The first kernels of cardiovascular disease begin very early in life; in the womb and early infancy. These early indications are known to track into adulthood, eventually resulting in diseases such as heart attacks. Dr Huang has found that childhood obesity, high blood pressure, cholesterol and a "prediabetes" profile, cluster together and additionally are associated with many factors in the womb and first few years of life. She investigates how to give babies the optimal healthy start.
How Does Exercise Ameliorate Programming Of Metabolic Dysfunction In Offspring Of Obese Mothers?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$524,121.00
Summary
Obesity is a worldwide disease, reflecting an interaction between our environment (diet, physical activity) and genes. We know that a mother's unhealthy diet can predispose offspring to diabetes, and exercise can improve this, but the underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Here we will examine how exercise can benefit offspring of obese mothers, and test a drug that mimics the effects of exercise. The proposed research will provide insight into ways of reducing the obesity epidemic.
The Transgenerational Epigenetic Inheritance Of Parental Obesity
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$362,431.00
Summary
The current global epidemic of obesity and diabetes has partly been fuelled by the propagation of these diseases from parent to child across multiple generations. Successful completion of this study will provide hard evidence that there is an inborn but non-genetic component to the risk of obesity and provide insights into the mechanisms by which that risk is created and transmitted from both the mother and the father to the child.
The Negative Transgenerational Impacts Of Paternal Obesity Are Inherited Through Aberrant Methylation And MicroRNA Conetent Of Germ Cells.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$307,946.00
Summary
We have shown that obese fathers have reduced sperm function that negatively impacts upon their offspring’s health. But we do not understand the underlying alterations to sperm DNA that cause offspring to inherit poor health from an obese father, and whether these offspring also exhibit the same alterations. My project aims to identify alterations made to sperm DNA and RNA caused by obesity that are inherited by the next generation, ‘programming’ them for poor metabolic and reproductive health.
Is Insulin Sensitivity In Children And Their Mothers Programmed By Maternal Blood Glucose?
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$169,630.00
Summary
Glucose intolerance in pregnancy is associated with the birth of large-for-dates and macrosomic (>4000g) babies. The risk of type 2 diabetes is greater in babies who are small or large at birth compared to those with normal birth weight. This study will determine if treatment of mothers with glucose intolerance in pregnancy (which is intermediate between normal glucose tolerance and diabetes) alters the regulation of glucose tolerance in their children. The mothers were randomised to receive ....Glucose intolerance in pregnancy is associated with the birth of large-for-dates and macrosomic (>4000g) babies. The risk of type 2 diabetes is greater in babies who are small or large at birth compared to those with normal birth weight. This study will determine if treatment of mothers with glucose intolerance in pregnancy (which is intermediate between normal glucose tolerance and diabetes) alters the regulation of glucose tolerance in their children. The mothers were randomised to receive normal antenatal care or to have their blood sugar measured and controlled by diet and insulin as for diabetics. We will measure the insulin sensitivity of the children to a glucose load. We will also measure blood pressure and lipids in these children. Treatment of the mother during pregnancy may alter the deposition of fat in the fetus the effect of which will continue into childhood. Thus the offspring of treated mothers may remain thinner throughout childhood. Each pregnancy increases a woman's chance of developing type 2 diabetes in later life. This risk is further increased by abnormal glucose tolerance during pregnancy. This study will test the long-term benefits of treatment during pregnancy of women with impaired glucose tolerance on the subsequent regulation of glucose tolerance. We shall invite women who took part in the Australian Carbohydrate Study in Pregnancy (ACHOIS) to return and have an intravenous glucose tolerance test. Insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance will be determined and related to treatment of the impaired glucose tolerance in pregnancy. This study will be the first follow-up of a large randomised trial of treatments of impaired glucose tolerance in pregnancy. The potential long-term benefits are strategies to reduce the future chance of developing risk factors for type 2 diabetes, obesity and abnormal blood lipids in childhood and adult life. The study will establish the benefits or otherwise of tight control of blood glucose in pregnancy.Read moreRead less
Early Nutrition, Epigenetics And Developmental Outcomes In Children.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$550,093.00
Summary
Increasing evidence demonstrates that early nutrition, including in pregnancy, has long lasting programming effects on later health of children. Evidence implicates epigenetics (literally ‘above DNA’) in mediating these effects. The most convincing data exists for obesity and related disorders such as metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and heart disease. The focus of this project is on understanding how ‘epigenetic’ mechanisms are influencing the way our genes function to cause these disorders.
Periconceptional Nutrition And The Programming Of Obesity
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$468,879.00
Summary
Mothers who enter pregnancy with a high body mass index are at risk of developing diabetes in pregnancy and of having a large baby who will be at increased risk of developing obesity in childhood and later life. Heavy mothers therefore have heavy babies and these babies go on to become heavy adults. This grant will determine the separate contributions of exposure of the embryo to high nutrition and exposure of the fetus in late gestation to high maternal nutrition.
The Role Of Nutrition In Disease-linked Epigenetic Inheritance
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$485,412.00
Summary
This project aims to investigate one mechanism behind fetal programming, in which a suboptimal in utero environment can affect health of offspring in later life. We and others have recently shown that fetal programming can be caused by changes in the way genes behave, and we will examine how many genes are affected by these changes. We will ask whether the changes can increase in frequency with long-term exposure to nutritional stress, and become entrenched within the population.
Prof Trevor Mori has held an NH&MRC Research Fellowship during 2008-2012. This grant will enable him to continue his research program into 2013-2017. Prof Mori is a biomedical research scientist. His research examines the role of diet and lifestyle on risk factors for cardiovascular disease. He also leads the cardiometabolic team examining risk factors in the Western Australian Pregnancy (Raine) Study.
Investigation Of A New Hypothesis That Increased TGF? Activity In Developing Fetal Organs Predisposes A Women To Polycystic Ovary Syndrome And Associated Metabolic Disorders
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$583,015.00
Summary
Have you ever wondered why some people get fat and other do not, no matter how much they eat? The answer could lie in what happened before they were born. This project investigates a new hypothesis that was developed from discoveries on polycystic ovary syndrome. Women with this syndrome are at increased risk of becoming overweight and diabetic. If the hypotheses prove correct it might be possible to reduce the incidence of these metabolic disorders in the longer term.