Probing the Influence of Paternal Diet on Offspring Neuroanatomy With Mouse MRI

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Developmental Biology
• Nutritional Science

Background:

• Parental diet significantly influences offspring neurodevelopment.
• Previous research primarily focused on maternal high-fat, high-sugar (HF/HSS) diets or combined parental diets.
• Paternal environmental factors may also impact offspring brain development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of isolated paternal consumption of an HF/HSS diet on offspring brain structure.
• To determine if paternal diet alone can induce changes in offspring brain morphology.
• To differentiate the roles of maternal versus paternal diet in diet-induced neurodevelopmental effects.

Main Methods:

• Male mice were fed an HF/HSS diet for eight weeks before mating; control males received a standard chow (CD).
• Dams and offspring consumed only the CD throughout gestation, lactation, and post-weaning.
• Offspring brains were analyzed using ex vivo magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and volumetric analysis at postnatal day 42.

Main Results:

• HF/HSS-fed sires exhibited increased weight gain compared to controls.
• Offspring body weight at weaning (P21) and endpoint (P42) was not significantly affected by paternal diet.
• No significant alterations in offspring brain morphology were observed based on sire HF/HSS diet alone.

Conclusions:

• The study suggests that paternal HF/HSS diet alone does not induce significant structural changes in offspring brains.
• Observed offspring brain alterations linked to parental HF/HSS diet likely necessitate maternal dietary contribution.
• Maternal diet plays a crucial role in mediating the impact of HF/HSS consumption on offspring brain development.