Maternal obesity promotes impaired renal autophagic process and kidney injury in male offspring.

BACKGROUND

Obesity during pregnancy increases the risk of obesity, insulin resistance, diabetes, and the development and progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in later life in offspring. Impaired renal autophagic process is linked to kidney dysfunction in the setting of increased renal lipid accumulation. The aim of this study was to elucidate the effect of maternal obesity on kidney injury related to impaired renal autophagic process in the offspring.

METHODS

Maternal obesity model was conducted using female C57BL/6 mice fed with high-fat diet (HFD) for 8 weeks before mating. HFD was consecutively maintained throughout gestation and lactation. Male offspring were selected for investigation after weaning. Metabolic parameters and kidney morphology were performed. Renal insulin signaling, lipid metabolism, lipid accumulation, fibrosis and autophagy were determined.

RESULTS

Male offspring of HFD fed mothers developed obesity with insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, hyperlipidemia and consequently promoted kidney injury. Maternal obesity increased CD36, FAS, SREBP1c and Perilipin-2 while suppressed PPARα and CPT1A. The reduction of AMPK, SIRT1, Beclin-1, LC3B, and LAMP2 and the elevation of mTOR and SQSTM1/P62 were observed. These findings indicated the impairment of autophagy and renal lipid metabolism exaggerating renal lipid accumulation in the offspring of maternal obesity.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrated that long-term HFD consumption in mothers promoted obesity with insulin resistance related kidney injury through the impairment of autophagic process and renal lipid metabolism in the offspring. These circumstances accelerated kidney injury and contributed to an increased susceptibility to CKD in male offspring of maternal obesity.