Fetal growth delay caused by loss of non-canonical imprinting is resolved late in pregnancy and culminates in offspring overgrowth
Ruby Oberin,
Sigrid Petautschnig,
Ellen G Jarred,
Zhipeng Qu,
Tesha Tsai,
Neil A Youngson,
Gabrielle Pulsoni,
Thi T Truong,
Dilini Fernando,
Heidi Bildsoe,
Rheannon O Blücher,
Maarten van den Buuse,
David K Gardner,
Natalie A Sims,
David L Adelson,
Patrick S Western
Affiliations
Ruby Oberin
Centre for Reproductive Health, Hudson Institute of Medical Research and Department of Molecular and Translational Science, Monash University, Clayton, Australia
Sigrid Petautschnig
Centre for Reproductive Health, Hudson Institute of Medical Research and Department of Molecular and Translational Science, Monash University, Clayton, Australia
Centre for Reproductive Health, Hudson Institute of Medical Research and Department of Molecular and Translational Science, Monash University, Clayton, Australia
Zhipeng Qu
Department of Molecular and Biomedical Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, Australia
Tesha Tsai
Centre for Reproductive Health, Hudson Institute of Medical Research and Department of Molecular and Translational Science, Monash University, Clayton, Australia
Neil A Youngson
Centre for Reproductive Health, Hudson Institute of Medical Research and Department of Molecular and Translational Science, Monash University, Clayton, Australia; School of Biomedical Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
Gabrielle Pulsoni
Centre for Reproductive Health, Hudson Institute of Medical Research and Department of Molecular and Translational Science, Monash University, Clayton, Australia
Thi T Truong
School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia
Dilini Fernando
Centre for Reproductive Health, Hudson Institute of Medical Research and Department of Molecular and Translational Science, Monash University, Clayton, Australia
Heidi Bildsoe
Centre for Reproductive Health, Hudson Institute of Medical Research and Department of Molecular and Translational Science, Monash University, Clayton, Australia
Rheannon O Blücher
Centre for Reproductive Health, Hudson Institute of Medical Research and Department of Molecular and Translational Science, Monash University, Clayton, Australia
Maarten van den Buuse
School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia
Bone Cell Biology and Disease Unit, St. Vincent’s Institute of Medical Research and Department of Medicine at St. Vincent’s Hospital, University of Melbourne, Fitzroy, Australia
Centre for Reproductive Health, Hudson Institute of Medical Research and Department of Molecular and Translational Science, Monash University, Clayton, Australia
Germline epigenetic programming, including genomic imprinting, substantially influences offspring development. Polycomb Repressive Complex 2 (PRC2) plays an important role in Histone 3 Lysine 27 trimethylation (H3K27me3)-dependent imprinting, loss of which leads to growth and developmental changes in mouse offspring. In this study, we show that offspring from mouse oocytes lacking the PRC2 protein Embryonic Ectoderm Development (EED) were initially developmentally delayed, characterised by low blastocyst cell counts and substantial growth delay in mid-gestation embryos. This initial developmental delay was resolved as offspring underwent accelerated fetal development and growth in late gestation resulting in offspring that were similar stage and weight to controls at birth. The accelerated development and growth in offspring from Eed-null oocytes was associated with remodelling of the placenta, which involved an increase in fetal and maternal tissue size, conspicuous expansion of the glycogen-enriched cell population, and delayed parturition. Despite placental remodelling and accelerated offspring fetal growth and development, placental efficiency, and fetal blood glucose levels were low, and the fetal blood metabolome was unchanged. Moreover, while expression of the H3K27me3-imprinted gene and amino acid transporter Slc38a4 was increased, fetal blood levels of individual amino acids were similar to controls, indicating that placental amino acid transport was not enhanced. Genome-wide analyses identified extensive transcriptional dysregulation and DNA methylation changes in affected placentas, including a range of imprinted and non-imprinted genes. Together, while deletion of Eed in growing oocytes resulted in fetal growth and developmental delay and placental hyperplasia, our data indicate a remarkable capacity for offspring fetal growth to be normalised despite inefficient placental function and the loss of H3K27me3-dependent genomic imprinting.
