Effect of early nutrition on intestine development of intrauterine growth retardation in rats and its correlation to leptin.
OBJECTIVE
To investigate the intestine and body development of intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) rats under early different protein diet and to analyze the correlation between leptin and intestine and body development.


METHODS
An IUGR rat model was established by food restriction of pregnant female rats. Fifty-six neonatal IUGR rats and 24 neonatal normal rats were randomly divided into normal control group (C group), IUGR model group (SC group), low protein diet IUGR group (SL group), and high protein diet IUGR group (SH group). Eight rats were killed per group at wk 0, 4, and 12. Serum leptin, body weight (BW), body length (BL), intestinal weight (IW), intestinal length (IL), and intestinal disaccharidase (including lactase, maltase, and saccharase) were detected.


RESULTS
BW (4.50+/-0.41 g), BL (5.96+/-0.40 cm), IW (0.05+/-0.01 g), and IL (15.9+/-2.8 cm) in neonatal IUGR rats were much lower than those in C group (6.01+/-0.55 g, 6.26+/-0.44 cm, 0.10+/-0.02 g, 21.8+/-2.7 cm, P<0.05), while intestinal lactase and maltase activities were higher than those in C group. SH group showed the fastest catch up growth and their BW, BL, IW, and IL reached the C group level at wk 4. SC group showed relatively slower catch up growth than SH group, and their BW, BL, IW did not reach the C group level at wk 4. SL group did not show intestine and body catch up growth. Intestinal maltase (344+/-33 micromol/(min.g)) and saccharase activities (138+/-32 micromol/(min.g)) in SL group were both markedly lower than those in C group (751+/-102, 258+/-27 micromol/(min.g), P<0.05). There were no significant differences in lactase activities at wk 4 and disaccharidase activities at wk 12 among all groups (P>0.05). The leptin level in SL group (0.58+/-0.12 ng/mL) was the highest in all groups, and much lower in SH group (0.21+/-0.03 ng/mL) than that in any other IUGR groups at wk 4 (P<0.05). Leptin was negatively related to BW (r = -0.556, P = 0.001), IW (r = -0.692, P = 0.001) and IL (r = -0.738, P = 0.000) at wk 4, while no correlation was found at wk 12.


CONCLUSIONS
High protein diet is a reasonable early nutritional mode to IUGR rats in promoting intestine and body catch up growth.
Qiu
Xiao-Shan
XS
Department of Pediatrics, the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, Guangdong Province, China.
Huang
Ting-Ting
TT
Shen
Zhen-Yu
ZY
Deng
Hui-Ying
HY
Ke
Zhi-Yong
ZY
D000818:Animals; D004044:Dietary Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D005317:Fetal Growth Retardation / Q000097:blood / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D048070:Fetal Nutrition Disorders / Q000097:blood / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D007422:Intestines / Q000196:embryology*; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
D004044:Dietary Proteins; D020738:Leptin