Greash Zahraa A, Elmajdoub Layla Omran, Fayad Eman, Almaaty Ali H Abu
Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Port Said University, Port Said, Egypt.
Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Misurata University, Misurata, Libya.
Open Vet J. 2024 Nov;14(11):2924-2935. doi: 10.5455/OVJ.2024.v14.i11.21. Epub 2024 Nov 30.
Cognitive impairment and attention deficit disorder have been on the rise among generations in recent times. A significant portion of the brain involved in learning and cognition is the hippocampus. Its development begins in utero till weaning. The mother's body mass index (BMI) before pregnancy indicates her health; however, little data links maternal BMI before pregnancy to fetal hippocampal health outcomes.
The study aimed to estimate the extent to which pre-pregnancy maternal BMI relates to their offspring brain status, and thus to what extent to this stage of life may be an opportunity for mental and cognitive development.
Thirty-six naive female albino rats () at 8 weeks of age with an average weight of 190-220 g body weight were obtained and assigned to three experimental groups according to their body mass index into; under-, over-, and normal weight. Following one week of habituation, all females were allowed to mate (3 female/ 1 male). On postnatal day 1 (PND1), pups were randomly adjusted to 8/dam with an equal gender ratio. On 15 days postpartum, all pups were sacrificed. Hippocampi were removed and processed for histological investigations, Glial fibrillary acidic protein immunohistochemically, and flow cytometric assessments of apoptosis. Measurements of the cognitive brain were carried out.
The present findings manifested elevation in the inflammatory and apoptotic markers in the hippocampus of underweight mothers-offspring yielding a lower cognitive ability than overweight mothers-offspring compared to those whose mothers with normal weight before conception. The male offspring were more affected than female offspring especially those born to pre-pregnancy underweight mothers.
The study concluded that there may be a connection between a mother's pre-pregnancy BMI and her offspring's cognitive capacities, which calls for more study to gain a deeper knowledge and to create interventions that target the physical health of the mother prior to pregnancy in order to enhance their offspring's health and cognitive outcomes.
近年来，认知障碍和注意力缺陷障碍在各代人中呈上升趋势。大脑中参与学习和认知的一个重要部分是海马体。它的发育从子宫内开始一直持续到断奶。母亲怀孕前的体重指数（BMI）表明她的健康状况；然而，很少有数据将怀孕前母亲的BMI与胎儿海马体健康结果联系起来。
本研究旨在评估怀孕前母亲的BMI与其后代大脑状态的关联程度，以及在何种程度上这一生命阶段可能是心理和认知发展的一个契机。
获取36只8周龄、平均体重190 - 220克的未孕雌性白化大鼠，并根据其体重指数分为三个实验组：体重过轻、体重过重和体重正常组。经过一周的适应期后，所有雌性大鼠被允许交配（3只雌性/1只雄性）。在出生后第1天（PND1），幼崽被随机调整为每只母鼠8只，性别比例相等。产后15天，所有幼崽被处死。取出海马体进行组织学研究、胶质纤维酸性蛋白免疫组织化学检测以及细胞凋亡的流式细胞术评估。对大脑认知进行测量。
目前的研究结果表明，与孕前体重正常的母亲的后代相比，体重过轻的母亲的后代海马体中的炎症和凋亡标志物升高，认知能力较低。雄性后代比雌性后代受影响更大，尤其是孕前体重过轻的母亲所生的雄性后代。
该研究得出结论，母亲怀孕前的BMI与其后代的认知能力之间可能存在联系，这需要更多的研究以获得更深入的了解，并制定针对怀孕前母亲身体健康的干预措施，以提高其后代的健康和认知结果。
