Research Diagram Source: Nature Communications
March 26, Beijing, Science and Technology Daily - A study published in Nature Communications on the 26th reveals that the protein content in the diet of pregnant mice may affect the facial features of their offspring. These findings provide new insights into how environmental factors, such as prenatal nutrition, influence fetal development.
The formation of facial shape is a complex process that occurs in the uterus, and errors in this process can lead to congenital defects such as cleft palate or premature closure of the skull. Although some related genetic reasons have been discovered, it is known that environmental factors also influence these diseases. Even identical twins, subject to similar genetic and environmental influences, still exhibit slight differences in facial features. It is not yet clear how finer facial features are shaped during development.
In this study, a research team from the Medical University of Vienna in Austria and the University of Gothenburg in Sweden used a method to search for "enhancers" - DNA regions that regulate gene expression - during human embryonic facial development. They then cross-referenced these enhancers with a list of genes known to contribute to differences in human facial features. Some enhancers were associated with genes in the mTORC1 pathway, which controls cellular responses to nutrition. Activating these pathways during early embryonic development in mice and zebrafish resulted in enlarged facial features and thickened nasal cartilage. However, inhibiting this pathway led to elongated facial features in zebrafish and slender snouts in mice. Compared to embryos of mice on a low-protein diet during pregnancy, embryos of mice on a high-protein diet showed changes in mTORC1 signaling, as well as enlargement of the nasal sac and mandible.
The team believes that altering maternal diet can interact with complex genetic mechanisms and have an impact on individual facial features. They conclude that this pathway may play a role in the formation of human facial features but further research is needed.
