Thermoneutrality effects on developmental programming of obesity

Area of Science:

• Developmental biology
• Metabolic research
• Animal models

Background:

• Maternal diet and environmental temperature during gestation can influence offspring's long-term metabolic health.
• Standard housing temperatures in developmental programming studies may induce cold stress, confounding results.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the impact of two housing temperatures (22°C and 30°C) on obesity development in offspring.
• To examine the sex-specific effects of maternal diet (Control vs. 30% food restriction) and housing temperature on offspring metabolism.

Main Methods:

• Mouse models were used with pregnant dams housed at either 22°C (cold-exposed) or 30°C (thermoneutral).
• Offspring were exposed to maternal diet variations and then housed at similar temperatures post-weaning.
• Body weight, food intake, body composition, glucose tolerance, and tissue analyses were performed at 6 months of age.

Main Results:

• Food-restricted offspring (FR) at both temperatures exhibited hyperphagia, increased weight, and adiposity compared to controls.
• Male offspring at thermoneutrality (TN) were heavier with more body fat but decreased food intake compared to cold-exposed (CE) males.
• Female offspring showed no significant impact of housing temperature, indicating sex-specific effects.

Conclusions:

• Maternal food restriction and housing temperature interact to influence offspring obesity, particularly in males.
• Thermoneutral housing exacerbates adverse metabolic outcomes in male offspring of food-restricted dams.
• Environmental temperature is a critical factor in developmental programming studies, with significant sex-specific implications.