Maternal suplementation with different sources of fat during pregnancy and lactation differently affects the offspring regulation of energy balance

SÁNCHEZ J; CLADERA MM; LLOPIS M; PRIEGO T; GARCÍA AP; PALOU M; PALOU A; PICÓ C

Estocolmo

Congreso; 11th International Congress of Obesity; 2010

ABSTRACT Aim: To characterize the effects of maternal supplementation with different fat sources during pregnancy and lactation on body weight and factors involved in hypothalamic control of energy balance of their offspring. Methods: Twenty-one-day-old Wistar rats from dams fed with standard diet (control) or from dams supplemented with 30% of the normal caloric intake in form of different fat sources (olive-oil, butter, or margarine) during late pregnancy and lactation were studied. Body weight was followed; morphometric studies on arcuate nucleus (ARC) were performed; and circulating parameters and mRNA levels of hypothalamic Agouti-related protein (AgRP), proopiomelanocortin (POMC), long-form leptin receptor (ObRb), and insulin receptor (InsR) were determined. Results: Compared to controls: a) the offspring of olive-oil and margarine-fed dams showed lower body weight; b) the offspring of olive-oil fed dams displayed lower circulating leptin levels (only males) and lower ObRb and InsR mRNA levels but higher AgRP mRNA levels; c) the offspring of margarine-fed dams showed higher circulating leptin and ObRb mRNA levels (both only in males), and higher AgRP and POMC mRNA levels (both only in females); d) the male offspring of butter-fed dams and females of margarine-fed dams exhibited higher NPY-neurons in ARC. Conclusions: The intake of different sources of fat during the late pregnancy and lactation seems to affect the offspring hypothalamic structure and alter gene expression pattern of factors involved in the control of energy balance; this may affect leptin function and have later consequences on body weight regulation, depending of the source of fat.