Maternal Obesity Programs Adipogenic Commitment in Neonatal Mesenchymal Stem Cells: A Link to Redox-Dependent FOXO1...

Maternal obesity increases the risk of obesity and metabolic disease in the offspring, yet the cellular mechanisms that program adipose tissue development remain poorly understood. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), the precursors of adipocytes, may represent an early target of metabolic programming during fetal development. In this study, we investigated whether maternal obesity alters stemness, redox homeostasis and adipogenic signaling through FOXO1 in neonatal MSCs. MSCs were isolated from Wharton's jelly of umbilical cords from neonates born to mothers with normal weight (NW-MSCs, n = 15) or obesity (OB-MSCs, n = 15). OB-MSCs exhibited reduced stemness characteristics, including lower OCT3/4 expression and decreased clonogenic capacity. These cells also displayed increased mitochondrial superoxide levels and reduced SOD2 expression, indicating mitochondrial oxidative stress. In addition, OB-MSCs showed increased GSH levels and decreased antioxidant enzyme response, compared to NW-MSCs. Further, OB-MSCs exhibited higher FOXO1 expression levels, reduced acetyl-FOXO1 levels, and altered subcellular localization during early adipogenesis, consistent with reduced repression of the adipogenic regulator PPARγ. Finally, OB-MSC-derived adipocytes exhibited increased PPARγ expression at later stages of differentiation. These findings suggest that maternal obesity disrupts redox balance and FOXO1 dynamics in neonatal MSCs, thereby shifting early adipogenic signaling toward enhanced adipocyte commitment. This early programming mechanism may expand the adipocyte precursor pool, potentially predisposing the progeny to higher adiposity and metabolic disorders later in life.