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Using neonatal skin to study the developmental programming of aging

Leryn J Reynolds1, Brett J Dickens1, Benjamin B Green2

  • 1Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40536, USA.

Experimental Gerontology
|December 31, 2016
PubMed

Insights

Human neonatal foreskin offers a new way to study how early-life exposures impact obesity and diabetes risk. This research shows foreskin cells can model key processes like fat development and insulin response.

Area of Science:

  • Developmental biology
  • Metabolic disease research
  • Human neonate studies

Background:

  • Maternal exposures during pregnancy can influence offspring's risk for chronic diseases.
  • Obesity and type 2 diabetes are significant age-associated diseases.
  • Understanding developmental programming is crucial for preventing these conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To introduce human neonatal foreskin as a novel model for studying developmental programming.
  • To investigate adipogenesis and insulin receptor signaling in neonatal foreskin.
  • To link neonatal development to long-term risks of obesity and diabetes.

Main Methods:

  • Collected neonatal foreskin tissue post-circumcision.
  • Isolated primary dermal fibroblasts from the foreskin.
  • Performed in vitro adipocyte differentiation and insulin stimulation assays.

Main Results:

  • Human neonatal foreskin fibroblasts successfully undergo lipid uptake when stimulated for differentiation.
  • Foreskin fibroblasts exhibit functional insulin receptor signaling upon insulin stimulation.
  • These findings validate the foreskin model for studying metabolic processes.

Conclusions:

  • Neonatal foreskin is a viable and novel human model for studying developmental programming.
  • This model can be used to investigate the impact of early-life exposures on adipogenesis and insulin signaling.
  • Foreskin research may provide insights into preventing neonatal obesity and diabetes.

Keywords:
AdipogenesisDOHaDEpigeneticsInsulin sensitivityObesityPregnancy

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