Zoophysiology, Department of Biological Sciences, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark.
Int J Obes (Lond). 2010 Nov;34(11):1618-24. doi: 10.1038/ijo.2010.91. Epub 2010 Jun 15.
Maternal nutrition during pregnancy or lactation may affect the chance of offspring becoming obese as adults, but little is known regarding the possible role of maternal nutrition before conception. In this study, we investigate how variable protein and carbohydrate content of the diet consumed before pregnancy affects fat deposition and gut dimensions of offspring mice.
Eight-week-old female mice (C57BL/6JBom) were fed isocaloric low protein (8.4% protein; LP), standard protein (21.5% protein; ST) or high protein (44.2% protein; HP) diets. After 8 weeks of feeding, females were mated and fed a standard laboratory chow diet (22.5% protein) throughout periods of mating, gestation, lactation and weaning. Offspring mice were fed the same standard diet up to 46 days of age. Then offspring were killed and measures of dissected fat deposits and of the digestive system were taken.
Fat deposition of the offspring was significantly affected by preconceptional maternal nutrition and the effects differed between sexes. Male offspring deposited most fat when mothers were fed the LP diet, whereas female offspring deposited most fat when mothers were fed the ST diet. The mass and length of the digestive organs were affected by preconceptional maternal nutrition. Total gut from pyloric sphincter to anus was significantly shorter and dry mass was heavier in mice whose mothers were fed LP diets compared with offspring of mothers fed ST diets or HP diets. There was no significant effect of maternal nutrition on dry mass of the stomach or ceca.
Our study shows that preconceptional nutrition can have important influence on several body features of offspring in mice, including body composition and dimensions of the digestive system.
母亲在怀孕期间或哺乳期的营养状况可能会影响后代成年后肥胖的几率，但关于受孕前母体营养可能发挥的作用知之甚少。在这项研究中，我们研究了受孕前饮食中蛋白质和碳水化合物含量的变化如何影响后代小鼠的脂肪沉积和肠道尺寸。
将 8 周龄雌性小鼠（C57BL/6JBom）喂食等热量的低蛋白（8.4%蛋白；LP）、标准蛋白（21.5%蛋白；ST）或高蛋白（44.2%蛋白；HP）饮食。喂食 8 周后，雌性小鼠交配，并在交配、妊娠、哺乳和断奶期间喂食标准实验室饲料（22.5%蛋白）。后代小鼠在 46 日龄前喂食相同的标准饮食。然后处死后代小鼠，并测量剖检脂肪沉积和消化系统。
受孕前母体营养显著影响后代的脂肪沉积，且影响存在性别差异。当母亲喂食 LP 饮食时，雄性后代的脂肪沉积最多，而当母亲喂食 ST 饮食时，雌性后代的脂肪沉积最多。受孕前母体营养还影响消化器官的质量和长度。与母亲喂食 ST 饮食或 HP 饮食的后代相比，母亲喂食 LP 饮食的后代的幽门括约肌至肛门全长明显缩短，且干燥质量更重。母体营养对胃或盲肠的干燥质量没有显著影响。
我们的研究表明，受孕前的营养状况可以对小鼠后代的几个身体特征产生重要影响，包括身体成分和消化系统的尺寸。
