Epidemiological studies have revealed that caffeine consumption during pregnancy is associated with adverse gestational outcomes, yet the underlying mechanisms remain obscure. Recent animal studies with physiologically relevant dosages have begun to dissect adverse effects of caffeine during pregnancy with respect to oviduct contractility, embryo development, uterine receptivity, and placentation that jointly contribute to pregnancy complications. Interestingly, caffeine's effects are highly variable between individual animals under well-controlled experimental settings, suggesting the possibility of epigenetic regulation of these phenotypes, in addition to genetic variants. Moreover, caffeine exposure during sensitive windows of pregnancy may induce epigenetic changes in the developing fetus or even the germ cells to cause adult-onset diseases in subsequent generations. We discuss these research frontiers in light of emerging data.

中文翻译：

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怀孕期间咖啡因的影响

流行病学研究表明，怀孕期间摄入咖啡因与不良妊娠结局有关，但其潜在机制仍不清楚。最近对生理相关剂量的动物研究已经开始剖析怀孕期间咖啡因对输卵管收缩性、胚胎发育、子宫容受性和胎盘形成的不利影响，这些影响共同导致妊娠并发症。有趣的是，在控制良好的实验环境下，咖啡因对个体动物的影响差异很大，这表明除了遗传变异外，这些表型还可能受到表观遗传调控。而且，在怀孕的敏感窗口期间接触咖啡因可能会导致发育中的胎儿甚至生殖细胞发生表观遗传变化，从而在后代中引起成人发病。我们根据新兴数据讨论这些研究前沿。