Early undernutrition attenuates the inflammatory response in adult rat offspring.
OBJECTIVE
We determined the impact of maternal food restriction during gestation and lactation or lactation alone on basal inflammation and lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated cytokine induction in adult female offspring.


METHODS
From 10 days of gestation to term, pregnant rats received either ad libitum (control) feed or were 50% food restricted (FR). Pups were either nursed by their own dams or were cross-fostered to give three groups, namely, Control (AdLib/AdLib), FR during lactation (AdLib/FR) and FR during pregnancy and lactation (FR/FR). All offspring were weaned to ad libitum rat chow. At 9 months of age, basal inflammation and LPS-stimulated cytokine responsiveness were determined in female offspring.


RESULTS
The basal CRP levels were elevated in AdLib/FR and FR/FR as compared to Controls. In contrast, LPS induction of IL-1beta and IL-6 was significantly attenuated in the AdLib/FR and FR/FR offspring as compared to the Control group.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that early undernutrition, particularly during prenatal and postnatal periods, affects offspring immune competence by increasing basal inflammation while reducing cytokine induction to inflammatory stimuli.
Desai
Mina
M
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, David-Geffen School of Medicine at University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-University of California Los Angeles Medical Center, Torrance, 90502, USA. mdesai@obgyn.humc.edu
Gayle
Dave A
DA
Casillas
Ederlen
E
Boles
Julie
J
Ross
Michael G
MG
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001835:Body Weight / Q000502:physiology; D002097:C-Reactive Protein / Q000032:analysis; D016207:Cytokines / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D005317:Fetal Growth Retardation / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D048070:Fetal Nutrition Disorders / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology / Q000503:physiopathology; D007249:Inflammation / Q000097:blood* / Q000276:immunology / Q000503:physiopathology; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000032:analysis / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000097:blood / Q000276:immunology; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
D016207:Cytokines; D018836:Inflammation Mediators; D002097:C-Reactive Protein