title: Maternal high-fat diet during pregnancy or lactation changes the somatic and neurological development of the offspring.
abstract: The maternal exposure to high fat diet (HFD) during pregnancy and breastfeeding have been considered an important inducer of alterations in offspring normal programming, both in animals and humans, and may disturb brain development. In the present study we investigated the somatic and sensory-motor development of the offspring from rat dams fed a HFD, compared with dams fed a control diet, during pregnancy or lactation. Indicators of the body growth, physical maturation, and reflex ontogeny were evaluated. Offspring of dams fed a HFD showed reduced weight and body growth, delayed physical maturation, and delayed maturation of the physiological reflexes, such as vibrissa placing, auditory startle response, and free-fall righting. Our findings suggest that maternal HFD during pregnancy or lactation modifies somatic and neurological development of the offspring, possibly increasing the risk of neuroendocrine and neuropsychiatric disorders later in life.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biociências, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, SantosSP, Brazil, Departamento de Biociências, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Santos SP, Brazil;
authors.forename: Cristiano
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mendes-da-Silva
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biociências, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, SantosSP, Brazil, Departamento de Biociências, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Santos SP, Brazil;
authors.forename: Catherine Ássuka
authors.initials: CÁ
authors.lastname: Giriko
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biociências, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, SantosSP, Brazil, Departamento de Biociências, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Santos SP, Brazil;
authors.forename: Laís Vales
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Mennitti
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biociências, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, SantosSP, Brazil, Departamento de Biociências, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Santos SP, Brazil;
authors.forename: Lilian Fazion
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Hosoume
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Biociências, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, SantosSP, Brazil, Departamento de Biociências, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Santos SP, Brazil;
authors.forename: Tayane dos Santos
authors.initials: Tdos S
authors.lastname: Souto
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal de São Paulo, SantosSP, Brazil, Interdisciplinary Master in Health Sciences, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Santos SP, Brazil;
authors.forename: Alexandre Valotta da
authors.initials: AV
authors.lastname: Silva
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000254:growth & development; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D001835:Body Weight; D059305:Diet, High-Fat / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D007774:Lactation; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000503:physiopathology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012018:Reflex / Q000502:physiology*