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Maternal overweight induced by reduced litter size impairs the behavioral neurodevelopment of offspring
Cíntia O de Novais1, Tatiane H Batista2, Ana Cláudia A F Ribeiro1
1Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biociências Aplicadas à Saude, Universidade Federal de Alfenas (Unifal-MG), Alfenas, Brazil; Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal de Alfenas (Unifal-MG), Alfenas, Brazil.
Insights
Maternal overweight, induced by litter size reduction in rats, impairs offspring neurodevelopment, leading to autism-like symptoms and altered brain synaptophysin levels.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Animal Models
Background:
- Maternal overweight is a growing concern with potential impacts on offspring development.
- Understanding the specific mechanisms linking maternal weight to neurodevelopmental outcomes is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of maternal overweight, induced by litter size reduction, on the behavioral neurodevelopment of male and female rat offspring.
- To assess neurochemical changes in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex.
Main Methods:
- Wistar rats were used, with litter sizes reduced to induce maternal overweight.
- Offspring underwent behavioral assessments including vocalizations, olfactory discrimination, social play, object recognition, and open field tests.
- Synaptophysin levels in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex were quantified via western blotting.
Main Results:
- Litter size reduction induced maternal overweight without directly affecting offspring weight parameters.
- Offspring from reduced litters exhibited deficits in social communication, olfactory discrimination, and play behavior, alongside increased stereotyped movements.
- Altered synaptophysin levels were observed in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex of offspring from dams with reduced litter sizes.
Conclusions:
- Maternal overweight, as induced in this model, significantly impairs offspring behavioral neurodevelopment.
- The findings suggest that maternal overweight can contribute to autism-like symptoms in offspring.
- This research highlights the critical importance of maternal health during pregnancy for descendant neurodevelopment.
Aims:
We assessed the influence of maternal overweight on the behavioral neurodevelopment of male and female offspring in prepubertal age by reducing the litter size.
Main Methods:
To reduce litter size in Wistar rats, the offspring of generation 0 (G0) were culled for 12 pups (6 males and 6 females: normal litter, NL-G1) or 4 pups (2 males and 2 females: small litter, SL-G1). In G1 dams, overweight was characterized, maternal behavior and locomotor activity were assessed. At G2, we quantified the ultrasonic vocalizations in post-natal day 5 (PND5); we evaluated olfactory discrimination in the homing behavior test on PND13; and in PND28-32 (prepubertal age), we performed the following tests: social play behavior, hole board, object recognition, and open field. At the end of the experiments, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex were dissected to quantify the synaptophysin by western blotting.
Key Findings:
Our data demonstrated that a reduction in litter size was able to induce maternal overweight without altering the parameters related to overweight in the offspring. The SL-G2 offspring showed deficits in early social communication, olfactory discrimination, social play behavior, and the exploration of objects, in addition to increasing repetitive and stereotyped movements. There were also changes in the synaptophysin levels in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex of the offspring from reduced litter dams. In conclusion, maternal overweight caused by litter reduction impairs behavioral neurodevelopment, inducing autism-like symptoms in the offspring.
Significance:
This study alerts the public about the negative consequences of maternal overweight in the descendants.
