Search results for "Offspring"
showing 5 items of 395 documents
Intergenerational Effect of Early Life Exposure to Permethrin: Changes in Global DNA Methylation and in Nurr1 Gene Expression
2015
Environmental exposure to pesticides during the early stages of development represents an important risk factor for the onset of neurodegenerative diseases in adult age. Neonatal exposure to Permethrin (PERM), a member of the family of synthetic pyrethroids, can induce a Parkinson-like disease and cause some alterations in striatum of rats, involving both genetic and epigenetic pathways. Through gene expression analysis and global DNA methylation assessment in both PERM-treated parents and their untreated offspring, we investigated on the prospective intergenerational effect of this pesticide. Thirty-three percent of progeny presents the same Nurr1 alteration as rats exposed to permethrin i…
Evolutionary trade-offs in a small mammal : a quantitative genetics approach
2017
Limited resources force individuals to trade-off between life-history traits. A vast diversity of life-history strategies, which optimally combine life history traits, can be found. Knowledge of the genetic basis of this phenotypic variation is key to understanding evolutionary processes. I approached life-history evolution by estimating quantitative genetic parameters for a set of life-history traits in the bank vole (Myodes glareolus). The work is based on a laboratory-kept colony subjected to two-way selection for litter size (High- (H) and Low- (L) lines). Costs of the created reproductive strategies were observed in natural conditions. Selection increased the difference in litter size …
Microchimerism in multiple sclerosis: The association between sex of offspring and MRI features in women with multiple sclerosis
2023
AimsDuring pregnancy, fetal cells can migrate to the mother via blood circulation. A percentage of these cells survive in maternal tissues for decades generating a population of fetal microchimeric cells (fMCs), whose biological role is unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between the sex of offspring, an indirect marker of fMCs, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) features in women with multiple sclerosis (MS).MethodsWe recruited 26 nulliparous MS patients (NPp), 20 patients with at least one male son (XYp), and 8 patients with only daughters (XXp). Each patient underwent brain MR scan to acquire 3D-T2w FLAIR FatSat and 3D-T1w FSPGR/TFE. Lesion Segmentation To…
Microchimerism and multiple sclerosis: a study on the impact of the sex of offspring on clinical, radiological, and paraclinical features of maternal…
2023
Background. Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic autoimmune disorder characterised by inflammation and neurodegeneration and representing one of the most common causes of neurologic disability among young adults. Over the last 40 years, several authors have confirmed the existence of fetal cells in maternal blood and their pregnancy-related origin, demonstrating that pregnancy may establish a long-term, low-grade chimeric state in women. The biological and clinical significance of fetal microchimeric cells (fMCs) in maternal health is largely unknown, although a role in autoimmune diseases have been hypothesised. Aims. The overarching aim of my PhD dissertation was to investigate the role o…
Population divergence in maternal investment and embryo energy use and allocation suggests adaptive responses to cool climates
2023
1. The thermal sensitivity of early life stages can play a fundamental role in constraining species distributions. For egg-laying ectotherms, cool temperatures often extend development time and exacerbate developmental energy cost. Despite these costs, egg laying is still observed at high latitudes and altitudes. How embryos overcome the developmental constraints posed by cool climates is crucial knowledge for explaining the persistence of oviparous species in such environments and for understanding thermal adaptation more broadly. 2. Here, we studied maternal investment and embryo energy use and allocation in wall lizards spanning altitudinal regions, as potential mechanisms that enable su…