Parental vitamin D deficiency during pregnancy is associated with increased blood pressure in offspring via Panx1 hypermethylation

Parental vitamin D deficiency is associated with increased blood pressure in the offspring and with epigenetic changes of Panx1, a gene encoding for a hemichannel involved in endothelial-dependent relaxation. Offspring from vitamin D-depleted parents have impaired endothelial relaxation of the large vessels, suggesting an underlying biological mechanism.