High-cholesterol diets in fathers can increase cardiovascular disease risk in their daughters, according to a groundbreaking study led by researchers at the University of California, Riverside.
Published in the journal JCI Insight, this research is the first to document such an effect specifically in female offspring.
Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death globally, with conditions like hypertension being major risk factors. In the U.S. alone, nearly 703,000 people died from heart disease in 2022, equating to one in every five deaths. The new study highlights that the impact of a father’s diet extends beyond his immediate health, influencing the cardiovascular health of his children.
Changcheng Zhou, a professor of biomedical sciences and lead author of the study, noted, “It had been previously thought that sperm contribute only their genome during fertilization. However, recent studies have demonstrated that environmental exposures, including unhealthy diets, can alter the RNA in sperm, affecting intergenerational inheritance.”
ROLE OF RNA IN INHERITING HEALTH RISKS
The research focused on atherosclerosis, a chronic inflammatory disease and a leading cause of CVD. Atherosclerosis involves plaque build-up in the arteries, which narrows them and reduces blood flow. The study found that a high-cholesterol diet led to significant changes in small non-coding RNA molecules in sperm. These small RNAs, crucial for gene regulation and cellular processes, were altered in response to the unhealthy diet, which in turn affected gene expression in mouse embryonic stem cells.
Most studies have concentrated on maternal factors affecting offspring health, but this research shifts focus to the influence of paternal diet. Despite the intricate nature of studying paternal impacts, the study provides new insights into how diet-induced changes in sperm RNA can affect offspring health.
OBSERVATIONS AND FINDINGS
In the study, male mice were fed a high-cholesterol diet, leading to hyperlipidemia, a condition that can result in heart disease. These mice were then mated with females on a standard diet. The offspring, particularly females, showed a 2-3-fold increase in atherosclerosis, suggesting that the altered sperm RNA carried by the fathers had significant effects on the cardiovascular health of their daughters.
Zhou emphasized, “Our study contributes to understanding the etiology of chronic diseases originating from parental exposures. We hope our findings stimulate further research into the impact of paternal exposures on offspring cardiovascular health in humans.”
