Maternal exposure to high ‐fat diet during pregnancy and lactation predisposes normal weight offspring mice to develop hepatic inflammation and insulin resistance

We investigated the effects of maternal feeding of a high ‐fat diet (HFD) during the perinatal period on hepatic metabolism and inflammation in male offspring mice at weaning and in early adulthood. Offspring from HFD showed transient increase in adiposity, fasting blood glucose, and cholesterol levels at weaning. Young adult male mice developed systemic insulin resistance with defects in hepatic insulin action and insulin‐stimulated glucose uptake in skeletal muscle and brown adipose tissue. Our findings indicate hidden, lasting effects of maternal exposure to HFD on metabolic homeostasis of normal weight offspring mice. AbstractIncreasing evidence shows a potential link between the perinatal nutrient environment and metabolic outcome in offspring. Here, we investigated the effects of maternal feeding of a high ‐fat diet (HFD) during the perinatal period on hepatic metabolism and inflammation in male offspring mice at weaning and in early adulthood. Female C57BL/6 J mice were fed HFD or normal chow (NC) for 4 weeks before mating and during pregnancy and lactation. The male offspring mice were weaned on to an NC diet, and metabolic and molecular experiments were performed in early adulthood. At postnatal day 21, male offspring mice from HFD‐fed dams (Off‐HFD) showed significant increases in whole body fat mass and fasting levels of glucose, insulin, and cholesterol compared to male offspring mi ce from NC‐fed dams (Off‐NC). The RT‐qPCR analysis showed two‐...
Source: Physiological Reports - Category: Physiology Authors: Tags: ORIGINAL ARTICLE Source Type: research