Treatment of pregnant rats with oleoyl-estrone slows down pup fat deposition after weaning.
BACKGROUND
In rats, oral oleoyl-estrone (OE) decreases food intake and body lipid content. The aim of this study was to determine whether OE treatment affects the energy metabolism of pregnant rats and eventually, of their pups; i.e. changes in normal growth patterns and the onset of obesity after weaning.


METHODS
Pregnant Wistar rats were treated with daily intragastric gavages of OE in 0.2 ml sunflower oil from days 11 to 21 of pregnancy (i.e. 10 nmol oleoyl-estrone/g/day). Control animals received only the vehicle. Plasma and hormone metabolites were determined together with variations in cellularity of adipose tissue.


RESULTS
Treatment decreased food intake and lowered weight gain during late pregnancy, mainly because of reduced adipose tissue accumulation in different sites. OE-treated pregnant rats' metabolic pattern after delivery was similar to that of controls. Neonates from OE-treated rats weighed the same as those from controls. They also maintained the same growth rate up to weaning, but pups from OE-treated rats slowed their growth rate afterwards, despite only limited differences in metabolite concentrations.


CONCLUSIONS
The OE influences on pup growth can be partially buffered by maternal lipid mobilization during the second half of pregnancy. This maternal metabolic "imprinting" may condition the eventual accumulation of adipose tissue after weaning, and its effects can affect the regulation of body weight up to adulthood.
Departament de Nutrició i Bromatologia, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, Av, Diagonal 645, 08028 Barcelona, Spain. beatrizgp78@hotmail.com
Beatriz
B
García-Peláez
Ruth
R
Vilà
Xavier
X
Remesar
D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism*; D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D019440:Anti-Obesity Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D001823:Body Composition / Q000187:drug effects; D004435:Eating / Q000187:drug effects; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000187:drug effects; D004970:Estrone / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000494:pharmacology; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000517:prevention & control; D009829:Oleic Acids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009929:Organ Size; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D014886:Weaning
D019440:Anti-Obesity Agents; D009829:Oleic Acids; D004970:Estrone; C108709:oleoyl-estrone