U.S. flagAn official website of the United States government
                    Here's how you know **Official websites use .gov**
                            
                            A **.gov** website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.
 **Secure .gov websites use HTTPS**
                            
                            A **lock** (                            
                              A locked padlock                                                      
                            
                            ) or **https://** means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.


Menu Agricultural Research Service
						
                    U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
 close



Research
                Research Home
                            National Programs
                            Research Projects
                            Scientific Manuscripts
                            International Engagement
                            Scientific Software/Models
                            Databases and Datasets
                            Office of Scientific Quality Review
            Media
                News & Features
                            Multimedia
                            Briefing Room
                            Down on the Farm
                            Press Room
                            Science in Your Shopping Cart
                            Scientific Discoveries
                            Tellus
                            Under the Microscope
            About ARS
                About ARS Home
                            Staff Directory
                            Labs and Research Centers (Map)
                            Headquarter Offices
                            Organizational Chart
                            Employee Services (REE Employees Only)
                            Office of Outreach, Diversity, and Equal Opportunity
            Work With Us
                Work With Us Home
                            ARS Vacancies at USAJOBS
                            Careers at ARS Information
                            Scientific Collaborations
                            Extramural Agreements
                            1890 Faculty Research Sabbatical ProgramSearch small
                    Search
            
            ARS Home
                                About ARS
                                Contact Us




ARS Home News & Events News Articles Research News 2014





- ARS News & Events
- AgResearch Magazine
- Image Gallery
- News
- Search News & Events
- Insect Meal: A Grand Challenge
- The Chicken, the Egg, and Salmonella
- Cooking with Science: Strawberries
- ARS Featured Photos
- Down on the Farm
- Facebook Live Events
- Food and Nutrition Research Briefs
- News Archive
- Science in Your Shopping Cart
- Scientific Discoveries
- Social Media
- Under the Microscope
- AgResearch magazine
- ARS at Work
- ARS Memorial Lectures
- ARS Science Hall of Fame
- Citrus Disease (Huanglongbing)
- Contact Office of Communications
- Plant Hardiness Zone Map
- Mobile Apps
- Public Affairs Contacts
- Publications and Other Resources
- USDA Blog
- Videos

Archived Page
 This page has been archived and is being provided for reference purposes only. The page is no longer being updated, and therefore, links on the page may be invalid.
 Read the magazine story to find out more.ARS-funded researcher Jin-Ran Chen has shown that bone development of unborn young of mother lab rats (dams) fed high-fat rations to induce obesity was significantly impaired when compared to bones of fetal young of dams that were given lower-fat rations. Click the image for more information about it.For further reading
Tiny doses of bile acid may blunt preemie liver disease
Ongoing research analyzes formulas, mother's milk
Blueberries help lab rats build strong bones Effect of Mom's Obesity on Baby's Bone Health Explored By Marcia Wood February 27, 2014 Does obesity during pregnancy impact the baby's chances of developing strong, healthy bones? No one knows for certain, but ongoing U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)-funded studies at the Arkansas Children's Nutrition Center in Little Rock are helping to provide clues. In an early investigation, Jin-Ran Chen, a principal investigator with the center's Skeletal Development Laboratory, showed that bone development of the unborn young of mother lab rats (dams) fed high-fat rations to induce obesity was significantly impaired, in contrast to the bones of the fetal young of dams that were given lower-fat rations. Analysis of fetal bone cells from the skull and vertebrae suggests that changes in the functioning of a gene, *HoxA10*, may help explain this difference in early bone formation, according to Chen. Studies by scientists elsewhere have already established that *HoxA10* is important to bone formation and growth. But Chen's investigation, documented in a 2012 article in the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology's *FASEB Journal*, is apparently the first to suggest that obesity, induced by the high-fat regimen, may turn off or "downregulate" this gene, thus suppressing robust bone development. Chen and his team found that *HoxA10* was downregulated as a result of high levels of DNA methylation, a biochemical process also referred to as gene methylation. If the results seen in rats hold true for humans, elevated DNA methylation of *HoxA10* may increase the baby's risk of developing bone disease, such as osteoporosis, later in life. The results also suggest that it is critical to start early in ensuring that a mother's nutrition benefits the developing child's bone health. Chen collaborated with Thomas M. Badger, Michael L. Blackburn, Ping Kang, Oxana P. Lazarenko, Martin J. Ronis, Kartik Shankar, and Jian Zhang, all with the nutrition center and with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, also in Little Rock. The nutrition center is a partnership of USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS), the university, and Arkansas Children's Hospital in Little Rock. Read more about the research in the February 2014 issue of *Agricultural Research* magazine. ARS is the USDA's chief intramural scientific research agency. This bone health research supports the USDA priority of improving children's health and nutrition.


Return to top


Research
                            Media
                            About ARS
                            Work With Us


Connect with ARS Sign up


ARS Home
                            USDA.gov
                            Plain Writing
                            Policies & Links
                            Civil Rights Statements
                            FOIA
                            Accessibility Statement
                            Privacy Policy
                            Non-Discrimination Statement
                            Quality of Information
                            USA.gov
                            WhiteHouse.gov