Regular parental pre-mating exercise reduces offspring white adiposity and is associated with hypothalamic...

Area of Science:

• Reproductive Biology
• Developmental Biology
• Metabolic Health

Background:

• Physical inactivity is a global health concern affecting current and future generations.
• The specific effects of parental pre-mating physical activity on offspring development are not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how parental pre-mating exercise and age influence offspring body weight and composition.
• To explore the underlying mechanisms, including gene expression and milk composition, linking parental exercise to offspring outcomes.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a mouse model with voluntary wheel running to assess the impact of pre-mating exercise.
• Analyzed offspring body weight, adiposity, tibial length, and hypothalamic transcriptomic profiles.
• Examined maternal gene expression, breast milk composition, and microRNA (miRNA) content.

Main Results:

• Pre-mating exercise in young parents reduced offspring visceral and subcutaneous fat and affected tibial length in females.
• Offspring hypothalamic transcriptomic profiles were altered by parental exercise.
• Maternal pre-mating exercise induced lasting changes in lactation-related gene expression, milk composition, and miRNA content.

Conclusions:

• Parental age and pre-mating exercise interact to shape offspring post-weaning body composition.
• Maternal pre-mating exercise may influence offspring hypothalamic development and neurodevelopmental adaptations via milk-derived miRNAs.
• Regular parental pre-mating exercise offers potential benefits for offspring physiology and development.