Transcriptomic effects of early life and peripubertal dietary vitamin D deficiency on mouse pituitary gland. Mus musculus

Vitamin D2 (VD) and the VD3 receptor (VDR) are proposed to have multiple important physiological roles that include but are not limited to glucose homeostasis, bone health, immune competency and more recently maintenance of normal reproductive physiology. The prevalence of VD deficiency in the US is reported to be as high as 60% in some populations. Several recent studies suggest that reproductive-aged women and their offspring are at the greatest risk for VD deficiency. The objective of our study was to determine the effect of early life (intrauterine through preweaning) and peripubertal VD deficiency on female reproductive physiology. Overall design: Profile and compare the hypophysis transcriptomes of 2-month-old C57BL/6J mice that received a normal (OC samples) or a VD-deficient diet only during the early life (OE samples) or peripubertal (OP samples). Each diet group (OC, OE and OP) was composed of 4 females (biological replicas).