Sex-specific effects of maternal and neonatal vitamin A supplementation on blood variables, growth performance, and gene expression in Hanwoo calves

While early nutritional programming critically shapes offspring development, the integrated effects of maternal and neonatal vitamin A (VA) supplementation remain unexplored in beef cattle. In this study, we demonstrate that combining maternal and neonatal VA supplementation exerts pronounced sex-specific effects on growth performance, blood variables, hepatic and skeletal muscle gene expression in Hanwoo calves. Forty-four multiparous Hanwoo cows were assigned to a maternal control (7,000 IU VA/kg DM) or maternal VA group (20,520 IU VA/kg DM) from the third month of gestation until parturition. Calves were further assigned to a neonatal control (17,000 IU/d of VA, until d 60) or VA group (53,000 IU/d of VA, until d 60), forming a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement within each sex. Maternal VA supplementation increased (p < 0.05) birth weight in female calves, but not males, an effect that persisted through weaning. It also increased (p < 0.01) neonatal red blood cell counts and hemoglobin across sexes. In female calves, neonatal VA supplementation elevated (p < 0.05) serum VA concentration at weaning. In the liver, significant maternal × neonatal interactions (p < 0.05) occurred for aldehyde dehydrogenase 1 family member A1 (ALDH1A1) and retinoic acid receptor alpha (RARA) in females, peaking in the dual-supplementation group. In female skeletal muscle, maternal and neonatal VA upregulated (p < 0.05) myogenic factor 5 (MYF5). Interactions (p < 0.05) for myogenic differentiation 1 (MYOD) and myogenin (MYOG) showed that neonatal VA supplementation upregulated both genes in females from maternal control dams. Maternal VA supplementation increased (p < 0.05) zinc finger protein 423 (ZNF423) expression, whereas neonatal VA supplementation decreased (p < 0.05) peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARG). Male calves showed no significant muscle gene expression effects. Collectively, these findings suggest that maternal VA supply may enhance the transcriptional capacity for hepatic retinoic acid (RA) metabolism, with neonatal supplementation potentially providing additional substrate for this pathway. The associated transcriptional responses in skeletal muscle appear sexually dimorphic, consistent with a preferential effect on myogenic and adipogenic gene programs in female offspring.