Food restriction during pregnancy in rabbits: Effects on hormones and metabolites involved in energy homeostasis and metabolic programming

Menchetti, Laura; Brecchia, Gabriele; Canali, C.; Cardinali, R.; Polisca, Angela; Zerani, Massimo; Boiti, Cristiano

doi:10.1016/j.rvsc.2014.11.017

Cited by 31 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Concomitantly, plasma leptin concentrations did not decline in any of the groups in our study, opposite to previous works in rabbit [37], mouse [51, 59] and sheep [55]. We hypothesize that the absence of differences in our study may be explained by different facts.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

“…At first glance, the most obvious reason could be related to the number of animals sampled. However, sample size was calculated according to the study of Menchetti et al [37], which found variations in leptin profile using a similar number of pregnant rabbits. Other explanations may involve an increased production of leptin either by maternal, placental or fetal tissues [52, 60].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In rabbits, the effects of MFR during gestation [17, 30, 31, 35–41] vary depending on the period of the pregnancy exposed, the level of the restriction applied and the capacity of the mother to compensate, particularly during late pregnancy when fetal growth is maximal [42]. When it comes to the mother, MFR is usually linked to metabolic and hormonal changes [35–37] and low milk production [38]. Meanwhile, in the fetus, hemodynamic alterations and poor biometric outcomes can be observed [17, 30, 31, 39–41].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Competition for Materno-Fetal Resource Partitioning in a Rabbit Model of Undernourished Pregnancy

et al. 2017

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The major goal of animal production is to obtain abundant and healthy meat for consumers. Maternal food restriction (MFR) is often applied in farms to reduce production costs. However, the suitability of MFR in livestock animals is questionable, as this management may compromise maternal fitness due to a severe negative energetic balance and can induce Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR) and prenatal programming in the offspring. Here, we sought to determine, using pregnant rabbits, the consequences of MFR on maternal endocrine and metabolic status and conceptus development. Pregnant dams were distributed into three groups: CONTROL (ad libitum feeding throughout the entire pregnancy; mean pregnancy length being around 31 days), UNDERFED (50% MFR during the entire pregnancy) and EARLY-UNDERFED (50% MFR only during the preimplantation period, Days 0–7). Maternal leptin concentrations and glycemic and lipid profiles were determined throughout pregnancy, whilst conceptus development was assessed ex-vivo at Day 28. Placental parameters were determined by macroscopic and histological evaluations and apoptotic assessments (TUNEL and Caspase-3). The main results of the study showed that, despite MFR altered maternal plasma lipid concentration (P<0.05), there were no effects on maternal bodyweight, plasma leptin concentration or glycemic profile. Fetal crown-rump lengths were reduced in both undernourished groups (P<0.001), but a significant reduction in fetal weight was only observed in the UNDERFED group (P<0.001). Growth in both undernourished groups was asymmetrical, with reduced liver weight (P<0.001) and significantly increased brain: fetal weight-ratio (P<0.001) and brain: liver weight-ratio (P<0.001) when compared to the CONTROL group. A significant reduction in placental weight was only observed in the UNDERFED group (P<0.001), despite both undernourished groups showing higher apoptotic rates at decidua and labyrinth zone (P<0.05) than the CONTROL group. Thus, these groups evidenced signs of placental degeneration, necrosis and stromal collapse. In summary, MFR may encourage the mother to make strategic decisions to safeguard her metabolic status and fitness at the expense of growth reduction in the litter, resulting in enhanced apoptotic and pathological processes at placental level and IUGR.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Competition for Materno-Fetal Resource Partitioning in a Rabbit Model of Undernourished Pregnancy

et al. 2017

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“…The data on body weight, feed intake, blood metabolites and hormones were similar to those obtained by other authors (Rommers et al, 2004;Brecchia et al, 2006;García-García et al, 2011;Rebollar et al, 2011;Menchetti et al, 2015a;Martínez-Paredes et al, 2012), except for blood glucose and insulin concentrations at 20 th wk of age, which were very low in all groups. Compared with values at 13 th wk of age, blood glucose fell in mid gestation, as a result of its increased metabolic demand by foetal and maternal tissues (Fortum-Lamothe, 2006) and, accordingly, circulating insulin concentration also decreased.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

“…This fall in blood insulin level should be even greater if compared with that recorded by Martínez-Paredes et al (2012) at insemination (18 wk of age). However, insulin blood concentration at mid gestation was very low compared to that provided by Menchetti et al (2015a), but this discrepancy could be due to differences in the sampling protocol, in our case in the morning and after four hours of fasting. A lower glucose and insulin blood level, together with a higher NEFA blood level, has been related to pregnancy toxaemia risk, but in our case NEFA level did not increase and the performance at partum was not affected.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 62%

Effects of rearing feeding programme on the young rabbit females’ behaviour and welfare indicators

et al. 2015

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Restriction of young rabbit females during rearing is a widespread management technique that could have negative consequences on their welfare and behaviour. In the present work, a total of 24 young rabbit females aged 9 wk were used to evaluate 3 rearing feeding programmes until first parturition: CAL, fed ad libitum with a control diet [C: 11.0 MJ digestible energy (DE) and 114 g digestible protein (DP) per kg dry matter (DM)]; CR, receiving the C diet restricted (140 g/d) from 12 wk of age; and F, fed ad libitum with a low energy/high fibre diet [F: 8.7 MJ DE and 88 g DP per kg DM]. F females presented lower body weight than CAL and CR females at week 18 (-0.4 kg and -0.2 kg; P<0.05), but differences in body weight disappeared at parturition. Feeding programme affected the daily feed intake of young females during rearing and gestation periods (on av. of 2 periods: 140, 127 and 179 g DM/d, for CAL, CR and F females, respectively; P<0.001). Blood levels of glucose and insulin decreased with the age of rabbits (from 97 to 73 mg/dL for glucose and from 11 to 6 µUI/mL for insulin at 13 and 20 wk, respectively; P<0.001). Concentration of non-esterified fatty acids was higher in the blood of CAL females (+0.13 mmol/L compared to F; P<0.05), while corticosterone was higher in F females (+0.7 µg/dL compared to CAL; P<0.05). The type of feeding schedule affected the lying still and eating behaviour (P<0.01) of CR females, especially before and after feeding supply, as well as their behavioural stressed indicators (stereotypies; P<0.01), which were more frequent in CR females before feeding supply at 20 weeks of age. Therefore, ad libitum use of a low energy/high fibre diet is an adequate feeding programme for young rabbit females, which does not alter their behavioural patterns.

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Neurophysiological and cognitive changes in pregnancy

Grattan

Ladyman

2020

Handbook of Clinical Neurology

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Food restriction during pregnancy in rabbits: Effects on hormones and metabolites involved in energy homeostasis and metabolic programming

Cited by 31 publications

References 42 publications

Competition for Materno-Fetal Resource Partitioning in a Rabbit Model of Undernourished Pregnancy

Competition for Materno-Fetal Resource Partitioning in a Rabbit Model of Undernourished Pregnancy

Effects of rearing feeding programme on the young rabbit females’ behaviour and welfare indicators

Neurophysiological and cognitive changes in pregnancy

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