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Updated: May 11, 2025
Body Composition and Metabolic Caging Analysis in High Fat Fed Mice
Published on: May 24, 2018
Perinatal and postweaning high-fat diet consumption promotes dysfunction, inflammation, in mesenteric adipose tissue
G S Cordeiro1, R J B Matos2, M B Gois3,4
1Universidade Federal da Bahia, Escola de Nutrição, Programa de Pós Graduação em Alimentos, Nutrição e Saúde, Salvador, BA, Brasil.
Insights
Maternal high-fat diet consumption during development and after weaning alters mesenteric adipose tissue (MAT) structure and inflammation in offspring rats. This leads to adipocyte dysfunction and increased risk of chronic diseases.
Area of Science:
- Developmental biology
- Nutritional science
- Immunology
Background:
- Maternal diet during gestation and lactation significantly impacts offspring development.
- High-fat diets are linked to metabolic dysfunction and inflammation.
- Mesenteric adipose tissue (MAT) plays a crucial role in metabolic health and inflammation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the long-term effects of perinatal and post-weaning high-fat diet (HFD) consumption on rat offspring's MAT.
- To analyze the impact of HFD on MAT histology, adipocyte size, and inflammatory gene expression.
Main Methods:
- Wistar rats were fed either a control or HFD during gestation and lactation.
- Offspring were divided into four groups based on maternal and post-weaning diet.
- MAT was analyzed using histochemical and molecular techniques to assess structural and inflammatory changes.
Main Results:
- Maternal and post-weaning HFD consumption led to increased adipocyte area and reduced adipocyte number in offspring MAT.
- Histopathological changes and increased interleukin-6 (Il-6) expression were observed in HFD-exposed offspring.
- Reduced nuclear factor-kappa B (Nf-κb) expression was noted in offspring exposed to HFD.
Conclusions:
- Maternal HFD consumption, especially when continued post-weaning, significantly impairs offspring MAT function and promotes inflammation.
- This dietary pattern predisposes offspring to chronic diseases and inflammatory conditions.
- Early life nutrition profoundly influences long-term metabolic health and disease susceptibility.
Abstract:
Consumption of a diet high in fat during the critical developmental period may alter the structure and expression of inflammatory genes in mesenteric adipose tissue (MAT). Aim: To investigate the effects of consumption of a high-fat diet in the perinatal period and after weaning on histologic dysfunction and inflammation in mesenteric adipose tissue of young rats. Ten pregnant Wistar rats were fed a high-fat diet (H,n=5) or a control (C,n=5) during gestation and lactation. After weaning, thirty-eight male pups formed: group C pups were randomly assigned to groups CC and CH, which received a control diet and a high-fat diet, respectively. Similarly, group H pups were assigned to groups HC and HH, which received the control diet and the high-fat diet, respectively. The MAT was collected, processed, and analyzed by histochemical and molecular techniques. Taken together, our results suggest that maternal consumption of a high-fat diet, followed by consumption of the same diet in the postweaning period, causes dysfunction in the MAT of the offspring, resulting in increased adipocyte area, which in turn results in a reduction in adipocytes. Histopathological changes, increased Il-6 expression, reduced on Nf-κb expression were also caused by the high-fat diet. It can be concluded that maternal consumption of a high-fat diet, followed by consumption in the postweaning a strong influence on the life of offspring and predisposes them to the development of chronic diseases and inflammation in MAT.
