Nutritional manipulations in the perinatal period program adipose tissue in offspring

Abstract

Epidemiological studies demonstrated initially that maternal undernutrition results in low birth weight with increased risk for long-lasting energy balance disorders. Maternal obesity and diabetes associated with high birth weight, excessive nutrition in neonates, and rapid catchup growth also increase the risk of adult-onset obesity. As stated by the Developmental Origin of Health and Disease concept, nutrient supply perturbations in the fetus or neonate result in long-term programming of individual body weight set point. Adipose tissue is a key fuel storage unit involved mainly in the maintenance of energy homeostasis. Studies in numerous animal models have demonstrated that the adipose tissue is the focus of developmental programming events in a sex- and depot-specific manner. In rodents, adipose tissue development is particularly active during the perinatal period, especially during the last week of gestation and during early postnatal life. In contrast to rodents, this process essentially takes place before birth in bigger mammals. Despite these different developmental time windows, altricial and precocial species share several mechanisms of adipose tissue programming. Offspring from malnourished dams present adipose tissue with a series of alterations: impaired glucose uptake, insulin and leptin resistance, low-grade inflammation, modified sympathetic activity with reduced noradrenergic innervations, and thermogenesis. These modifications reprogram adipose tissue metabolism by changing fat distribution and composition and by enhancing adipogenesis, predisposing the offspring to fat accumulation. Subtle adipose tissue circadian rhythm changes are also observed. Inappropriate hormone levels, modified tissue sensitivity (especially glucocorticoid system), and epigenetic mechanisms are key factors for adipose tissue programming during the perinatal period.

Life-long Maternal Cafeteria Diet Promotes Tissue-Specific Morphological Changes in Male Offspring Adult Rats

“…However, at 30 days of age, offspring fed with CAF diet showed higher visceral fat, without maternal diet influence. In rats, intense adipogenesis occurs during the last week of pregnancy and also during lactation; showing that these periods are particularly sensitive to the developmental programming of adiposity (Lukaszewski et al 2013). The expansion of WAT is morphologically characterized by increases in the sizes of individual adipose cells (hypertrophy) or augmented adipocyte numbers (hyperplasia) (Cinti 2012, Bezpalko et al 2015.…”

“…However, while the effects of maternal over nutrition on weight gain and metabolism in offspring, before weaning, are well characterized (Smith andRyckman 2015, Sedaghat et al 2015), their persistent effects on adipose tissue content, glucose tolerance, insulin resistance and liver abnormalities in adulthood are contradictory (Tamashiro et al 2009, Akyol et al 2012, King et al 2014, Mucellini et al 2014. Thus, understanding how pre-and post-natal environment interactions affect the growth and development of offspring is fundamental, since the timing of an insult determines which organ or systems will be altered, when obesity occurs and the severity of diseases, later in life (Lukaszewski et al 2013, Lee 2015, Ramírez-Lopes et al 2015. As such, some tissues appear to be more vulnerable to nutritional insults during development.…”

Malnutrition périnatale et programmation métabolique

“…Des études réalisées chez l'animal ont permis d'apporter quelques éléments de réponse à des questions portant sur les mécanismes de la programmation du tissu adipeux : Quels sont les mécanismes molécu-laires et épigénétiques qui conduisent (1) à des répercussions méta-boliques similaires, en dépit de paradigmes nutritionnels différents, voire opposés (dénutrition versus surnutrition) ; (2) à une sensibilité différentielle à la nutrition maternelle en fonction de la localisation des dépôts graisseux et du sexe de la descendance ; (3) à une hérita-bilité transgénérationnelle de l'adiposité [3] ?…”

“…Chez les rongeurs, l'adipogenèse s'établit principalement pendant la lactation tandis que chez les mammifères supérieurs (ovins et primates), elle a lieu essentiellement avant la naissance. En dépit d'une différence des fenêtres de vulnérabilité et d'une grande variété des paradigmes nutritionnels périnataux, des mécanismes communs de programmation du tissu adipeux ont été décrits chez les mammifères [3].…”

Maternal and Fetal Carbohydrate, Lipid and Protein Metabolisms

“…Maternal energy metabolism closely affects fetus in several ways. Maternal undernutrition causes low birthweight fetuses with increased risk of energy balance disorders (44). Maternal nutrition during pregnancy may also affect intrauterine development of body composition.…”