Growth and development of rats artificially reared on a high or a low plane of nutrition

In order to exclude the possibility of differences in maternal care which are known to result from typical methods of undernutrition during the suckling period, rat pups were reared artificially on different planes of nutrition away from their mothers. Artificial rearing was accomplished by fitting infant rats with a gastric cannula through which a milk substitute was infused intermittently. Rats were fed thus from 4 to 21 d on a high (ARHI) or a low (ARLO; 44% of ARHI level) plane of nutrition. Underfeeding of the ARLO group was continued till 25 d, after which all rats were given a good-quality pelleted diet qd lib. Compared with mother-reared (MR) litter-mates, ARHI rats showed advanced eye-opening and, at 21 and 25 d, they resisted restraint more strongly. Growth in body-weight of ARHI and MR rats was similar but, when autopsied at 32 weeks, the ARHI rats were shorter (nose-rump length) and had lighter gastrocnemius muscles, adrenals and brains, but heavier epididymal-fat pads. ARLO rats had deficits at 32 weeks compared with ARHI rats in whole body, kidney and epididymal-fat-pad weights, and in tibia length. In a second experiment, ARHI and MR rats were killed at 21 d. All the differences found at 32 weeks were already present at 21 d. In addition, the ARHI pups had enlarged livers and intestines but shorter tibias. The milk substitute, which is one commonly used in such studies, has a low protein and high carbohydrate content compared with rats' milk. This difference probably caused the abnormal organ growth of ARHI rats.