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Programmed changes in the adult rat offspring caused by maternal protein restriction during gestation and lactation
Marco Fidalgo1, Filippe Falcão-Tebas2, Adriano Bento-Santos2
1Department of Physical Education and Sports Science, CAV, Federal University of Pernambuco, Pernambuco, Brazil.
Insights
Maternal exercise training mitigated adverse effects of a perinatal low-protein diet on offspring development and glucose metabolism. However, training did not fully restore leptin levels in offspring exposed to the low-protein diet.
Area of Science:
- Endocrinology
- Developmental Biology
- Nutritional Science
Background:
- Perinatal nutrition significantly impacts offspring's long-term health.
- Maternal lifestyle factors, such as physical activity, may influence developmental programming.
- Low-protein diets during gestation and lactation are linked to metabolic disturbances in offspring.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of maternal moderate-to-low physical training on offspring's postnatal development.
- To assess the effects on glucose homeostasis and leptin concentration in adult offspring.
- To determine if maternal exercise can counteract adverse effects of a perinatal low-protein diet.
Main Methods:
- Male Wistar rats were divided into four groups based on maternal training status and diet (trained/untrained, normal/low-protein diet).
- Mothers underwent treadmill training before and during pregnancy.
- Offspring growth, body composition, glucose levels, lipid profiles, glucose/insulin tolerance, and serum leptin were assessed at 150 days old.
Main Results:
- Maternal training alone (trained, normal diet) showed no significant changes in offspring.
- Offspring from untrained mothers on a low-protein diet exhibited increased abdominal circumference, hyperglycemia, hypercholesterolemia, glucose intolerance, and lower leptin.
- Maternal training reversed these metabolic alterations in offspring fed a low-protein diet, except for plasma leptin concentration.
Conclusions:
- Maternal physical training during the perinatal period can attenuate the negative consequences of a low-protein diet on offspring's growth and glucose metabolism.
- The protective effects of maternal exercise extend to improved glucose homeostasis and reduced adiposity.
- Plasma leptin concentration in offspring was not fully restored by maternal training, suggesting persistent effects of the perinatal low-protein diet on this hormone.
Abstract:
The effects of maternal moderate-low physical training on postnatal development, glucose homeostasis and leptin concentration in adult offspring subjected to a low-protein diet during the perinatal period were investigated. Male Wistar rats (aged 150 d old) were divided into four groups according to maternal group: untrained (NTp, n 8); trained (Tp, n 8); untrained with a low-protein diet (NT+LPp, n 8); trained with a low-protein diet (T+LPp, n 8). The trained mothers were subjected to a protocol of moderate physical training over a period of 4 weeks (treadmill, 5 d/week, 60 min/d, at 65 % VO(2max)) before mating. At pregnancy, the intensity and duration of exercise was progressively reduced (50-20 min/d, at 65-30 % VO(2max)). The low-protein diet groups received an 8 % casein diet, and their peers received a 17 % casein diet during gestation and lactation. The pups' birth weight and somatic growth were recorded weekly up to the 150th day. Fasting blood glucose, cholesterol, serum leptin concentration, glucose and insulin tolerance tests were evaluated. The Tp animals showed no changes in somatic and biochemical parameters, while the NT+LPp group showed a greater abdominal circumference, hyperglycaemia, hypercholesterolaemia, glucose intolerance and lower plasma leptin. In the T+LPp animals, all of those alterations were reversed except for plasma leptin concentration. In conclusion, the effects of a perinatal low-protein diet on growth and development, glucose homeostasis and serum leptin concentration in the offspring were attenuated in pups from trained mothers.
