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Updated: Feb 15, 2026
Author Spotlight: Studying the Impact of Maternal Dietary Deficiencies on Long-Term Offspring Health Outcomes
Published on: June 28, 2024
Maternal protein malnutrition induces autism-like symptoms in rat offspring
Tatiane Helena Batista1, Alexandre Giusti-Paiva1,2, Fabiana Cardoso Vilela1,2
1a Departamento de Ciências Fisiológicas, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal de Alfenas (Unifal-MG) , Alfenas , Brazil.
Insights
Maternal protein malnutrition in pregnant rats induced autistic-like behaviors in offspring, including reduced vocalizations, impaired social skills, and stereotypic actions. These findings link early-life nutrition to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) risk.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Nutritional Science
Background:
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a complex neurodevelopmental condition.
- Environmental factors, including maternal nutrition, may influence ASD risk.
- Rodent models are crucial for studying ASD etiology and potential interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the correlation between maternal protein malnutrition and autistic-like behaviors in rodent offspring.
- To assess core and associated symptoms of ASD in offspring exposed to a hypoproteic diet during gestation and lactation.
Main Methods:
- Pregnant rats were assigned to either a normal or hypoproteic diet.
- Offspring were behaviorally tested from infancy to adolescence for ultrasonic vocalizations, social behavior, locomotor activity, and object recognition.
- Key developmental milestones such as litter weight gain were monitored.
Main Results:
- Offspring from the hypoproteic diet group exhibited reduced weight gain during lactation.
- Infant pups showed decreased ultrasonic vocalizations and impaired social discrimination.
- Adolescent offspring displayed stereotypic behaviors and reduced social play, with males showing altered object recognition.
Conclusions:
- Maternal protein malnutrition during gestation and lactation induces behavioral phenotypes in rat offspring that mimic core and associated symptoms of ASD.
- Early-life nutritional deficiencies represent a significant risk factor for neurodevelopmental disorders like ASD.
- This study highlights the critical role of maternal nutrition in offspring neurodevelopment and behavior.
Abstract:
Objective: We tested the correlation between maternal protein malnutrition and autistic-like symptoms using behavioral tests in rodents that measure main behavioral characteristics observed in humans with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Methods: Pregnant female rats were fed a normal diet or a hypoproteic diet during gestation and lactation periods. The litters were weighed every 3 days during lactation, and the offspring were tested in behavioral tasks during infancy (postnatal day (PND) 5: quantification of ultrasonic vocalizations; PND 13: homing behavior test) and adolescence (PND 30-32: open field, hole-board, play social behavior, and object recognition tests) in order to capture the prevalence of some of the core and associated symptoms of ASD. Results: Litters of the hypoproteic diet group had a lesser weight gain during lactation. In addition, pups of dams fed with a hypoproteic diet vocalized less compared to those fed with a normal diet, and they showed impaired social discrimination abilities in the homing behavior test. In adolescence, both male and female offspring of the hypoproteic diet group showed no impairment in locomotor activity; however, they exhibited stereotypic behavior in the hole-board test and a decrease in social play behaviors. Male offspring showed increased interest in exploring a familiar object rather than a novel object. Conclusion: Our results show that maternal protein malnutrition in rats causes offspring behaviors that resemble core and associated ASD symptoms.
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