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Chronic consumption of a western diet modifies the DNA methylation profile in the frontal cortex of mice (animal)
Although there have been many studies analysing the effect of maternal consumption of a Western Diet (WD) on DNA methylation in the offspring, Yokoyama et al. (2018) point out that the impact of a WD to an individual’s DNA methylation has rarely been probed. The aim of this study was to examine how chronic dieting with WD affects DNA methylation in the frontal cortex of mice. This study explains that the frontal cortex is involved in the regulation of cognitive function and is often affected in cases of cognitive decline. This experiment fed eight-week old mice with either a control diet (CD) or a WD for 12 weeks, before they were analysed for DNA methylation. The dot blot analysis indicated there was less global DNA methylation in the WD-fed mice than the control diet mice. Bioinformatic analysis also identified several networks and pathways containing genes displaying differential methylation, particularly those involved in metabolism, cell adhesion and cytoskeleton integrity, inflammation and neurological function. To conclude, Yokoyama and her team (2018) repeated that DNA methylation in the frontal cortex of mice were altered by consuming a WD, suggesting these findings could provide possible mechanisms by which WD consumption weakens cognitive function. [NPID: brain, Western-style diet, WS diet, saturated fat, DNA methylation, frontal cortex, cognitive decline, inflammation, neurological function, cognitive function]
Year: 2018
