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The impact of maternal high-fat diet on offspring neurodevelopment
Gintare Urbonaite1, Agne Knyzeliene2, Fanny Sophia Bunn3
1Institute of Biosciences, Life Sciences Center, Vilnius University, Vilnius, Lithuania.
Insights
A maternal high-fat diet negatively impacts offspring neurodevelopment, potentially causing disorders like autism and ADHD. This review explores mechanisms linking maternal diet to altered brain development and behavior in offspring.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Nutritional Science
Background:
- Maternal obesity rates have surged globally, affecting women of reproductive age.
- High-fat diets during pregnancy are linked to offspring neurodevelopmental disorders, including autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review recent findings on how maternal high-fat diets interfere with offspring neurodevelopment.
- To explore potential mechanisms underlying these effects.
Main Methods:
- Review of recent findings from rodent models.
- Analysis of human studies.
Main Results:
- Maternal high-fat diet induces inflammation in maternal organs and the placenta, increasing pro-inflammatory cytokines.
- Dietary intake leads to gut microbial dysbiosis, exacerbating inflammation during pregnancy and lactation.
- Epigenetic modifications, such as reduced brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and altered endocannabinoid system, impact offspring brain development.
- Observed neurodevelopmental aberrations correlate with behavioral deficits in animal models, mirroring human neurodevelopmental disorder phenotypes.
Conclusions:
- Maternal high-fat diet poses significant risks to offspring neurodevelopment and long-term brain health.
- Inflammation, gut dysbiosis, and epigenetic changes are key mechanisms involved.
- Further research is crucial to understand and mitigate these adverse effects.
Abstract:
A maternal high-fat diet affects offspring neurodevelopment with long-term consequences on their brain health and behavior. During the past three decades, obesity has rapidly increased in the whole human population worldwide, including women of reproductive age. It is known that maternal obesity caused by a high-fat diet may lead to neurodevelopmental disorders in their offspring, such as autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia. A maternal high-fat diet can affect offspring neurodevelopment due to inflammatory activation of the maternal gut, adipose tissue, and placenta, mirrored by increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in both maternal and fetal circulation. Furthermore, a maternal high fat diet causes gut microbial dysbiosis further contributing to increased inflammatory milieu during pregnancy and lactation, thus disturbing both prenatal and postnatal neurodevelopment of the offspring. In addition, global molecular and cellular changes in the offspring's brain may occur due to epigenetic modifications including the downregulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression and the activation of the endocannabinoid system. These neurodevelopmental aberrations are reflected in behavioral deficits observed in animals, corresponding to behavioral phenotypes of certain neurodevelopmental disorders in humans. Here we reviewed recent findings from rodent models and from human studies to reveal potential mechanisms by which a maternal high-fat diet interferes with the neurodevelopment of the offspring.
