Melatonin Supplementation During Middle Gestation Alleviates Intrauterine Growth Restriction in Piglets and Is Associated with Alterations in Placental DNA Methylation
- 1National Engineering Laboratory for Animal Breeding, Key Laboratory of Animal Genetics and Breeding of the Ministry of Agricultural, State Key Laboratory of Animal Biotech Breeding, Frontiers Science Center for Molecular Design Breeding, College of Animal Science and Technology, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193, China
- 2Institutes of Biomedical Sciences, College of Life Science, Shanxi University, Taiyuan 030006, China
- 3College of Animal Science, Xinjiang Agricultural University, Urumqi 830052, China
Abstract
Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) has a negative impact on reproductive performance in domestic animals. In this study, we attempt to explore the etiology of IUGR in sows and test the potential beneficial effects and underlying molecular mechanisms of melatonin on IUGR. The results indicated that there was a negative correlation between the concentration of melatonin in the peripheral blood of pregnant sows and the ratio of IUGR, and the concentration of melatonin in the umbilical cord blood of IUGR piglets was abnormally decreased. Supplementing sows with an appropriate dose of melatonin can increase the average birth weight of piglets and reduce the proportion of IUGR piglets. Reduced representation bisulfite sequencing revealed a direct association between abnormal DNA methylation in the placenta of sows and IUGR piglets. The increased DNA methylations of key genes responsible for placenta functions downregulated their expressions. Gene downregulation caused placenta dysfunction and IUGR. Melatonin significantly reduced DNA methylation of genes related to placental function. We identified that melatonin supplementation during mid-gestation stages specifically targeted the CGI, CGI shore, exon, intron, and 3′ untranslated regions of placental genes. The results provide novel information to target the high incidence of IUGR in pigs as well as other species.
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BibTeX
@article{wang2026melatonin,
title = {{Melatonin Supplementation During Middle Gestation Alleviates Intrauterine Growth Restriction in Piglets and Is Associated with Alterations in Placental DNA Methylation}},
author = {Likai Wang and Huigang Han and Zhenhua Xue and Laiqing Yan and Zixia Shen and Jiarui Gao and Pengyun Ji and Bingyuan Wang and Guoshi Liu},
journal = {International Journal of Molecular Sciences},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.3390/ijms27209046},
url = {https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/20/9046},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Melatonin Supplementation During Middle Gestation Alleviates Intrauterine Growth Restriction in Piglets and Is Associated with Alterations in Placental DNA Methylation
AU - Likai Wang
AU - Huigang Han
AU - Zhenhua Xue
AU - Laiqing Yan
AU - Zixia Shen
AU - Jiarui Gao
AU - Pengyun Ji
AU - Bingyuan Wang
AU - Guoshi Liu
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/12
JO - International Journal of Molecular Sciences
DO - 10.3390/ijms27209046
UR - https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/27/20/9046
AB - Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) has a negative impact on reproductive performance in domestic animals. In this study, we attempt to explore the etiology of IUGR in sows and test the potential beneficial effects and underlying molecular mechanisms of melatonin on IUGR. The results indicated that there was a negative correlation between the concentration of melatonin in the peripheral blood of pregnant sows and the ratio of IUGR, and the concentration of melatonin in the umbilical cord blood of IUGR piglets was abnormally decreased. Supplementing sows with an appropriate dose of melatonin can increase the average birth weight of piglets and reduce the proportion of IUGR piglets. Reduced representation bisulfite sequencing revealed a direct association between abnormal DNA methylation in the placenta of sows and IUGR piglets. The increased DNA methylations of key genes responsible for placenta functions downregulated their expressions. Gene downregulation caused placenta dysfunction and IUGR. Melatonin significantly reduced DNA methylation of genes related to placental function. We identified that melatonin supplementation during mid-gestation stages specifically targeted the CGI, CGI shore, exon, intron, and 3′ untranslated regions of placental genes. The results provide novel information to target the high incidence of IUGR in pigs as well as other species.
SN - 1422-0067
ER -