In recent years, the developmental origins of diseases have been increasingly recognized and accepted. As such, it has been suggested that most adulthood chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and even tumors may develop at a very early stage. In addition to intrauterine environmental exposure, germ cells carry an important inheritance role as the primary link between the two generations. Adverse external influences during differentiation and development can cause damage to germ cells, which may then increase the risk of chronic disease development later in life. Here, we further elucidate and clarify the concept of gamete and embryo origins of adult diseases by focusing on the environmental insults on germ cells, from differentiation to maturation and fertilization.
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21 March 2022
Environmental epigenetic interaction of gametes and early embryos
Xin-Yuan Li,
Jie-Xue Pan,
Hong Zhu,
Guo-Lian Ding,
He-Feng Huang
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Biology of Reproduction
Vol. 107 • No. 1
July 2022
Vol. 107 • No. 1
July 2022
embryo
Epigenetic inheritance
Gamete
intergenerational/transgenerational transmission