Maternal One-Carbon Supplement Reduced the Risk of Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Male Offspring

Abstract

Recent studies have suggested that prevention of obesity and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) should start with maternal dietary management. We previously reported disrupted methionine cycle, associated with NAFLD, in male offspring liver due to maternal high-fat (HF) diet, thus we hypothesize that maternal one-carbon supplement may reduce the risk of NAFLD in offspring via the normalizing methionine cycle. To test it, female mice (F0) were exposed to either a maternal normal-fat diet (NF group) a maternal HF diet (HF group), or a maternal methyl donor supplement (H1S or H2S group) during gestation and lactation. The offspring male mice (F1) were exposed to a postweaning HF diet to promote NAFLD. While the HF offspring displayed obesity, glucose intolerance and hepatic steatosis, the H1S and H2S offspring avoided hepatic steatosis. This phenotype was associated with the normalization of the methionine cycle and the restoration of L-carnitine and AMPK activity. Furthermore, maternal HF diet induced epigenetic regulation of important genes involved in fatty acid oxidation and oxidative phosphorylation via DNA methylation modifications, which were recovered by maternal one-carbon supplementation. Our study provides evidence that maternal one-carbon supplement can reverse/block the adverse effects of maternal HF diet on promoting offspring NAFLD, suggesting a potential nutritional strategy that is administered to mothers to prevent NAFLD in the offspring.