Project description:16 rats were mated and the dams continued pregnancy (controls) or were subsequently caloric restricted (CR) for 20% during days 1-12. Control female/male offspring continued normal lactation, while offspring of CR-treated dams received either normal lactation (CR group) or received during lactation until PN21 leptin supplementation. Leptin treatment of offspring during lactation after caloric restriction of dams during pregnancy reverts CR-induced dysfunction.
Project description:Maternal nutrition during embryonic development and lactation influences multiple aspects of offspring health. Using mice, this study investigates the effects of maternal caloric restriction (CR) during mid-gestation and lactation on offspring neonatal development and on adult metabolic function when challenged by a high fat diet (HFD). The CR maternal model produced male and female offspring that were significantly smaller, in terms of weight and length, and females had delayed puberty. Adult offspring born to CR dams had a sexually dimorphic response to the high fat diet. Compared to offspring of maternal control dams, adult female, but not male, CR offspring gained more weight in response to high fat diet at 10 weeks. In adipose tissue of male HFD offspring, maternal undernutrition resulted in blunted expression of genes associated with weight gain and increased expression of genes that protect against weight gain. Regardless of maternal nutrition status, HFD male offspring showed increased expression of genes associated with nonalcoholic liver disease (NAFLD). Furthermore, we observed significant, sexually dimorphic differences in serum TSH. These data reveal tissue- and sex-specific changes in gene and hormone regulation following mild maternal undernutrition, which may offer protection against diet induced weight gain in adult male offspring.
Project description:Caloric Restriction in Leptin Deficiency Worsens Myocardial Steatosis: Failure to Upregulate PPAR gamma and Thermogenic Glyecrolipid/Fatty Acid Cycling Growing evidence supports an anti-lipotoxic role for leptin in preventing inappropriate peripheral tissue lipid deposition. Obese, leptin deficient ob/ob mice develop left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy and myocardial steatosis with increased apoptosis and decreased longevity. Here we investigated the cardiac effects of caloric restriction in leptin deficiency. Echocardiography was performed on C57Bl/6 wild-type mice (WT) and 7-month-old ob/ob mice fed ad lib, leptin-repleted (LR-ob/ob), or calorie-restricted (CR-ob/ob) for four weeks. Ventricular tissue was examined by electron microscopy (EM), mitochondrial coupling assay, and microarray expression profiling. LR and CR-ob/ob mice showed decreased body weight, heart weight, and LV wall thickness compared to ad lib ob/ob mice. LV fractional shortening was decreased in ad lib ob/ob mice, but restored to WT levels in LR and CR groups. However, EM revealed severe cardiac steatosis in the CR-ob/ob group compared to only moderate steatosis in ad lib ob/ob . Despite marked cardiac steatosis, CR (like LR) restored mitochondrial coupling to WT levels. CR up-regulated genes associated with oxidative stress and cell death, changes suggestive of cardiac lipotoxicity. LR, but not CR was shown to induce core genes involved in glycerolipid/free fatty acid cycling, a highly thermogenic pathway that can reduce intracellular lipid stores. LR, but not CR up-regulated and restored PGC1 and PPARto wild type levels; CR paradoxically further suppressed cardiac PPAR. Thus, leptin is essential in protecting the heart from lipotoxicity, and the inability to up-regulate the thermogenic glycerolipid/free fatty acid cycling pathway may impair the response of leptin deficient animals to the lipotoxic stress of calorie restriction. 6 month aged ob/ob mice were either leptin repleted with osmotic mini-pumps, calorie restricted to match the caloric intake of the leptin repleted mice, or fed ad lib for one month. 6-8 month C57Bl/6J mice were aged to serve as controls.
Project description:Adult female Wistar rats (about 220g) obtained from a breeding colony were mated and fed either a protein sufficient (PS) or protein restricted (PR) diet (n = 6 per dietary group) during F0 pregnancy which provided an increase in energy of approximately 25% compared to the diet fed to the breeding colony (2018S). During lactation dams were fed AIN93G and litters were standardisied to 8 offspring within 24 hours of birth with a bias towards females. Offpsring were weaned onto AIN93M at postnatal day 28 and F1 and F2 females were mated on postnatal day 70 (n = 6 per F0 dietary group). F1 and F2 dams were fed the PS diet during pregnancy and AIN93G during lactation. Offspring were weaned onto AIN93M. On postnatal day 70 unmated female offspring were fasted for 12 hours then sacrificed for hepatic transcritpome analysis by microarray. Expression of 1,684 genes differed by at least 2 fold between adult female F1 offspring of F0 dams from both dietary groups. 1680 genes were altered in F2 offspring and 2,065 genes altered in F3 offspring. Expression of 113 genes was altered in all three generations. Of these, 47% showed directionally opposite differences between generations. Gene ontology analysis revealed clear differences in the pathways altered in each generation. F1 and F2 offspring of F0 dams fed a PR diet showed impaired fasting glucose homeostasis. Hepatic phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase (PEPCK) expression was elevated in F1 and F2 offspring from F0 PR dams, but decreased in F3, compared to PS offspring
Project description:Caloric Restriction in Leptin Deficiency Worsens Myocardial Steatosis: Failure to Upregulate PPAR gamma and Thermogenic Glyecrolipid/Fatty Acid Cycling Growing evidence supports an anti-lipotoxic role for leptin in preventing inappropriate peripheral tissue lipid deposition. Obese, leptin deficient ob/ob mice develop left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy and myocardial steatosis with increased apoptosis and decreased longevity. Here we investigated the cardiac effects of caloric restriction in leptin deficiency. Echocardiography was performed on C57Bl/6 wild-type mice (WT) and 7-month-old ob/ob mice fed ad lib, leptin-repleted (LR-ob/ob), or calorie-restricted (CR-ob/ob) for four weeks. Ventricular tissue was examined by electron microscopy (EM), mitochondrial coupling assay, and microarray expression profiling. LR and CR-ob/ob mice showed decreased body weight, heart weight, and LV wall thickness compared to ad lib ob/ob mice. LV fractional shortening was decreased in ad lib ob/ob mice, but restored to WT levels in LR and CR groups. However, EM revealed severe cardiac steatosis in the CR-ob/ob group compared to only moderate steatosis in ad lib ob/ob . Despite marked cardiac steatosis, CR (like LR) restored mitochondrial coupling to WT levels. CR up-regulated genes associated with oxidative stress and cell death, changes suggestive of cardiac lipotoxicity. LR, but not CR was shown to induce core genes involved in glycerolipid/free fatty acid cycling, a highly thermogenic pathway that can reduce intracellular lipid stores. LR, but not CR up-regulated and restored PGC1-alpha and PPAR-alpha to wild type levels; CR paradoxically further suppressed cardiac PPAR-alpha. Thus, leptin is essential in protecting the heart from lipotoxicity, and the inability to up-regulate the thermogenic glycerolipid/free fatty acid cycling pathway may impair the response of leptin deficient animals to the lipotoxic stress of calorie restriction.
Project description:The aim of the study was to analyze the impact of choline intake during pregnancy and/or lactation on histological alternation and gene expression profile in the liver of NAFLD dam progeny. We hypothesized that offspring of mothers suffering from non-alcoholic fatty liver (NAFLD) is more prone to develop fatty liver, because of suboptimal intrauterine environment. The performed analyses included histological examination of liver tissue obtained from 24-day-old male rats, which were offspring of dams with fatty liver: provided with proper choline amount during pregnancy and lactation (NN), fed a choline-deficient diet during these both periods (DD), deprived with choline only during pregnancy (DN) or only during lactation (ND). The global gene expression profile was analyzed by using microarray approach (Affymetrix® Rat Gene 2.1 ST Array Strip).
Project description:Moderate maternal calorie restriction during lactation protects rat offspring against obesity development in adulthood, due to an improved ability to handle and store excess dietary fuel. We used this model to identify early transcriptome-based biomarkers of metabolic health using peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), an easily accessible surrogate tissue, by focusing on molecular markers of lipid handling. Male and female offspring of control and 20 % calorierestricted lactating dams (CR) were studied. At weaning, a set of pups was killed, and PBMCs were isolated for whole-genome microarray analysis. The remaining pups were killed at 6 months of age. CR gave lower body weight, food intake and fat accumulation, and improved levels of insulin and leptin throughout life, particularly in females. Microarray analysis of weaned rat PBMCs identified 278 genes significantly differentially expressed between control and CR. Among lipid metabolism-related genes, expression of Cpt1a, Lipe and Star was increased and Fasn, Lrp1 and Rxrb decreased in CR versus control, with changes fully confirmed by qPCR. Among them, Cpt1a, Fasn and Star emerged as particularly interesting. Transcript levels of Cpt1a in PBMCs correlated with their levels in WAT and liver at both ages examined; Fasn expression levels in PBMCs at an early age correlated with their expression levels in WAT; and early changes in Star expression levels in PBMCs correlated with their expression levels in liver and were sustained in adulthood. These findings reveal the possibility of using transcript levels of lipid metabolism-related genes in PBMCs as early biomarkers of metabolic health status.
Project description:We established a new minimal congenic rat strain containing only a single gene, Zbtb16, from a metabolic syndrome model, the polydactylous rat (PD/Cub) strain, within the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) strain genomic background. 16-week-old SHR and SHR-Zbtb16 rat dams were fed either standard diet during pregnancy and 4 weeks of lactation (control groups) or a high-sucrose diet (HSD, 70% calories as sucrose) during the same period. We have compared the transcriptome profile (GeneChip Rat Gene 2.1 ST Array Strip) in liver, brown and white adipose tissue in adult male offspring of SHR and SHR-Zbtb16 rat dams.
Project description:Objective: Procyanidins are polyphenolic bioactive compounds that exert beneficial effects against obesity and its related diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether the supplementation with low doses of a grape seed procyanidin extract (GSPE) to dams during pre and postnatal periods has biological effects on their offspring at youth. Design: The metabolic imprinting effect of GSPE was evaluated in 30 days-old male offspring of four groups of rats that were fed either a standard diet (STD) or a high-fat diet (HFD) and supplemented with either GSPE at 25 mg per kg of body weight/day or vehicle during pregnancy and lactation. Results: A significant increase in the adiposity index and in the weight of all the white adipose tissue depots studied (retroperitoneal â??RWAT-, mesenteric â??MWAT-, epididymal â??EWAT- and inguinal â??IWAT-) was observed in offspring of dams fed with a HFD and treated with GSPE (HFT group), compared to the offspring of dams fed with the same diet and that do not received procyanidins (HF group). HFT animals also showed a higher number of cells in the EWAT, a sharply decrease of the circulating levels of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) as well as a moderate, but significant, decrease of plasma glycerol levels. The transcriptomic analysis performed in the EWAT showed 238 genes differentially expressed between HF and HFT animals, covering an entire range of processes related with the immune function and the inflammatory response (the metabolic pathway mainly reflected in the EWAT), adipose tissue remodeling and function, lipid and glucose homeostasis and metabolism of methyl groups. Conclusion: GSPE treatment to dams fed a HFD during pregnancy and lactation increases adiposity, decreases the circulating levels of MCP-1 and modulates the expression of key genes involved in the adipose tissue metabolism of their offspring. The microarray study was performed with the EWAT RNA samples of rats from the HF and the HFT groups (n=8 animals each).
Project description:This study examines whether maternal low ω6:ω3 ratio diet and offspring seaweed (SW) supplementation can improve offspring immunity and performance by elucidating the effects on piglet serum proteome. A total of 16 sows were given either a standard (CR, 13:1) or low ω6:ω3 ratio diet (LR, 4:1) during pregnancy and lactation and their male weaned piglets were supplemented with SW powder (4 g/kg, SW) or not (CT) in a 21-day post-weaning (PW) diet. Four PW piglet groups were then identified based on dam and piglet treatment, namely CRCT, CRSW, LRCT, and LRSW (n = 10 each). Piglet serum collected at weaning and d21 PW were analyzed (n = 5 each) using TMT-based quantitative proteomics and validated by appropriate assays.