Development of beta-cell mass in fetuses of rats deprived of protein and/or energy in last trimester of pregnancy.
Fetal malnutrition is now proposed as a risk factor of later obesity and type II diabetes. We previously analyzed the long-term impact of reduced protein and/or energy intake strictly limited to the last week of pregnancy in Wistar rats. Three protocols of gestational malnutrition were used: 1) low-protein isocaloric diet (5 instead of 15%) with pair feeding to the mothers receiving the control diet, 2) restricted diet (50% of control diet), and 3) low protein-restricted diet (50% of low-protein diet). Only isolated protein restriction induced a long-term beta-cell mass decrease. In the present study, we used the same protocols of food restriction to analyze their short-term impact (on day 21.5 of pregnancy) on beta-cell mass development. A 50% beta-cell mass decrease was present in the three restricted groups, but low-protein diet, either associated or not to energy restriction, increased fetal beta-cell insulin content. Among all the parameters analyzed to further explain our results, we found that the fetal plasma level of taurine was lowered by low-protein diet and was the main predictor of the fetal plasma insulin level (r = 0.63, P < 0.01). In conclusion, rat fetuses exposed to protein and/or energy restriction during the third part of pregnancy have a similar dramatic decrease in beta-cell mass, and their ability to recover beta-cell mass development retardation depends on the type of malnutrition used. Moreover, our results support the hypothesis that taurine might play an important role in fetal beta-cell mass function.
Laboratoire de Physiopathologie de la Nutrition, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique-UMR 7059, Université Paris 7/D. DIDEROT, 75251 Paris Cedex 05, France. ebertin@chu-reims.fr
Eric
E
Bertin
Marie-Noëlle
MN
Gangnerau
Georges
G
Bellon
Danièle
D
Bailbé
Annick
A
Arbelot De Vacqueur
Bernard
B
Portha
D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D018753:Diet, Protein-Restricted; D002149:Energy Intake; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D007328:Insulin / Q000032:analysis; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000473:pathology; D010927:Placental Insufficiency / Q000473:pathology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011502:Protein-Energy Malnutrition / Q000473:pathology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012709:Serum Albumin; D013654:Taurine / Q000097:blood
D007328:Insulin; D012709:Serum Albumin; D013654:Taurine