Browsing by Author "Knuth, Megan"
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Item Open Access Maternal vitamin D deficiency and developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD).(The Journal of endocrinology, 2019-03) Ideraabdullah, Folami Y; Belenchia, Anthony M; Rosenfeld, Cheryl Susan; Kullman, Seth W; Knuth, Megan; Mahapatra, Debrata; Bereman, Michael; Levin, Edward D; Peterson, Catherine AnnVitamin D is an essential nutrient that is metabolized in the body to generate an active metabolite (1,25(OH)2D) with hormone-like activity and highly diverse roles in cellular function. Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) is a prevalent but easily preventable nutritional disturbance. Emerging evidence demonstrates the importance of sufficient vitamin D concentrations during fetal life with deficiencies leading to long-term effects into adulthood. Here, we provide a detailed review and perspective of evidence for the role of maternal VDD in offspring long term health, particularly as it relates to Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD). We focus on roles in neurobehavioral and cardiometabolic disorders in humans and highlight recent findings from zebrafish and rodent models that probe potential mechanisms linking early life VDD to later life health outcomes. Moreover, we explore evidence implicating epigenetic mechanisms as a mediator of this link. Gaps in our current understanding of how maternal VDD might result in deleterious offspring outcomes later in life are also addressed.Item Open Access Zebrafish show long-term behavioral impairments resulting from developmental vitamin D deficiency.(Physiology & behavior, 2020-10) Oliveri, Anthony N; Knuth, Megan; Glazer, Lilah; Bailey, Jordan; Kullman, Seth W; Levin, Edward DVitamin D has been shown in a wide variety of species to play critical roles in neurodevelopment. Vitamin D deficiency disrupts development of the brain and can cause lasting behavioral dysfunction. Zebrafish have become an important model for the study of development in general and neurodevelopment in particular. Zebrafish were used in the current study to characterize the effects of developmental vitamin D deficiency on behavioral function. Adult zebrafish that had been chronically fed a vitamin D deficient or replete diets were bred and the offspring were continued on those diets. The offspring were behaviorally tested as adults. In the novel tank diving test the vitamin D deficient diet significantly lowered the vertical position of fish indicative of more anxiety-like behavior. In the novel tank diving test swimming activity was also significantly decreased by vitamin D deficiency. Startle response was increased by developmental vitamin D deficiency during the early part of the test. No significant effects of vitamin D deficiency were seen with social affiliation and predatory stimulus avoidance tests. These results indicate a phenotype of vitamin D deficiency characterized by more anxiety-like behavior. This result was relatively specific inasmuch as few or no behavioral effects were seen in other behavioral tests.