Take a Chill Pill, Dad!
A.B. Rogers et al., “Transgenerational epigenetic programming via sperm microRNA recapitulates effects of paternal stress,” PNAS, doi:10.1073/pnas.1508347112, 2015.
Rogers et al. have shown that at least nine miRNAs that are upregulated during stressful lifetime events are passed from the sperm to the zygote during fertilization. Generally, these miRNAs are involved in gene silencing (similar to what we discuss in our biochemistry class!). So, what happens if you take these miRNAs and inject them into a developing zygote from normal parents and perform in vitro fertilization of a normal female mouse? The progeny, as adults, demonstrate same altered corticosteroid release (i.e. are "stressed out") just as if they had been sired by the stressed out father! Cool, huh? Epigenetic controls of progeny are influenced by past experiences of the parents. So, is this the genetic equivalent of the sins of the father being passed on to the children?
One interesting tidbit to point out is that miRNA levels are not ubiquitously expressed from cell-to-cell and from cell division-to-cell division; consequently, this means that just because there are elevated miRNA levels in the sperm that fertilized the zygote there will not necessarily be elevated levels of the same miRNAs in the cells of the adult progeny. So, what genes are apparently affected by these nine miRNAs? The authors of the paper show that the genes affected appear to be genes associated with the blood-brain barrier permeability--particularly those associated with the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis--as well as genes associated with chromatin remodeling. This could account for how miRNAs essentially do damage beyond their own initial life cycle since the remodeling of the chromatin would affect gene transcription during embryogenesis.
This actually is not the first time that scientists have discovered that sperm miRNAs affect the zygote. The earlier work by these scientists had already pinpointed the nine miRNAs that were involved. The abstract is in the link below. However, this current study clearly delineates causality since the zygotes that were infected with these nine miRNAs were fertilized from normal parents.
So, does this mean that you really should blame your Daddy for your woes? No, not necessarily. However, for men who are considering fathering children, perhaps you should take time to de-stress. Just relax. Your kids will thank you for it.
For more information, you can also read an article about this topic at the link below:
Please note that the mouse figure was taken from https://gunsandbarbells.files.wordpress.com/2014/04/stress-mouse.jpg.
This is pretty cool to read this article. My mom always tells me to calm down your stressing like your father. But I find it really interesting that they were able to find that miRNA has correlation with the stress levels found with the father. So I guess my mom was right somewhat. Its interesting how we are finding about how DNA and RNA from are parents can correlate with how we our.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the interesting tidbit!
ReplyDeleteThe researchers caused stress-induced changes at an early stage of embryonic development with microRNA injections. The resultant adverse effects weren’t observed until the subjects were adults. This study should inform those who restrict their view of causes for adverse effects to only postnatal environments and events.
The transgenerational epigenetic mechanism of microRNA differed from a study that showed how treating the father’s symptoms of an inherited disease can epigenetically treat the son. The mechanism researched in that study was DNA and histone methylation. This study should inform those who restrict their view of epigenetic changes to only DNA methylation.
There’s also the point of most of the news coverage focus, that it was a male’s rather than a female’s stress that affected the developing embryo. Either or both parents can epigenetically and/or genetically disadvantage their child, beginning at conception.
http://surfaceyourrealself.com/2015/10/23/transgenerational-epigenetic-programming-with-stress-and-microrna-surfaceyourrealself/
This is rather interesting! I appreciate understanding that we receive more than just physical/structural “instructions” from our parents, but essentially emotional applications, too. I would like to find out what else is passed down to one’s offspring in an epigenetic manner as such in this case. It is even more interesting to associate this situation with the sin that is passed down from a parent to their offspring. It seems like valid proof to me!
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ReplyDeleteWow, this was an extremely interesting read! Debating calling my father and playfully blaming him for my stress. It is so interesting because all my life I have learned about the types of things that can be passed down from our parents: physical characteristics, diseases, etc. But it is crazy to think that something emotional, even though derived from structures in our brains, can be passed down as well. Stress is something everyone experiences, so to have people uncovering new information about the possibility that it might have been passed down from the father is very informative and something I'd love to learn more about.
ReplyDeleteThis is very interesting! It’s incredible how scientists are discovering new things about DNA and genes that are passed from parents to their offspring. It makes a lot of sense because my character and way of reacting to things is very similar to my father’s character, and his character is very similar to my grandfather's. It would be interesting to keep learning about this.
ReplyDeleteThis was definitely an interesting article. We already know that physical characteristics and personality traits are passed down from parent to child. It is also so cool to know that a predisposition to stress could be passed from father to child. I wonder if this is the reason why my dad and his brothers suffer from periodic panic attacks. Their father (my grandfather) had a tendency to become stressed easily and turn to alternative methods (i.e drinking)....
ReplyDeleteIt was pointed out that just because there are a high number of miRNAs, it doesn't mean there will be an equivalent amount in the adult progeny. It was also interesting that the researchers were able to narrow down the genes affected by the miRNAs. It would make sense that the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis is affected because it is part of the neuroendocrine system that is responsible for our body's response to stress. It is also responsible for regulating the immune system and the digestive system. I would be curious to see if these genes that are upregulated would also have an effect on the digestive system with gastric issue, indigestion, etc.
This article is very informative! Research continues to show the major role genes play into our lives. I found it very interesting that scientist discovered that our fathers pass down those "stress" genes, however, it is known that pregnant woman can contribute to causing stress to their child as well. Therefore, maybe both parents play a part? I would love to see some research on the mothers stress genes in comparision to their child!!
ReplyDeleteThis research is interesting to consider. I have always had high amounts of stress in my life; I worry about everything. I have so much stress inside of me that I grind my teeth terribly through the day without realizing it, but even worse at night; I grind holes through my retainers in a matter of weeks. My doctor's have always associated it with past generations because the rest of my family is like this, so this article backs up what I have been told. Interestingly though, this is saying that is passed down strictly from the father, however, personally I am nothing like my father in this manner. Definitely something to consider though when I compare other family members!
ReplyDeleteThis was a fascinating article, it makes sense that the sperm would have something to do with the amount of stress the offspring have.Stress can do an unfathomable amount of damage. Also, there is that whole debate on nature versus nurture. It is interesting to see that stress does not only come from one's surroundings, but it originates from embryology as well. I find it very interesting that this article is dealing with messenger RNA as well.
ReplyDeleteIt is incredible the effects stress can cause, not only in our own body but to progeny as well. Even though there is a correlation between sperm and the zygote miRNAs I can not help to wander what does this means for the whole population or what levels of stress we are talking about, because everyone has experienced stress at least once in their lives, but it is not necessarily in the same levels. It is also interesting to note the rapid growth of this field of research. In 2001, MicroRNAs were first reported in mammalian systems. Since then more than 14000 microRNAs have been annotated, even though most of their functions are yet to be discovered it is a big deal how this research field has developed. (1)
ReplyDelete1. http://www.exiqon.com/what-are-microRNAs
Wow... science (God's creation), seasoned scientists, and my peers continue to interest me! The article its self was very interesting and so fun to read and learn while reading. Then Dr. Daystorms's comment regarding this study and some of his thoughts were...different than mine and I am so glad he shared them. The correlation made between this study and the biblical reference to sin...AHH-mazing! I know our God is a BIG God and He is so much bigger and greater than we think He is, but wow! He just continues to but me in a permanent state of awe. Then, to add to all of this awesomeness, reading the comments from my peers was very exciting and joyful. In almost every comment I can see what each student has learned thus far and applying it here. Then to get to hear about some of their personal lives, this was just a really good post to be apart of.
ReplyDeleteOn a personal note, I would enjoy seeing more on this specific study (as I'd arguably say for almost every study I read from this page), but also to see ALL the different causes of stress to be put together for comparison (i.e. amounts of stress each one can/does cause, how big of a contributing factor each is in perspective of stress overall, at what age this cause can/does show up, and summaries of all the past and current researches allowing for these conclusions.)
What an interesting article! Who would have thought that the stress a father experienced during adolescents and adulthood would be transferred genetically to his offspring. As a male, this is a semi-"stressful" finding. I'm sure any good man would not want their children to experience the same stressful events they experience. What do I stress out about? Will my children follow in my foot steps? Knowing I can pass it on to my children, how can I avoid being stress out? All these questions immediately ran through my mind as I read this article.
ReplyDeleteAnother thought, Would the child become more susceptible to "stressing-out" when they are in an atmosphere where they observe their parents (particularly the father) in stressful situations? If what this article is saying is completely correct, would observing stressful situations induce the expression of the gene? Is it only genetics that causes this extra genetic predisposition to stress or can environment be a stimulus or additional factor to "stressing-out." Further research, could lead to the appropriate answer to these questions. I'll enjoy pondering on these thoughts..
The idea of stress being passed through genes and even more so from the paternal gene is an interesting observation. The fact that certain stressors can be passed from parent to offspring is intriguing for the mere fact that a lot of stressors are caused by an individuals day to day lifestyle. Therefore, a child might face different stress than a parent does. I guess a real question to ask is, is it the amount the stress affects the individual that get passed down? Also some stress causes hair to grey faster and, many times what seems like, premature aging. Therefore would the amount of that stress and those genes or cells that undergo that stress be the genes that get passed on, causing the child to retain them as well?
ReplyDeleteThese observations make me wonder what all stress does to our bodies and our offspring's bodies as well. If it can easily be passed through our miRNA and there are nine different microRNAs that can be passed to offspring with a certain stress gene, which kind of stress gene should we be most worried about and what can be done to prevent it. I'm sure reading these articles caused a few people to be stressed about their offspring, which probably didn't help their stress levels at all. Needless to say, this is good information to have for today's college students. It might help some of us see that we need to find a way to destress.
While I have heard about definite genetic components to anxiety and its disorders, I have not heard much about the "parental factors" of stress presented like this. Stress has so many negative effects on us and it is so powerful that it can affect our offspring in these ways. I also thought it was interesting that there are considerably more maternal studies than paternal ones. It would definitely be nice to see continued research on stress as anxiety issues plague so many people. This could be done through longer and more in-depth studies on the effects of stress -specifically who it can affect.
ReplyDeleteI am constantly hearing that I act just like my father in stressful situations. After reading this post I find it funny that some of the stress that I experience might have came from my dad himself. Maybe he should have done more relaxing. Stress is something that I am sure everyone that is posting in this blog can more than relate to. Especially in the field that we are choosing. I have always heard of the negative things that stress can do to your health. But I have never really thought of how it can harm the health of others. I think that stress needs to continue to be researched. Speaking from first hand experience anything that can be discovered and used for helping to deal with stress or treating it would be massively beneficial to society.
ReplyDeleteThis was such an interesting read! I never new that paternal miRNAs could have effects of zygotes through sperm. This makes sense though, because I've witnessed it in my own life. I've always been told that I respond to stress similarly to how my father does. Based on what scientists have learned, it seems that 9 different miRNAs have an effect on progeny. Stress results from the production of cortisol in the body, but stress isn't necessarily a bad thing. Cortisol in the body can lead to individuals performing at higher levels than normal. Although stress has a negative connotation, what really matters is how one manages stress. I hope that scientists can continue to learn about how stress can be used to help benefit individuals.
ReplyDeleteMore and more information continues to be discovered hiding in our genomes. From the non-coding DNA regions that turn out to still play important roles in cellular life (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/08/130802101900.htm, http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/hidden-treasures-in-junk-dna/), to epigenetics, the more geneticists peer into genomes, the more information they find. This phenomenon is causing such an explosion of information that the term 'genomical' has been proposed to replace 'astronomical' as 'a huge amount'- genetic data is posed to overtake astronomical data as the largest area of information (https://www.sciencenews.org/article/enormous-quantities-may-soon-be-called-%E2%80%98genomical%E2%80%99?mode=topic&context=96
ReplyDelete).
The field of epigenetics studies 'heritable, self-perpetuating, and reversible' systems that are not encoded into the DNA (http://www.sciencemag.org/content/330/6004/611.short). As the above source mentions, this field is particularly promising in the fields of evolutionary study and, as seen in this paper on stress and miRNA, medicine. Aside from miRNA, prions are also epigenetic systems, and tumors have also been seen to exhibit epigenetic behavior (http://www.sciencemag.org/content/330/6004/611.short). Epigenetics is also at play in DNA methylation, which is a process by which methyl groups attach to DNA and silence it (http://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/The-Role-of-Methylation-in-Gene-Expression-1070). DNA methylation is a tantalizing process in light of how it could possibly be used to treat different genetic disorders (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2967479/) and its role in promoting some cancers (http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMc080835).
Overall, epigenetics is a huge and fascinating field, an even newer facet in the relatively-new science of genetics. The more geneticists explore this field, the more exciting discoveries they will make, about just how organisms become what they are- and, more personally, what makes each of us into amazingly unique individuals.
This is such an interesting finding! It is really astonishing to see the various ways in which a parent's life affects their child, even before the child is conceived! The old saying that a person's decisions now affects the rest of their life has an even greater meaning here. A man's decision to not properly deal with his stress can have negative consequences on his future children. This reminds me of a previous blog post in March of this year. It was stated that Harvard researchers found a causal link between intake of high fructose corn syrup of pregnant women and their child's likelihood to develop asthma. The decisions and actions of parents are so important for the health and well-being of their children. I would be interested to find how long an unresolved stressful event can affect a man's progeny miRNA. For instance, if a man has some kind of large, stressful life event happen in his teens or twenties, would the upregulated miRNAs be passed to children that he has in his thirties or forties?
ReplyDeleteMaybe this is what is wrong with me, just kidding. That is so amazing that something like stress could regulate how the miRNA is transferred. This makes me wonder what other things in the human body are regulated by stress that we don't know about.
ReplyDeleteThis is a fascinating article, with some interesting implications for our society as a whole. In our rapid fire society where being busy is ubiquitous, and lack of sleep and free time is worn as a badge of honor; one can easily see the potential for correlation between cultural attitudes towards rest and pervasiveness of mental illnesses and disorders. One a more personal level this type of study is rather disquieting to read considering my current and foreseeable future stress levels. This is something I shall definitely keep in mind when considering the significance of taking breaks and moments to destress. Also this type of finding has important scriptural parallels, not only in regards to sin but also in keeping of the Sabbath.
ReplyDeleteHaha ladies, after reading this it might be a good idea to calm down with this ring by spring fiasco. You don't want to marry a man who will make your child more prone to being over stressed! With all jokes aside this was definitely a learning experience for me. I know that there can be several triggers for stress, but I never imagined that it could be genetic. It is concerning because it is well known that stress can cause a variety of disorders and diseases to arise. If we can conclude that stress can be passed down genetically, are we also saying that our offspring can be born with a greater chance of having these disorders and diseases and that they could already have a compromised immune system? It is definitely a wake up call to find ways to reduce our stress levels in the hopes of not passing it on to our children. I would like to see more research on the topic and learn more about their findings.
ReplyDeleteThis was a really interesting article to read. Stress manifests in a lot of ways and it affects a lot of people. But it's kind of surprising to think that stress could be hereditary.
ReplyDeleteI found this post to be very intriguing in that I never thought that life events like stress could effect offspring. However, this does make the fact that both me and my father can exhibit high levels of stress over silly things more sensible in that I literally may be getting it from my father. That is instead of learning it from him by seeing him get stressed over things I might be getting stressed out easily due to genetic reasons. Either way this was quite interesting!
ReplyDeleteSperm cells work very hard to make themselves present in the zygote.Their function does not just determine what sex we are but how stress we become. The information was easy for me to believe because this explains why I stress so much. My father stresses often and he passed it down to me. However, a little stress is healthy to the body. It has been programmed into our DNA.
ReplyDeleteHaha this is funny, but also quite interesting. It actually kinda makes sense, now that I think about how my dad and I stress out about/have been stressed out by similar things, and how we both can't handle working on one thing for too long and get distracted easily. I might actually send him the link to this post...
ReplyDeleteI found this article particularly interesting. I could understand how genetics could dictate certain aspects of the offspring, but never would I have imagined that it would affect such a behavioral aspect. It also makes you wonder about other aspects such as drive towards goals, emotional instability, depression,..Can those be somehow also be tied with genetics? Will it ever be ethical to do a genetic scan of a person before you marry them? (This is for Back to the future 4)
ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed the "faith integration" comment. After all we might be carrying "fathers" sins.
As a soon(ish) to be married man that will some day (Lord willing) have children, I find this a very interesting and practical topic. How stressed I am could literally effect my children. It reminds me of the concept of generational curses in the Bible. Though people could banter back and forth over this one theologically, I think it is clear throughout scripture that the actions of the father do directly influence the behaviors and actions of his progeny. This is both negative and positive. David, for instance, was a man after the Lord's own heart and was often wise, passing down proverbial wisdom that undoubtedly had an effect on Solomon's writings. Solomon used some of the same phraseology as his father David, and because God was pleased with David, Solomon was also blessed. On the flipside, some of Solomon's shortcomings - his brutal taxation of, and essentially, slave labor over the Northern tribes was carried on in the policies of his son Rehoboam. Whether these cases are because of observed behaviors alone, or genetics are also involved, is an interesting question. Can genetic "curses" have a spiritual origin (judgment from God), or are they purely the result of thousands of years of sin degrading the human genome?
ReplyDeleteHmm, very interesting. I also was thinking about what you and Michael Hughes both mentioned about the genetical "curse." In my opinion, it seems like a logical way to explain verses that talk about such generational curses, but we can never know for sure.
ReplyDeleteIf I was one of those people who liked to place blame on others, or at least admit to being one of those people, I would love this article! Like an escape goat if you will. This reminded me of research I had heard about a while back in genetics as well, which dealt with epigenetic traits. Only in that research it dealt with how our diets can cause us to pass on diabetes and obesity! Yeah, cuz it wasn't the super sized meal with the twelve pack of mountain dew that made me this way! lol
But in all seriousness, I found an article which dealt with that research too... And come to find out it was from Duke ;) Here is the link.
http://www.livescience.com/21902-diet-epigenetics-grandchildren.html
Another item we can add to the things the male contributes to his offspring. The 'Y' chromosome has so much information on it and I'm sure there is so much we have yet to unravel. I think because this has to do with genetics it peaked my interest so much more. New discoveries and findings fascinate me! I can't say this hit home too much because I don't think I'm an overstressed person, nor do I think my dad is either; however, I'm sure knowing this information can pave a way for people who really do struggle with stress to the point that it interferes with their life. I'm interested in seeing further research on this, or even how we can use this information to help deal with the stress that is passed down.
ReplyDeleteThis was very interesting to learn about. My dad is an extremely stressed person at times. He stresses over all the tiny details, and my mom always has to calm him down. I am the same way. I am prone to putting a lot of stress on myself. If in fact stress can be passed down from miRNAs in the father's sperm, it makes me wonder about when I have kids. I am already a stressed person. When I have kids, I hope to be a physician, which will put even more stress on myself. I do not want to pass on stress to my kids and make them deal with it. After reading this, I came acrossed an article in Nature which also dealt with how a stressed man can pass RNA through his sperm to his children that may cause anxiety and depression (1). So apparently there are many studies going on about this topic. However, then there is the argument of nature vs. nurture. Even though I am stressed, if I raise my kids to deal with stress and relax, will they still be stressed from the miRNAs that they received from me? This has yet to be determined. Hopefully, I will be able to manage my stress better, so I do not have to worry about passing it to my kids.
ReplyDelete1. http://www.nature.com/news/sperm-rna-carries-marks-of-trauma-1.15049
This post is particularly interesting because as human beings we take great pride in expressing our individuality and claiming that we are our own person, not influenced by anyone but ourselves. For those that are particularly passionate about this topic, they even claim that they aren't shaped and influenced in the slightest sense by the people they are around. However, given this new research that clearly shows that there are some connections between an individual and even the way that their parent lifestyles are lived can affect them. In this case, it shows a strong correlation between the stress of the father and stress of the children later in life. While they may have a genetic predisposition to stress, I don't think you can blame the genes for it all. We still have control over ourselves and the way we handle situations and clearly have the choice to stress or not to stress.
ReplyDeleteThe article feeds even more into the debate of "Nature vs. Nurture." Stress is generally induced or stimulated from an action or situation from our environment and is a mechanism that aids our sympathetic system in being effective with the "fight or flight" response. However, it is interesting to see that the "nature" side of the argument is receiving more support in being responsible for the reaction of an individual. Although an individual can be predisposed to being more "stressed" I still feel that one's environment and upbringing can contribute more to the amount of stress and the body's response. Activities in a child's upbringing and the personalities of the caregiver of a child seem to play a much larger role in dictating the amount and control of stress in the child.
ReplyDeleteThis was a super interesting article to read, it makes me want to learn more on what we inherit from our parents vs. what we gain from our environment. Everyone tells me I have a personality like my father's. The discoveries scientists are making truly amazes me.
ReplyDeleteI have never thought to attribute a trait like this to be genetic. It is quite interesting to think that stress, which is normally attributed to environmental factors, can actually be a genetic trait. My father handles stress relatively well considering he is under constant stress. I am like my dad in many ways, mostly in appearance and personality. However, its interesting to think that my stress has also come from him as well.
ReplyDeleteThis was such an interesting article to read. I can confidently say that I do get my stress from my father because my mom normally does not stress, but my dad on the other hand always has a lot on his plate so he finds himself slightly stressed out here and there. I find it interesting that even emotions can be passed down from generation to generation if your father is stressed. It makes me wonder if a stressed father has a child, does that child necessarily "look" for stress because it is in their DNA or do they just get stressed out easily in their day to day lives? It is also interesting to me that people deal with stress differently even though it is passed down from their father. Overall this was a very informative article and I now know where the root of my stress comes from.
ReplyDeleteWhat this article found and talks about (our parents' past experiences influencing epigenetic controls) is super interesting because I never really thought that stress can be passed on. In this case, it's not necessarily proven that it is, but having stress in general can have negative affects on the people around us. Whenever I'm stressed, I don't necessarily blame my parents cause environmental factors usually play the major role whenever I'm stressed. However, this article was pretty neat and it had an interesting take when it comes to stress!
ReplyDeleteIt would be interesting to conduct a study on the genetic linkage between stress levels/activities in women and their offspring as well. Perhaps varied hormonal regulation or extra-uterun influences could influence the ovum in a way that passes down stress to offspring, such as the miRNAs in spermatozoa. Personally I cope with stress much more like my father than my mother, as this study solidifies. However, my mother is generally a more stressed person than my dad, or at least conveys it more. So, I wonder, does genetic heritage or environmental stimulus influences stress levels? more? Also, it would be interesting to study how the brain corresponds to stressful situations and how the neuronal stimulus and reaction differs between men and women.
ReplyDelete-Micah Thornton
I find it interesting that research has showed that stress can be passed down from your father. When I look at my parents and their stress levels, I would say my dad actually is less stressed than my mother, and I as well, try to stay the least stressed as possible. I still believe nature vs. nurture plays a role. Therefore, naturally I would have similar stress levels as my father, however, other outside things play a role in stress. This article makes me want to further research what factors play the biggest role in having lower stress levels.
ReplyDeleteGreat. Now I am stressed about how all my stressing could stress out my kids in the future! I mean everyone feels stressed at some point in their lives. And we would all agree that a healthy dose of cortisol goes a long way in keeping our brains and entire bodies alert and active. Admittedly, too much cortisol could depress the immune system and cause a whole lot of problems ranging from diabetes to impaired cognition. But there has to be a reason this "transgenerational epigentic programming" is even (for lack of a better term) evolutionary favorable. The paper states that these miRNAs could be involved in changes that affect the blood-brain barrier permeability and cause chromatin modifications. I wonder if that is all they do. And what exactly are these modifications? Does the membrane become more permeable or less? And is either one a bad thing? Do they make the DNA more or less condensed, or possibly cause mutations that get replicated and transferred to the organism's offspring? I don't know. There are just so many unanswered questions and I really want to see more research done on this topic. Who knows? Maybe we can use these miRNAs to come up with better stress management treatments.
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