Maternal high-fat hypercaloric diet during pregnancy results in persistent metabolic and respiratory abnormalities in
Pamela S Griffiths1, Cheryl Walton1, Lennie Samsell1
1Department of Pediatrics, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia.
Insights
Maternal high-fat diet during pregnancy programs offspring for metabolic issues and asthma-like respiratory problems. This maternal nutrition impacts airway inflammation and increases bronchiolitis risk in children.
Area of Science:
- Perinatology
- Developmental Biology
- Metabolic Syndrome
Background:
- Previous studies linked childhood asthma to early metabolic abnormalities.
- Investigating the impact of maternal diet on offspring's metabolic and respiratory health.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine if maternal nutrition during pregnancy influences postnatal metabolic and respiratory outcomes in offspring.
- To assess the long-term effects of maternal diet on offspring's lung function and disease susceptibility.
Main Methods:
- Pregnant dams were fed either a high-fat hypercaloric diet or a control diet.
- Offspring were studied at newborn, weanling, and adult stages.
- Metabolic parameters, lung cytokine expression, gene expression, and respiratory mechanics were analyzed.
Main Results:
- Offspring from high-fat diet dams exhibited persistent metabolic abnormalities.
- Neonatal lungs showed a proinflammatory cytokine pattern.
- Weanlings displayed upregulated neurotrophic factors, increased respiratory resistance, decreased compliance, and heightened airway hyperreactivity.
- Offspring were more susceptible to severe respiratory syncytial virus infection.
Conclusions:
- Maternal nutrition during pregnancy critically influences offspring's airway inflammation and hyperreactivity.
- Maternal diet increases bronchiolitis risk in offspring, irrespective of pre-pregnancy nutrition.
Background:
We have shown in a previous population-based study significant correlation between childhood asthma and early abnormalities of lipid and glucose metabolism. This study's specific aim was to determine whether maternal nutrition in pregnancy affects postnatal metabolic and respiratory outcomes in the offspring.
Methods:
On gestation day 1, dams were switched from standard chow to either high-fat hypercaloric diet or control diet. Terminal experiments were performed on newborn and weanling offspring of dams fed the study diet during gestation and lactation, and on adult offspring maintained on the same diet as their mother.
Results:
Pups born from high-fat hypercaloric diet (HFD) dams developed metabolic abnormalities persistent throughout development. Cytokine expression analysis of lung tissues from newborns born to HFD dams revealed a strong proinflammatory pattern. Gene expression of neurotrophic factors and receptors was upregulated in lungs of weanlings born to HFD dams, and this was associated to higher respiratory system resistance and lower compliance at baseline, as well as hyperreactivity to aerosolized methacholine. Furthermore, HFD dams delivered pups prone to develop more severe disease after respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection.
Conclusion:
Maternal nutrition in pregnancy is a critical determinant of airway inflammation and hyperreactivity in offspring and also increases risk for bronchiolitis independent from prepregnancy nutrition.
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