Mothers’ cafeteria diet induced sex-specific changes in fat content, metabolic profiles, and inflammation outcomes in rat offspring

Abstract

Abstract“Western diet” containing high concentrations of sugar and fat consumed during pregnancy contributes to development of obesity and diabetes type 2 in offspring. To mimic effects of this diet in animals, a cafeteria (CAF) diet is used. We hypothesized that CAF diet given to rats before, and during pregnancy and lactation differently influences fat content, metabolic and inflammation profiles in offspring. Females were exposed to CAF or control diets before pregnancy, during pregnancy and lactation. At postnatal day 25 (PND 25), body composition, fat contents were measured, and blood was collected for assessment of metabolic and inflammation profiles. We have found that CAF diet lead to sex-specific alterations in offspring. At PND25, CAF offspring had: (1) higher percentage of fat content, and were lighter; (2) sex-specific differences in levels of glucose; (3) higher levels of interleukin 6 (IL-6), interleukin-10 (IL-10) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α); (4) sex-specific differences in concentration of IL-6 and TNF-α, with an increase in CAF females; (5) higher level of IL-10 in both sexes, with a more pronounced increase in females. We concluded that maternal CAF diet affects fat content, metabolic profiles, and inflammation parameters in offspring. Above effects are sex-specific, with female offspring being more susceptible to the diet.

Animal Foetal Models of Obesity and Diabetes – From Laboratory to Clinical Settings

“…Similarly, Samuelsson et al have found that in the offspring of HFHSD mothers, adult male mice were heavier than females (12). Matuszewska et al (18) observed that on postnatal day (PND) 25 both male and female offspring of the dams fed a CAF diet had lower body weights than the animals in the control group. However, there was no difference in this parameter on PND 3.…”

“…Moreover, among the four-week offspring of CAF mothers the males had a higher perirenal fat mass than the females, whereas the females had a greater gonadal fat content than the males (28). Matuszewska et al (18) observed that both the male and female offspring of mothers receiving a CAF diet for four weeks before pregnancy, and then during pregnancy and lactation, had a lower fat content on PND 25, but these changes were more pronounced in the female CAF offspring.…”

“…As numerous studies on rodents showed, changes in the body weight of the offspring of obese dams seem to be caused by an increase in the body fat content. Increased proportions of the body fat content (112) were described in the rat offspring of females fed HFD (99,112), HFHSD (17), and CAF diets (18,28,70). The authors of the aforementioned studies with the CAF diet observed an increase in the fat content, but there was no change (70) or a decrease in the body weight of the offspring receiving the other two protocols of dietary regime (18,28).…”

“…Increased proportions of the body fat content (112) were described in the rat offspring of females fed HFD (99,112), HFHSD (17), and CAF diets (18,28,70). The authors of the aforementioned studies with the CAF diet observed an increase in the fat content, but there was no change (70) or a decrease in the body weight of the offspring receiving the other two protocols of dietary regime (18,28). The authors of studies on mice also observed that the fat content in the offspring was influenced by the HFD provided to their mothers (25,103,113).…”

Mood Disorders Induced by Maternal Overnutrition: The Role of the Gut-Brain Axis on the Development of Depression and Anxiety

“…Most studies involving maternal consumption of obesogenic diets use the HFD model. However, the cafeteria diet (CAF) model provides animals with ultra-processed human food consumption and has translational potential (Matuszewska et al, 2021). Wright et al showed that maternal consumption of a CAF impacts offspring behaviour, regardless of whether consumption occurs in the preconception period, during pregnancy, lactation, or all these periods (Wright et al, 2011).…”