Understanding the mechanism of intergenerational inheritance of metabolic disorders via placental function

2020 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 19K17971
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Review Section: Basic Section 54040:Metabolism and endocrinology-related
• Research Institution: Institute of Physical and Chemical Research
• Principal Investigator: Kozuka Chisayo 国立研究開発法人理化学研究所, 生命医科学研究センター, 基礎科学特別研究員 (70722370)
• Project Period (FY): 2019-04-01 – 2021-03-31
• Keywords: 糖尿病 / 肥満 / 胎盤 / 次世代

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We explored the impact of placental functions on obesity and diabetes risks in offspring using high fat diet-induced obese mice and a mouse model with placentomegaly. Offspring showed the big individual difference in metabolic phenotype caused by maternal nutritional status and environments. To remove the effects of these confounding factors, we established the placenta-fetus-adult tracking system which makes it possible to analyze the impact of placental function on phenotype in later life without confounding factors. In the future, using this system and analysis methods for placental functions, the relationships between placental functions and obese and diabetic traits in offspring will be analyzed.

Free Research Field

代謝学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

近年、母体の栄養状態がエピゲノムを介して胎児に及ぼす影響が注目されているが、既存モデルでは母体の栄養状態それ自体による様々な交絡的な影響が排除できず、研究は難航している。本研究により確立されたシステムではそれらの影響を排除しつつ、胎盤機能と個体を紐づけして表現型を追えることから、胎内環境や胎盤の異常が子どもの長期的な表現型に及ぼす影響の解明とその結果をもとにした新しい予防医学の構築に寄与することが期待される。