High fructose during pregnancy can impair stem cell function in the fetal brain
· Medical Xpressby International Society for Stem Cell Research
edited by Sadie Harley, reviewed by Robert Egan
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Nutritional imbalance during pregnancy can have long-lasting effects on the health and disease susceptibility of offspring. As such, high fructose intake through sweetened food and beverages in pregnant women has been associated with increased susceptibility to diabetes and cardiovascular disease, as well as neurological and cognitive impairments in offspring. Currently, it is not well understood how early-life exposure to fructose has such long-lasting effects at the cellular and molecular levels.
In a paper published in Stem Cell Reports, Hiroya Yamada's team from Fujita Health University School of Medicine, Toyoake, Japan, found that the performance of adult rats in learning and memory tests was impaired when the rats had been exposed to high fructose before birth by feeding their mothers high fructose corn syrup.
Furthermore, neurogenesis, which is the generation of new neurons from neural stem cells (NSCs), in distinct regions of the brain involved in learning and cognition was reduced in those rats. Yamada's group also discovered distinct changes in NSCs after high fructose exposure, including reduced cell division, impaired generation of new neurons and altered gene expression.
Epigenetic marks that endure
To explain why prenatal high fructose exposure can have such long-lasting effects on NSCs, the researchers profiled the so-called epigenetic changes, which are chemical imprints on the DNA controlling gene activity.
Strikingly, prenatal high fructose exposure introduced distinct epigenetic changes in fetal NSCs that persisted into adulthood and deregulated the activity of genes important for adult neurogenesis. Restoring normal expression of those genes improved the function of high fructose-exposed NSCs.
A lasting memory of diet
This research illustrates how early-life exposure to an adverse environment, like imbalanced maternal nutrition, can have long-lasting effects on brain development and function by changing the epigenetic regulation of gene activity in NSCs.
Although epidemiological studies in human populations show similar correlations, further studies will be required to test whether human NSCs are affected by high fructose and other environmental stressors in similar ways.
"Our study suggests that neural stem cells may retain a biological memory of maternal nutrition during pregnancy," said Dr. Yamada. "This may help explain how a transient prenatal dietary imbalance can lead to long-lasting changes in brain development and function."
Publication details
Neural stem cells as potential mediators of prenatal dietary stress through epigenetic mechanisms, Stem Cell Reports (2026). DOI: 10.1016/j.stemcr.2026.102996. www.cell.com/stem-cell-reports … 2213-6711(26)00207-9
Journal information: Stem Cell Reports
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NeurologyPregnancyPediatricsChildren's healthNutrition & Healthy eating Provided by International Society for Stem Cell Research Who's behind this story?
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