In a new study, scientists from the Helmholtz Zentrum München (Germany) examined the impact of the father’s diet before conception on children’s health. For the purposes of their work, they focused on small RNA molecules present in sperm, known as “mitochondrial tRNA (tmRNA) fragments”. These play a key role in the inheritance of health traits by regulating gene expression. After studying data from a cohort of more than 3,000 families, researchers found that the father’s weight influences the weight of the children and their susceptibility to metabolic diseases. This influence exists independently of other factors, such as maternal weight, parental genetics, or environmental conditions.
High-fat diet led to risk of metabolic diseases in mouse offspring
To take the analysis further, the team then carried out experiments on mice. The animals were fed a high-fat diet, that is, foods with a higher fat content than a normal diet. “This had effects on the animals’ reproductive organs, including the epididymis. The epididymis is the area of the male reproductive tract where freshly formed sperm mature.” According to the results, published in the journal Naturesperm exposed to a high-fat diet in the epididymis of rodents led to offspring with an increased tendency to metabolic diseases.
The authors did not stop there and decided to carry out additional work in the laboratory. The latter created embryos by in vitro fertilization. Using sperm from mice exposed to a high-fat diet, they discovered mitochondrial tRNAs from these sperm in early embryos. “Here, epigenetics serves as a molecular link between the environment and the genome, even across generational boundaries. This occurs not only through the maternal lineage but, as our research results indicate, also through the lineage paternal”, explained Professor Martin Hrabě de Angelis, co-author of the study.
“Preventive health care for men wishing to become fathers”
In their conclusions, the scientists emphasize the role of paternal health before conception. “Our results suggest that preventive health care for men wishing to become fathers should receive more attention and that programs should be developed for this purpose, especially regarding diet. This may reduce the risk of diseases like obesity and diabetes in children”, said Raffaele Teperino, who led the work.
