we would be able to create human clones to experiment on but some of the religious nutters would claim that is human life, so that is unlikely to be acceptable.
Perhaps as computers get more powerful (quantum computers?) we can simulate models of actual humans almost as if they were alive with hormone changes, etc. This would be the perfect experimental platform!
Neither commentators nor scientists speak to the design and protocols of the human being. Clearly, no presuppositions of creative order or creator design to be followed in preference to what man thinks he is in control of.
Because this study does not embrace creation presupositions, the theory postulated may be false and this is what bad scieence is, and relies only upon animal studies, conclusions are
Proposed as inaccurate correlations apples to oranges.
Golly, what a relief! And there was little old me thinking the shocking increase in heart problems among young women (and men) might have something to do with those bioweapons masquerading as vaccines. . .