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Litter reduction-induced obesity promotes early depressive-like behavior and elevated prefrontal cortex GFAP
Débora Cristina da Cunha Nones1, Cíntia Onofra Novais2, Viviana Carolina Trujillo Rojas2
1Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biociências Aplicadas à Saúde (PPGB), Universidade Federal de Alfenas (Unifal-MG), Alfenas, Minas Gerais, Brazil; Departamento de Ciências Fisiológicas, Instituto de Ciências Biomédicas, Universidade Federal de Alfenas (Unifal-MG), Alfenas, Minas Gerais, Brazil.
Insights
Litter reduction in rodents leads to obesity and depressive-like behaviors in offspring. This may be linked to increased glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression in the brain.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Early life stress, such as litter size reduction, can impact offspring development.
- Obesity is a growing concern with potential links to mental health disorders.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of litter reduction-induced obesity on early depressive-related behaviors in rodent offspring.
- To explore the relationship between obesity, maternal behavior, and neurobiological changes in offspring.
Main Methods:
- Rodent litters were standardized into normal (NL) and small (SL) groups.
- Maternal behavior, offspring weight gain, fat tissue, locomotor activity, social play, and forced swimming tests were assessed.
- Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex was evaluated.
Main Results:
- Small litter (SL) offspring exhibited increased weight gain and fat tissue accumulation.
- SL rodents showed reduced social play behavior and increased immobility in forced swimming tests, indicating depressive-like phenotypes.
- Increased GFAP expression was observed in the prefrontal cortex of male SL offspring, with a trend in the hippocampus.
Conclusions:
- Obesity induced by litter reduction may promote early depressive-like behaviors in rodent offspring.
- Elevated GFAP expression in the prefrontal cortex could be a contributing factor to these behaviors.
Aims:
The present study was developed to investigate how litter reduction-induced obesity promotes early depressive-related behaviors in rodent offspring.
Main Methods:
We employed a standardized litter size reduction protocol, dividing litters into groups: normal litters (NL), consisting of six males and six females pups and small litters (SL), comprising two males and two females pups. Maternal behavior was monitored during the initial week of lactation. Subsequently, we assessed the pups for weight gain, locomotor activity, social play behavior, and performance in forced swimming test. We further evaluated the weights of retroperitoneal and perigonadal fat tissues, along with the expression of glial fibrillary acidic pprotein (GFAP) in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex of the offspring.
Key Findings:
Our results indicated that litter size reduction led to an increased the maternal behavior. In contrast, offspring from the SL group displayed greater weight gain and increased, retroperitoneal and perigonadal fat. Both male and female rodents in the SL group exhibited decreased social play behavior, and male offspring spent more time immobile during the forced swimming test, suggesting a depressive-like phenotype. Notably, we observed an increase in the GFAP expression in the prefrontal cortex of male rodents, with a trend toward increased expression in the hippocampus.
Significance:
Obesity may facilitate the development of early depressive-like behaviors, potentially associated with elevated GFAP expression in the prefrontal cortex.
