page_title: Nutriepigenomics
section_title: Future directions
hierarchical_section_title: Nutriepigenomics / Future directions
caption_attribution_description: The nutriepigenetic pathway of maternal choline-deficient diets helps to elucidate the development of fetal alcohol syndrome. Pregnant rodents fed diets low in choline were found to give rise to offspring with diminished neurological capacity. This is similar to pregnant rodents whom were fed ethanol and were found to have alterations in the metabolism of 1-carbon compounds. This leads to diminished levels of methyl donors available for methylating DNA; thus allowing for overexpression of normally silenced genes causing neurological defects in their offspring.
context_page_description: Nutriepigenomics is the study of food nutrients and their effects on human health through epigenetic modifications. There is now considerable evidence that nutritional imbalances during gestation and lactation are linked to non-communicable diseases, such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, and cancer. If metabolic disturbances occur during critical time windows of development, the resulting epigenetic alterations can lead to permanent changes in tissue and organ structure or function and predispose individuals to disease.
context_section_description: The possibilities of utilizing nutriepigenomics for intervention are quite expansive.  This can include preventative therapies, such as providing an optimal regime for nutrition during pregnancy and lactation.  It is already common place for pregnant mothers to supplement their diets with choline and folate to prevent the development of neurological disabilities in the fetus.
  A highly specific diet, termed an "EpiG diet," may be employed for an individual believed to be at higher risk of developing a metabolic disorder. These diets may include supplementation with methyl donors, such as folate. There are also many other natural compounds, such as resveratrol, curcumin and green tea that have been termed “epigenetic modifiers”, as they have anti-cancer capabilities in addition to being used as treatments for metabolic diseases.  However, the functions of these compounds still require long-term studies to evaluate their effect over time.
  There also exists potential for therapeutic treatments that may correct metabolic disorders, such as type II diabetes.  Components of garlic and cruciferous vegetables are known to possess HDAC inhibitors that modify the acetylation of histone proteins and may contain a protection against cancer.  These same compounds have also been implicated in irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and colon cancer, as they may modify the histones normally implicated in these diseases.
  Elucidation of disease pathways is another future direction for nutriepigenomic studies.  For example, choline-deficient diets and alcohol metabolism during pregnancy may have very similar metabolic pathways. Therefore, animal studies using choline-restricted diets may assist in investigations of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.
  When compared to studies of maternal transmission, investigations into the role of paternal diets are lacking.  A review demonstrated the nutrition of both parents do in fact play a role in determining the health of their offspring. A germ-line study reported paternal rats fed a high-fat diet led to insulin dysfunction in the F1 offspring.  While this likely occurs via epigenetic modifications similar to those postulated in the maternal diets, the exact mechanism remains to be defined.  Assessing the role of epigenetic mechanisms may be easier using paternal inheritance, as sperm transmits epigenetic and genetic information, whereas the female cells also transmit mitochondrial DNA.
caption: The nutriepigenetic pathway of maternal choline-deficient diets helps to elucidate the development of fetal alcohol syndrome
exif: {}