Department of Surgery, Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, China.
Department of General Surgery, Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, China.
Pediatr Res. 2019 Mar;85(4):518-526. doi: 10.1038/s41390-018-0156-z. Epub 2018 Aug 28.
Time-restricted feeding regimen (TRF), that is, no food consumption for 14-16 h during the light phase per day, attenuates the fattening traits and metabolic disorders in adults. This study aims to further investigate whether TRF would be protective against similar nutritional challenges in juvenile mice.
Mice in the experimental group were treated with TRF during the first 4 weeks (considered to be the childhood phase of mice) before switching to ad libitum (AD) feeding pattern as adults; the control group with all subjects sticks to AD mode. Body weight was monitored, and serum biochemistry, sexual maturity, immune function, and gut microbiota were assessed at a certain timing.
Mice treated with TRF during the childhood period (from weaning age) but went through AD feeding pattern as adults demonstrated the tendency of higher body weight, higher levels of serum glucose, shrunken Langerhans islets, fatty liver disease, thickening of aortic walls, delayed sexual development, increased proportion of T regulatory cells, and unhealthy gut microbiota.
Childhood TRF causes pleiotropic adverse effects, including severe irreversible metabolic disorders, depressed immune function, and retarded puberty. Microbiota set the stage for TRF to employ downstream reactions on the above changes.
限时喂养方案（TRF），即每天在光照阶段的 14-16 小时内不进食，可以减轻成年人的肥胖特征和代谢紊乱。本研究旨在进一步探讨 TRF 是否对幼年小鼠的类似营养挑战具有保护作用。
实验组的小鼠在第 1 至 4 周期间接受 TRF 治疗（被认为是小鼠的儿童期），然后作为成年人转为自由进食（AD）模式；对照组的所有动物都坚持 AD 模式。在特定时间监测体重，并评估血清生化、性成熟、免疫功能和肠道微生物群。
在儿童期（从断奶年龄开始）接受 TRF 治疗但成年后采用 AD 喂养模式的小鼠表现出体重较高、血糖水平较高、朗格汉斯胰岛缩小、脂肪肝、主动脉壁增厚、性发育延迟、调节性 T 细胞比例增加和肠道微生物群不健康的趋势。
儿童期 TRF 导致多种不良影响，包括严重的不可逆转的代谢紊乱、免疫功能下降和青春期延迟。微生物群为 TRF 对上述变化产生下游反应奠定了基础。
