Obesity affects genes in sperm DNA involved in metabolism and brain | Elissa Epel
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An often-overlooked area of human reproduction is the effect of a father's health on their offspring. A growing body of evidence suggests that paternal obesity, in particular, can have far-reaching effects across generations through epigenetic changes passed via sperm DNA. In this clip, Dr. Rhonda Patrick and Dr. Elissa Epel discuss how obesity affects genes in sperm DNA involved in metabolic health and cognitive function.
Rhonda: But what was looked at was sperm DNA in men that were obese and men that were not obese, so healthy men. And there was a variety like over 500 genes were changed in terms of like how their expression right, so their epigenetic were changed. And a lot of these genes had to do with metabolism, had to do with cognitive function.
These men underwent bariatric surgery so these were obese, morbidly obese men. They underwent bariatric surgery, and their sperm DNA was measured pretty close after, and then like a year later. And the epigenetics switched back to closer to what the, you know, lean men were like. So it was really...
Elissa: Amazing.
Rhonda: A very interesting kind of pilot study indicating there definitely seems to be a causal like, you know, obesity is changing a lot of the way these genes are in sperm DNA. Which is what you're passing on.
Elissa: Oh my God.
Rhonda: And there's tons of studies...
Elissa: Huge.
Rhonda: Showing male mice that are obese have offspring like female offspring that get type one diabetes because they get like an autoimmune thing. Or, you know, so there's been lots of animal study, of course, you can only translate so much of that. So I felt like that human study was a really, you know, a good pilot study to really kind of show this is happening in humans. You know, and certainly make people think men aren't off the hook either, you know. And that's oftentimes are, you know, I think that I'm not sure a lot of men are aware of the fact that their lifestyle actually does matter.
Elissa: Right. They're becoming more important than we think.
A collective term for surgical weight-loss procedures. Bariatric surgeries modify the structure and size of the digestive tract, limiting the amount of food an individual can consume.
Genetic control elicited by factors other than modification of the genetic code found in the sequence of DNA. Epigenetic changes determine which genes are being expressed, which in turn may influence disease risk. Some epigenetic changes are heritable.
The thousands of biochemical processes that run all of the various cellular processes that produce energy. Since energy generation is so fundamental to all other processes, in some cases the word metabolism may refer more broadly to the sum of all chemical reactions in the cell.
An enzyme that extends the telomeres of chromosomes. Telomerase adds specific nucleotide sequences to the ends of existing chromosomes. Telomerase activity is highly regulated during development, and its activity is at an almost undetectable level of activity in fully developed cells. This lack of activity causes the cell to age. If telomerase is activated in a cell, the cell will continue to grow and divide, or become "immortal," which is important to both aging and cancer. Telomerase enzyme activity has been detected in more than 90 percent of human cancers.
Distinctive structures comprised of short, repetitive sequences of DNA located on the ends of chromosomes. Telomeres form a protective “cap” – a sort of disposable buffer that gradually shortens with age – that prevents chromosomes from losing genes or sticking to other chromosomes during cell division. When the telomeres on a cell’s chromosomes get too short, the chromosome reaches a “critical length,” and the cell stops dividing (senescence) or dies (apoptosis). Telomeres are replenished by the enzyme telomerase, a reverse transcriptase.
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