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It is thought that germ cells and preimplantation embryos during development are most susceptible to endogenous and exogenous environmental factors because the epigenome in those cells is undergoing dramatic elimination and reconstruction. Exposure to environmental factors such as nutrition, climate, stress, pathogens, toxins, and even social behavior during gametogenesis and early embryogenesis has been shown to influence disease susceptibility in the offspring. Early-life epigenetic modifications, which determine the expression of genetic information stored in the genome, are viewed as one of the general mechanisms linking prenatal exposure and phenotypic changes later in life. From atmospheric pollution, endocrine-disrupting chemicals to heavy metals, research increasingly suggests that environmental pollutions have already produced significant consequences on human health. Moreover, mounting evidence now links such pollution to relevant modification in the epigenome. The epigenetics diet, referring to a class of bioactive dietary compounds such as isothiocyanates in broccoli, genistein in soybean, resveratrol in grape, epigallocatechin-3-gallate in green tea, and ascorbic acid in fruits, has been shown to modify the epigenome leading to beneficial health outcomes. This review will primarily focus on the causes and consequences of prenatal environment pollution exposure on the epigenome, and the potential protective role of the epigenetics diet, which could play a central role in neutralizing epigenomic aberrations against environmental pollutions.

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of in ovo feeding (IOF) of folic acid on the folate metabolism, immune function and the involved epigenetic modification of broilers. A total of 400 (Cobb) hatching eggs were randomly divided into four groups (0, 50, 100 and 150 µg injection of folic acid at embryonic age 11 d), and chicks hatched from each treatment were randomly divided into six replicates with 12 broilers/replicate after incubation. The results indicated that, in ovo, 100-and 150-µg folic acid injections improved the hatchability. The average daily gain and feed conversion ratio increased in the 150-µg group during the late growth stage. Simultaneously, in the 100-and 150-µg groups, an increase was observed in hepatic folate content and the expression of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (d1 and 42) and methionine synthase reductase (d21). IgG and IgM concentrations, as well as plasma lysozyme activity of broilers, showed a marked increase along with increasing folic acid levels. The splenic expression levels of IL-2 and IL-4 were up-regulated, whereas that of IL-6 was down-regulated, in the 100-and 150-µg folic acid treatment groups. In addition, histone methylation in IL-2 and IL-4 promoters exhibited an enrichment of H3K4m2 but a loss of H3K9me2 with the increased amount of folic acid additive. In contrast, a decrease in H3K4m2 and an increase in H3K9me2 were observed in the IL-6 promoter in folic acid treatments. Furthermore, in ovo, the 150-µg folic acid injection improved the chromatin tightness of the IL-2 and IL-4 promoter regions. Our findings suggest that IOF of 150 µg of folic acid can improve the growth performance and folate metabolism of broilers, and enhance the relationship between immune function and epigenetic regulation of immune genes, which are involved with the alterations in chromatin conformation and histone methylation in their promoters.

Hypoimmunity and numerous stresses are two major challenges in broiler industry. Nutrient intervention at the specific time of embryonic stage is a feasible way to improve animal performance. This study was conducted to investigate the possible effects of in ovo feeding (IOF) of vitamin C at embryonic age 15th day (E15) on growth performance, antioxidation and immune function of broilers. A total of 240 broiler fertile eggs were randomly divided into two groups (0 and 3 mg injected dose of vitamin C at E15), and new-hatched chicks from each treatment were randomly allocated into six replicates with 10 chicks per replicate after incubation. The results indicated that in ovo vitamin C injection improved the hatchability (P < 0.05) and increased immunoglobulin M (IgM) (at the broiler’s age 1st day, D1), IgG and IgM concentrations (D21), as well as lysozyme activity (D21, P < 0.05) and total antioxidant capacity (D42, P < 0.01) in plasma of broilers. On D21, the splenic expression level of DNA methyltransferase 1 (DNMT1) was up-regulated in vitamin C (VC) group, whereas interleukin (IL)-6, interferon-γ, ten-eleven translocation protein 1 and thymine-DNA glycosylase were down-regulated (P < 0.05). On D42, in ovo vitamin C injection up-regulated splenic expression levels of DNMT1, DNA methyltransferase 3B (DNMT3B) and growth arrest and DNA-damage-inducible protein beta (P < 0.05), whereas down-regulated splenic expression levels of IL-6, tumour necrosis factor-α and methyl-CpG-binding domain protein 4 (P < 0.05). Our findings suggested that IOF of 3 mg vitamin C at E15 could improve, to some extent, the antioxidant activity and immune function in plasma, corresponding with the lower expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in spleen. However, IOF of vitamin C leading to the changes in the expression of DNA methyltransferases and demethylases may suggest an increased trend of DNA methylation level in spleen and whether DNA methylation variation is associated with the lower expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines in spleen warrants future study.

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