Modifying Levels of Maternal Dietary Folic Acid or Choline to Study the Impact of Deficiencies on Offspring Health Outcomes

We are interested in understanding how maternal dietary deficiencies in folic acid or choline during pregnancy and lactation impact long-term offspring health outcomes. We know that folic acid is really important for the closure of the neural tube in utero, but my laboratory is interested in what roles it plays after birth. We are reading studies that are showing that maternal diet during pregnancy and lactation does play an important role in offspring health.

Dietary changes include high fat, one carbon metabolism, et cetera. These changes are sometimes seen in several generations of offspring. We are using a variety of tools to understand the long-term effects on offspring that come from moms with dietary deficiencies in folate and choline.

Our most recent study is looking at metabolite changes in stool samples of offspring. We use behavioral neuroscience, biochemical assays, molecular biology, and epigenetic tools. My research group is the first one to show that maternal dietary deficiencies in either folic acid or choline during pregnancy and lactation result in worse stroke outcome for female and male offspring.

We are really interested in understanding the long-term role that maternal dietary deficiencies in either folic acid or choline have on offspring health outcomes. Folic acid is well known for its role in the closure of the neural tube in utero. The impact of deficiencies after birth on brain function are not well-defined.