Maternal overnutrition is associated with altered synaptic input to lateral hypothalamic area
Kuldeep Shrivastava1, Thaarini Swaminathan1, Alessandro Barlotta1
1Child Health Institute of New Jersey, USA.
Molecular Metabolism
|March 10, 2023
Summary
Maternal obesity during pregnancy programs offspring to be susceptible to diet-induced obesity later in life. This is linked to altered feeding circuits in the brain, specifically the lateral hypothalamus.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Metabolic Research
- Developmental Biology
Background:
- Maternal overnutrition is linked to offspring obesity and diabetes.
- The impact of maternal obesity on offspring feeding circuits is not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effects of maternal obesity on lateral hypothalamic feeding circuit function.
- To determine the relationship between maternal obesity and offspring body weight regulation.
Main Methods:
- A mouse model of maternal obesity was used.
- Offspring food intake and body weight were assessed.
- Channelrhodopsin-assisted circuit mapping and electrophysiology were employed to analyze synaptic connectivity in the extended amygdala-lateral hypothalamic pathway.
Main Results:
- Maternal overnutrition led to heavier offspring pre-weaning, with normalized weights on chow but increased susceptibility to diet-induced obesity in adulthood.
- Altered synaptic strength in the extended amygdala-lateral hypothalamic pathway was observed in offspring from obese mothers.
- Enhanced excitatory input to lateral hypothalamic neurons from the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis was linked to early life growth rate.
Conclusions:
- Maternal obesity can rewire hypothalamic feeding circuits in offspring.
- These circuit alterations predispose offspring to metabolic dysfunction, including obesity.
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