Gestational Protein Restriction in Wistar Rats; Effect of Taurine Supplementation on Properties of Newborn Skeletal Muscle.

Taurine ameliorates changes occurring in newborn skeletal muscle as a result of gestational protein restriction in C57BL/6 mice, but taurine supplementation effects may be exaggerated in C57BL/6 mice due to their inherent excessive taurinuria.We examined if maternal taurine supplementation could ameliorate changes in gene expression levels, properties of mitochondria, myogenesis, and nutrient transport and sensing, in male newborn skeletal muscle caused by a maternal low protein (LP) diet in Wistar rats.LP diet resulted in an 11% non-significant decrease in birth weight, which was not rescued by taurine supplementation (LP-Tau). LP-Tau offspring had significantly lower birth weight compared to controls. Gene expression profiling revealed 895 significantly changed genes, mainly an LP-induced down-regulation of genes involved in protein translation. Taurine fully or partially rescued 32% of these changes, but with no distinct pattern as to which genes were rescued.Skeletal muscle taurine content in LP-Tau offspring was increased, but no changes in mRNA levels of the taurine synthesis pathway were observed. Taurine transporter mRNA levels, but not protein levels, were increased by LP diet.Nutrient sensing signaling pathways were largely unaffected in LP or LP-Tau groups, although taurine supplementation caused a decrease in total Akt and AMPK protein levels. PAT4 amino acid transporter mRNA was increased by LP, and normalized by taurine supplementation.In conclusion, gestational protein restriction in rats decreased genes involved in protein translation in newborn skeletal muscle and led to changes in nutrient transporters. Taurine partly rescued these changes, hence underscoring the importance of taurine in development.