Research from Marshall University has shown that a mother's diet high in Omega-3 fatty acid protects her offspring against breast cancer. Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology published a study that found a significant difference in the development of breast cancer in mice whose mothers were fed canola oil. This was in contrast to mothers who were fed corn oil. The maternal Omega 3-rich diet had an effect on the genome-wide epigenetic landscape of offspring, and possibly modulated gene expression patterns.Dr. Ata Abbas was a former postdoctoral fellow in Marshall's Department of Biological Sciences. She led a research team that was under Dr. Philippe Georgel at the College of Science. Under the direction of Dr. W. Elaine Hardman, research was conducted in Marshall's Cell Differentiation and Development Center as part of a collaboration effort with the Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine’s Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology.Researchers observed a three-week delay of death in mice whose mothers were fed canola oil instead of corn oil. Although the initial delay in death was significant, the overall survival rate was not. All the mice eventually developed tumors. However, the tumors of the mice who were fed canola oil grew slower and was smaller than those of the mice that were fed corn oil. In human terms, the protective effect due to maternal diet would last several months (Sengupta and al., 2016).This is one of many studies by Marshall University scientists, who also looked at the relationship between Omega-3 fatty acid and lower incidence of certain types of cancer, including Diffuse Large B Cell Lymphoma and Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia.Georgel, a Marshall professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, said that "the issue of parental nutrition and inter-generational transfer has become an important area of research." "The MU research group concentrated on 'epigenetics' aspects of transgenerational transmission to explain Omega-3 fatty acid's reported role. Epigenetics refers to gene expression changes that are not related to genetic sequence changes. These findings can be used to encourage simple diet changes that would reduce the likelihood of developing various types of cancer.Funding from the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Defense Health Program was used to fund the study.
