Effect of maternal protein restriction during pregnancy and postweaning high-fat feeding on diet-induced thermogenesis in adult mouse offspring.
OBJECTIVE
Prenatal undernutrition followed by postweaning feeding of a high-fat diet results in obesity in the adult offspring. In this study, we investigated whether diet-induced thermogenesis is altered as a result of such nutritional mismatch.


METHODS
Female MF-1 mice were fed a normal protein (NP, 18% casein) or a protein-restricted (PR, 9% casein) diet throughout pregnancy and lactation. After weaning, male offspring of both groups were fed either a high-fat diet (HF; 45% kcal fat) or standard chow (C, 7% kcal fat) to generate the NP/C, NP/HF, PR/C and PR/HF adult offspring groups (n = 7-11 per group).


RESULTS
PR/C and NP/C offspring have similar body weights at 30 weeks of age. Postweaning HF feeding resulted in significantly heavier NP/HF offspring (P < 0.01), but not in PR/HF offspring, compared with their chow-fed counterparts. However, the PR/HF offspring exhibited greater adiposity (P < 0.01) v the NP/HF group. The NP/HF offspring had increased energy expenditure and increased mRNA expression of uncoupling protein-1 and β-3 adrenergic receptor in the interscapular brown adipose tissue (iBAT) compared with the NP/C mice (both at P < 0.01). No such differences in energy expenditure and iBAT gene expression were observed between the PR/HF and PR/C offspring.


CONCLUSIONS
These data suggest that a mismatch between maternal diet during pregnancy and lactation, and the postweaning diet of the offspring, can attenuate diet-induced thermogenesis in the iBAT, resulting in the development of obesity in adulthood.
Institute of Developmental Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Southampton, Southampton General Hospital (MP887), Southampton, SO16 6YD, UK.
Dyan
D
Sellayah
Lea
L
Dib
Frederick W
FW
Anthony
Adam J
AJ
Watkins
Tom P
TP
Fleming
Mark A
MA
Hanson
Felino R
FR
Cagampang
D050154:Adiposity; D000818:Animals; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D001794:Blood Pressure; D001835:Body Weight; D002153:Calorimetry, Indirect; D059305:Diet, High-Fat / Q000009:adverse effects*; D018753:Diet, Protein-Restricted / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004041:Dietary Fats; D004044:Dietary Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002149:Energy Intake; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D005260:Female; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D007774:Lactation; D050356:Lipid Metabolism; D008297:Male; D039382:Maternal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D051379:Mice; D024101:Mitochondrial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009765:Obesity / Q000209:etiology / Q000378:metabolism; D009929:Organ Size; D011247:Pregnancy; D022702:Receptors, Adrenergic, beta-3 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D022722:Thermogenesis / Q000502:physiology*; D000071256:Uncoupling Protein 1; D014886:Weaning
D001786:Blood Glucose; D004041:Dietary Fats; D004044:Dietary Proteins; D007473:Ion Channels; D024101:Mitochondrial Proteins; D022702:Receptors, Adrenergic, beta-3; C000604372:Ucp1 protein, mouse; D000071256:Uncoupling Protein 1