Intestinal responsiveness to experimental colitis in young rats is altered by maternal diet

Area of Science:

• Nutritional science and developmental biology.
• Gastroenterology and immunology.
• Perinatal nutrition and long-term health outcomes.

Background:

• Fetal and neonatal nutrition are critical determinants of later-life health.
• Maternal dietary fat intake can influence offspring's physiological development.
• The impact of specific maternal fatty acid profiles on infant gut health and disease susceptibility is not fully understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how maternal dietary fat composition affects intestinal phospholipid fatty acids in suckling rat pups.
• To determine the influence of maternal diet on the susceptibility of offspring to experimental colitis.
• To establish the relationship between maternal fatty acid intake, milk composition, and offspring's gut inflammatory response.

Main Methods:

• Female rats were fed diets high in n-3, n-6, or n-9 fatty acids during gestation and lactation.
• Colitis was induced in pups using 2,4-dinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (DNBS) on postnatal day 15.
• Analysis included jejunal and colonic phospholipids, milk fatty acids, colonic damage scores, and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity.

Main Results:

• Maternal diets rich in n-3 or n-6 fatty acids altered milk and pup intestinal phospholipid fatty acid profiles accordingly.
• The n-6 to n-3 fatty acid ratio in maternal diet, milk, and pup intestines increased in the order: n-3 < n-9 < n-6.
• Pups from mothers fed a high n-6 diet exhibited more severe colitis, with higher damage scores and MPO activity, compared to other groups.

Conclusions:

• Maternal dietary fat composition directly influences the fatty acid composition of intestinal lipids in nursing offspring.
• A high maternal n-6 fatty acid intake exacerbates experimental colitis in rat pups.
• Maternal intake of n-3 fatty acids (canola oil) conferred protection against DNBS-induced colitis in offspring.