{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T12:13:07Z","timestamp":1785413587632,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"8","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,19]],"date-time":"2026-04-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1776556800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001321","name":"National Research Foundation","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["121859 and TTK230508103541"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["121859 and TTK230508103541"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001321","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"award":["121859 and TTK230508103541"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["121859 and TTK230508103541"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/01xpa3123","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Biology"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Maternal nutrition during critical windows of development plays a pivotal role in shaping long-term disease susceptibility, including cancer risk. This study investigated whether maternal exposure to lipotropes (methyl donor nutrients) during pregnancy and lactation modulates gene expression in 7,12-dimethylbenzanthracene (DMBA)-induced mammary tumors in adult female offspring. Timed-pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were fed with either a control or lipotrope-supplemented diet, with or without vitamin B6. Female offspring were exposed to DMBA at puberty, and mammary tumors were evaluated histologically and molecularly. DMBA-induced tumors displayed ductal carcinoma in situ-like morphology and significant upregulation of fetal mammary developmental genes (Tbx2 and Tbx3), the tumorigenesis-associated gene Tp53, and key epigenetic regulators (Hdac1, Dnmt1, and Mthfr). Estrogen receptor 1 (Esr1) mRNA expression also showed a significant increase. Maternal lipotropes supplementation significantly attenuated the expression of these genes in offspring tumors. Collectively, these findings demonstrate that maternal methyl donor nutrition modulates tumor-associated gene expression patterns, potentially by limiting the reactivation of developmental and epigenetic pathways in adulthood. This study highlights maternal nutrition as a modifiable early-life factor with important implications for long-term health programming.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/biology15080645","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,20]],"date-time":"2026-04-20T12:01:22Z","timestamp":1776686482000},"page":"645","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Maternal Methyl Donor Nutrients Modulate Developmental Genes in Mammary Tumors"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6499-3396","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lawrence","family":"Mabasa","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Biomedical Research and Innovation Platform, South African Medical Research Council, Tygerberg, Cape Town 7505, South Africa"},{"name":"Department of Medical Physiology, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, Cape Town 7507, South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anri","family":"Kotze","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biomedical Research and Innovation Platform, South African Medical Research Council, Tygerberg, Cape Town 7505, South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6328-0789","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rabia","family":"Johnson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biomedical Research and Innovation Platform, South African Medical Research Council, Tygerberg, Cape Town 7505, South Africa"},{"name":"Department of Medical Physiology, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, Cape Town 7507, South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5850-6782","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Pritika","family":"Ramharack","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biomedical Research and Innovation Platform, South African Medical Research Council, Tygerberg, Cape Town 7505, South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1119-7780","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sylvester I.","family":"Omoruyi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Anatomical Sciences, School of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Parktown, Johannesburg 2193, South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0144-6664","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Kwazikwakhe B.","family":"Gabuza","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biomedical Research and Innovation Platform, South African Medical Research Council, Tygerberg, Cape Town 7505, South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0170-7342","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jyoti","family":"Sharma","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biomedical Research and Innovation Platform, South African Medical Research Council, Tygerberg, Cape Town 7505, South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6191-7440","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tarryn","family":"Willmer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biomedical Research and Innovation Platform, South African Medical Research Council, Tygerberg, Cape Town 7505, South Africa"},{"name":"Department of Medical Physiology, Stellenbosch University, Tygerberg, Cape Town 7507, South Africa"},{"name":"Division of Cell Biology, Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town 7925, South Africa"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"World Cancer Research Fund (2026, February 24). 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