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Published on: June 24, 2020
Relationship of maternal high-fat diet to intestinal barrier integrity and disease in offspring
Chen Zhang1, Weiqi Zhong1, Long Miao1
1Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China; Key Laboratory of Artificial Organs and Computational Medicine in Zhejiang Province, Institute of Translational Medicine, Zhejiang Shuren University, Hangzhou, China.
Insights
Maternal high-fat diet (HFD) negatively impacts offspring gut health and immunity through microbiota and barrier alterations. This review highlights the critical need for intervention to mitigate these long-term health risks.
Area of Science:
- Nutrition Science
- Developmental Biology
- Gastroenterology
Background:
- Maternal high-fat diet (HFD) is linked to chronic diseases like obesity and diabetes.
- HFD during pregnancy can disrupt offspring's intestinal barrier integrity and gut microbiota.
- Offspring health is influenced by maternal diet via placental environment, birth mode, and milk nutrition.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review and evaluate the detrimental effects of maternal HFD on offspring health.
- To explore the pathways linking maternal HFD to offspring intestinal barrier dysfunction.
- To synthesize evidence on the impact of maternal HFD on gut microbiota, metabolism, and immunity in offspring.
Main Methods:
- Comprehensive literature review of epidemiological, clinical, and animal studies.
- Analysis of maternal-infant influence pathways, including gut microbiota and metabolism.
- Evaluation of effects on intestinal physical and immune barriers in offspring.
Main Results:
- Maternal HFD induces long-term alterations in offspring gut microbiota composition and function.
- HFD exposure affects the development and integrity of the offspring's intestinal barrier.
- Multiple maternal-infant pathways contribute to the negative health outcomes in offspring exposed to HFD in utero.
Conclusions:
- Maternal HFD poses a significant threat to offspring's long-term health, particularly gut health.
- Understanding these maternal-infant influences is crucial for developing preventative strategies.
- Medical professionals and society must address the risks associated with maternal HFD for improved public health outcomes.
Abstract:
High-fat diet (HFD) has been demonstrated to negatively affect the exacerbation of chronic diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, gastrointestinal disease, cardiovascular disease, and central nervous system disease. Research has revealed that maternal HFD affects the intestinal barrier integrity of offspring in multiple ways. Offspring not only "inherit" the abnormal gut microbiota induced by maternal HFD, thus having long-term effects on offspring health, but also are profoundly affected by various factors, such as the placental environment, mode of birth, and breast milk nutrition. In this review, we summarize recent epidemiological studies, clinical studies and animal experiments, and we evaluate the threat of maternal HFD to offspring health. We discuss the associations between maternal HFD and the intestinal barrier of offspring in the context of maternal-infant influence pathways, the gut microbiota and associated metabolism, intestinal physical barriers, and intestinal immune barriers. Further, we interpret the available evidence and its limitations. We believe that medical professionals and society must respond to the harmful effects of HFD to improve outcomes in the future.
