Paternal epigenetic inheritance encoded by sperm histones shapes offspring prenatal development and viability

Disrupting sperm H3K27me3 causes widespread congenital abnormalities and stillbirth in offspring despite normal sperm parameters and fertilization.

• Why it matters: The contribution of retained sperm histones to epigenetic inheritance and how they affect prenatal development and viability is still unclear.
• What they did: The study disrupted sperm H3K27me3, mapped altered marks to loci of key developmental regulators, and tracked when H3K27me3 deposition during sperm production aligned with later malformations.
• The result: Paternal H3K27me3 is linked to proper offspring organ and tissue development and pregnancy success, implying sperm histone epigenetic patterns can shape prenatal outcomes.

AI summary of the abstract · may contain errors · not medical advice · read the paper.