Maternal high-fat diet consumption during pregnancy and lactation predisposes offspring to renal and metabolic injury later in life: comparative study of diets with different lipid contents

Abstract

Accumulating evidence suggests that maternal overnutrition can result in a higher development risk of obesity and renal disease in the offspring’s adulthood. The present study tested different lipid levels in the maternal diet during pregnancy and lactation and its repercussions on the offspring of Wistar rats. Offspring of 1, 7, 30 and 90-d-old were divided into the following groups: Control (CNT) – offspring of dams that consumed a standard chow diet (3.5% of lipids); Experimental 1 (EXP1) – offspring of dams exposed to a high-fat diet (HFD) (28% of lipids); and Experimental 2 (EXP2) – offspring of dams exposed to a HFD (40% of lipids). Regarding maternal data, there was a decrease in the amount of diet ingested by EXP2. Daily caloric intake was higher in EXP1, while protein and carbohydrate intakes were lower in EXP2. While lipid intake was higher in the experimental groups, EXP1 consumed more lipids than EXP2, despite the body weight gain being higher in EXP2. Adult offspring from EXP1 presented higher blood glucose. Regarding morphometric analysis, in both experimental groups, there was an increase in the glomerular tuft and renal corpuscle areas, but an increase in the capsular space area only in EXP1. There was a decrease in the glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in EXP1, in contrast to an increase in GFR of EXP2, along with an increase in urinary protein excretion. In conclusion, the maternal HFDs caused significant kidney damage in offspring, but had different repercussions on the type and magnitude of recorded change.

Maternal High-Fat Diet Controls Offspring Kidney Health and Disease

“…In rodents, kidney development is roughly from mid-pregnancy to mid-lactation. Table 1 summarizes preclinical studies recording offsprings’ renal outcomes in which maternal high-fat diets were applied during gestation and lactation [ 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 ]. Although maternal obesity is frequently studied using rodents on high-fat diets, it is clear that the programming effects of maternal obesity and high fat consumption on offspring outcomes are different [ 76 ].…”

“…The rodent ages in Table 1 correspond to human ages from adolescence to young adulthood [ 79 ]. These renal-programming-related phenotypes cover tubular dysfunction [ 60 , 62 , 65 ], renal hypertrophy [ 65 ], renal function impairment [ 67 , 69 ], proteinuria [ 67 , 68 , 69 ], renal fibrosis [ 68 , 69 ], and hypertension [ 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 , 75 ]. Notably, maternal high-fat-diet-induced renal phenotypes vary, mostly according to age, species, and varied fatty acid fractions and compositions.…”