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Brain lipidomics and neurodevelopmental outcomes in intrauterine growth restricted piglets fed dairy or vegetable fat
Nicole L Henriksen1, Karina S Asmussen1, Xiaoyu Pan1
1Section of Comparative Pediatrics and Nutrition, Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Dyrlægevej 68, 1870, Frederiksberg C, Denmark.
Insights
Dietary fat source impacts infant plasma and brain lipid profiles, but bovine milk fat did not improve neurodevelopmental outcomes in growth-restricted piglets. The fat source influenced lipid levels but did not overcome impaired brain development.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Nutritional Science
Background:
- Breast milk offers neurodevelopmental benefits over infant formula, potentially due to its fat composition.
- Low-birth-weight infants, including those with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), may particularly benefit from optimized nutrition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of different dietary fat sources (vegetable oil vs. bovine milk fat) on neurodevelopmental outcomes in normal birth weight (NBW) and IUGR piglets.
- To analyze the effects of diet on lipid profiles in plasma and brain tissue, as well as behavioral and structural brain development.
Main Methods:
- A 2x2 factorial design study using NBW and IUGR piglets fed formula with either vegetable oil (VEG) or bovine milk fat (MILK) for three weeks.
- Neurodevelopmental assessments included behavioral tests, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), lipidomics, and RNA sequencing of plasma and brain tissue.
Main Results:
- Significant differences in lipid molecule levels were observed between dietary groups in plasma and hippocampus, with most upregulated in the MILK group.
- IUGR piglets exhibited lower absolute brain weights, gray/white matter volumes, and poorer motor function scores compared to NBW piglets, with minor dietary influence.
- Cognitive function and cerebellar gene expression were similar across dietary and weight groups, indicating limited interaction effects.
Conclusions:
- The dietary fat source alters plasma and hippocampal lipidomes, but bovine milk fat did not ameliorate IUGR-induced impairments in brain structure or function.
- While diet influences lipid profiles, it is insufficient to overcome the neurodevelopmental deficits associated with intrauterine growth restriction in this piglet model.
Abstract:
Breast milk has neurodevelopmental advantages compared to infant formula, especially in low-birth-weight infants, which may in part relate to the fat source. This study compared neurodevelopmental outcomes in three-day-old normal birth weight (NBW) and intrauterine growth restricted (IUGR) piglets fed a formula diet with either vegetable oil (VEG) or bovine milk fat sources (MILK) for three weeks in a 2 × 2 factorial design. Behavioural tests, lipidomics, MRI and RNA sequencing analyses of plasma and brain tissue were conducted. The absolute levels of 82% and 11% of lipid molecules were different between dietary groups in plasma and hippocampus, respectively. Of the lipid molecules with differential abundance in the hippocampus, the majority were upregulated in MILK versus VEG, and they mainly belonged to the group of glycerophospholipids. Lower absolute brain weights, absolute grey and white matter volumes and behaviour and motor function scores, and higher relative total brain weights were present in IUGR compared to NBW with minor influence of diet. Cognitive function and cerebellar gene expression profiles were similar for dietary and weight groups, and overall only minor interactive effects between diet and birth weight were observed. Overall, we show that the dietary fat source influences the plasma and to a lesser degree the hippocampal lipidome and is unable to improve on IUGR-induced brain structural and functional impairments.
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