Related Experiment Videos
Abnormally high nourishment during sensitive periods results in body weight changes across generations
1Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle 98195, USA.
Insights
Early overnutrition in rats significantly altered adult weight and affected two subsequent generations, demonstrating transgenerational metabolic programming. This highlights how environmental factors can impact offspring health beyond genetics.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Biology
- Metabolic Phenotyping
- Transgenerational Epigenetics
Background:
- Overnutrition during critical developmental windows can have lasting health consequences.
- Understanding the mechanisms of metabolic programming is crucial for public health.
- Epigenetic modifications may mediate intergenerational effects of environmental exposures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the long-term effects of a brief period of overnutrition in early life on adult weight.
- To determine if this early overnutrition impacts the weight and phenotype of succeeding generations (F2 and F3).
- To model potential human conditions like gestational diabetes and its intergenerational impacts.
Main Methods:
- Female rat pups (F1) were exposed to overnutrition (OF) via gastric infusion during a sensitive developmental period (postnatal days 8-16).
- Control groups included naturally reared and pair-fed gastrostomized pups.
- Offspring (F2 and F3) were generated from overfed F1 females and their phenotypes assessed.
Main Results:
- Adult F1 females from the overfed group were heavier than controls.
- F2 offspring from overfed mothers were smaller than controls.
- F3 offspring from overfed grandmothers were heavier at weaning compared to controls.
Conclusions:
- Brief overnutrition during a sensitive developmental period induces significant metabolic changes in the exposed individual and two subsequent generations.
- These findings suggest that environmental factors, independent of genetic anomalies, can drive secular changes across generations.
- The study provides a model for understanding the fetal origins of health and disease, including the impact of conditions like gestational diabetes.
Objective:
This study asked whether a brief period of overnutrition during a developmentally sensitive time could impact the individual's adult weight and that of succeeding generations.
Research Methods And Procedures:
Female rat pups (F1 generation) were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups: (1) a control group that was naturally reared by mothers; (2) another control group implanted with chronic gastric fistulas on postnatal day 4 and fed enough formula to match the growth of the mother-reared group; and (3) an experimental group gastrostomized and infused from day 8 through day 16 with a greater quantity of food than gastrostomy-reared controls (OF). On postnatal day 16, both gastrostomy-reared groups were returned to normal litters. Adult F1 females from overfed and mother-reared groups were bred with normal males to yield an F2 generation. F2 adult females were bred to normal males to produce an F3 generation.
Results:
When adult, the F1 experimental group was heavier than control groups. F2 adults from OF mothers were smaller than those from the control group. F3 animals from OF grandmothers were heavier at weaning than F3 descendants from mother-reared animals.
Discussion:
Excess nourishment during a developmentally sensitive period changed the metabolic phenotype of one generation so dramatically that the gestational development and subsequent phenotype of two succeeding generations were also changed. The experiment models fetal effects of gestational diabetes in humans and may help to elucidate how, independent of genetic anomalies, secular changes can be detected across generations.