Progenitor with cardiometabolic disorders increases food intake, systemic inflammation and gut microbiota alterations...

Area of Science:

• Metabolic disorders
• Microbiome research
• Developmental biology

Background:

• Maternal diet significantly impacts offspring health.
• High-fat diets are linked to cardiometabolic disorders.
• Intergenerational effects of diet on health are increasingly recognized.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of a progenitor's high-fat diet on the cardiometabolic health and gut microbiota of second-generation offspring.
• To determine if diet-induced changes in progenitors can be transmitted across generations.

Main Methods:

• Rats were fed either a high-fat (H) or control (C) diet during mating, gestation, and lactation (G0).
• Second-generation (F2) offspring were born to these progenitors and fed only a control diet.
• Cardiometabolic parameters (MAP, TAG, cholesterol, adiposity) and gene expression (TNF-α, MCP-1, MyD88, CAV-1) were analyzed.
• Intestinal microbiota composition and diversity were assessed.

Main Results:

• Both progenitor (G0H) and offspring (F2-G0H) groups exhibited altered intestinal microbiota.
• F2-G0H offspring showed increased MAP, plasma TAG, adiposity index, and inflammation markers.
• F2-G0H offspring also displayed increased food intake, leptin resistance, total cholesterol, and MCP-1, with reduced adiponectin.
• Specific bacterial families showed increased diversity correlated with cardiometabolic disorders.

Conclusions:

• Progenitor's high-fat diet induces cardiometabolic disorders, systemic inflammation, and gut microbiota alterations in offspring, even on a control diet.
• These findings highlight the transgenerational impact of maternal diet on offspring metabolic health.
• Gut microbiota alterations are implicated as a key factor in mediating these intergenerational effects.