Identification of genes altered with maternal nutrition in growing puppies

• Published in: The FASEB journal 2007-04, Vol.21 (5), p.A4-A4
• Main Authors: Frantz, Nolan Z, Zicker, Steve C, Friesen, Kim G, Yamka, Ryan M, Gao, Xiangming, Al‐Murrani, Samer
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0892-6638; 1530-6860
• DOI: 10.1096/fasebj.21.5.A4-a

Maternal nutrition may influence proper growth and development as well as the occurrence of disease. Providing specific nutrients early in life may improve quality of life in dogs. Sixteen beagle puppies were utilized in this study. Dams and puppies were fed either a commercially available food or Hill's Science Diet® from conception to one year of age. RNA was extracted from blood and hybridized to an Affymetrix GeneChip Canine‐2 Genome Arrays and normalized using Robust Multi‐Array Average. Transcripts having a P < 0.05 (following a false discovery rate adjustment value of 0.1) and a fold change range of at least 1.5 were considered different among the two groups. Analysis of the RNA found differences in 143 genes between puppies fed Hill's Science Diet® compared to the commercial food. Of the genes identified, 90 were down‐regulated and 53 up‐regulated in Hill's Science Diet® fed puppies versus puppies fed the commercial food. Genes associated with, DNA replication and repair, cell compromise, arthritis, and cancer were decreased, while cellular assembly and cell cycle regulation were increased in puppies fed Hill's Science Diet® compared to puppies fed the commercial food.