Pregnancy Exposure to High-Fat and Estrogen increases Breast Cancer Inheritance in Three Generations of Offspring

High-fat or ethinyl-oestradiol intake during pregnancy increases mammary cancer risk in several generations of offspring

Pregnancy Exposure Increases Breast Cancer Inheritance in OffspringA study by researchers from Georgetown Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center and Virginia Tech shows that exposure to diets high in fat or a large amount of estrogen during pregnancy can heighten the risk of breast cancer for numerous subsequent generations of female offspring, including daughters, granddaughters and great-granddaughters. ”

Abstract

Maternal exposures to environmental factors during pregnancy influence the risk of many chronic adult-onset diseases in the offspring. Here we investigate whether feeding pregnant rats a high-fat (HF)- or ethinyl-oestradiol (EE2)-supplemented diet affects carcinogen-induced mammary cancer risk in daughters, granddaughters and great-granddaughters. We show that mammary tumourigenesis is higher in daughters and granddaughters of HF rat dams and in daughters and great-granddaughters of EE2 rat dams. Outcross experiments suggest that the increase in mammary cancer risk is transmitted to HF granddaughters equally through the female or male germ lines, but it is only transmitted to EE2 granddaughters through the female germ line. The effects of maternal EE2 exposure on offspring’s mammary cancer risk are associated with changes in the DNA methylation machinery and methylation patterns in mammary tissue of all three EE2 generations. We conclude that dietary and oestrogenic exposures in pregnancy increase breast cancer risk in multiple generations of offspring, possibly through epigenetic means.

  • Read Pregnancy Exposure Increases Breast Cancer Inheritance in Offspringredorbit, September 2012..
  • High-fat or ethinyl-oestradiol intake during pregnancy increases mammary cancer risk in several generations of offspring, nature, 11 September 2012.
  • Pregnancy exposures determine risk of breast cancer in multiple generations of offspring, eurekalert, 11-SEP-2012.
  • DES studies on epigenetics and transgenerational effects.

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