title: Maternal dietary protein supplement confers long-term sex-specific beneficial consequences of obesity resistance and glucose tolerance to the offspring in Brandt's voles.
abstract: Maternal under- or over-nutrition not only alters neonatal body mass but also increases the risk of metabolic disorders in adulthood. Little is known about how maternal dietary protein affects offspring fitness in wild rodents. The present study was conducted to test the hypothesis that maternal dietary protein supplement has a long-term beneficial effect on offspring fitness in Brandt's vole (Lasiopodomys brandtii), a herbivorous rodent model. The vole dams were fed either a control (18% protein) or high-protein (36% protein) diet throughout pregnancy and lactation. After weaning, all offspring received a control diet till 14 weeks old. Energetic parameters, serum leptin concentration and glucose tolerance were measured. The adult offspring were fed high-fat diet for 8 weeks, and body weight and food intake were measured. No difference was observed in litter size, litter mass or pup mass before weaning. Maternal protein supplement increased body mass and the mass of reproductive organ but decreased digestibility and fat deposition and alleviated HFD-induced obesity especially in the males. Glucose tolerance was elevated in the offspring from maternal protein supplement, especially in the females. The accelerated growth may be associated with high serum leptin concentration at weaning, a state of leptin resistance, and the low digestibility may predispose obesity resistance especially in male offspring from maternal high-protein diet. These data demonstrate that maternal protein supplement confers the long-term sex-specific beneficial consequences of accelerated growth and improved obesity resistance and glucose tolerance of their offspring.
authors.affiliation: State Key laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insect and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; College of Life Science, Shandong Normal University, Ji'nan 250014, China.
authors.forename: Mei-Fang
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Lou
authors.affiliation: State Key laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insect and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China; College of Life science, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.affiliation: College of Life Science, Shandong Normal University, Ji'nan 250014, China.
authors.forename: Rong-Shu
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Fu
authors.affiliation: State Key laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insect and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China. Electronic address: zhangxy@ioz.ac.cn.
authors.forename: Xue-Ying
authors.initials: XY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: State Key laboratory of Integrated Management of Pest Insect and Rodents, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China. Electronic address: wangdh@ioz.ac.cn.
authors.forename: De-Hua
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D003411:Arvicolinae / Q000502:physiology*; D001823:Body Composition / Q000502:physiology; D001835:Body Weight; D059305:Diet, High-Fat / Q000009:adverse effects; D004044:Dietary Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004435:Eating; D005260:Female; D018149:Glucose Intolerance; D007774:Lactation; D020738:Leptin / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity; D011247:Pregnancy; D011270:Pregnancy, Animal
chemical_list: D004044:Dietary Proteins; D020738:Leptin
keywords: Body fat; Glucose tolerance; Leptin; Maternal protein supplement; Offspring