title: Protein-energy malnutrition at mid-adulthood does not imprint long-term metabolic consequences in male rats.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The long-term effects of the development of chronic metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and obesity have been associated with nutritional insults in critical life stages. In this study, we evaluated the effect of a low-protein diet on metabolism in mid-adulthood male rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  At 90 days of age, Wistar male rats were fed a low-protein diet (4.0 %, LP group) for 30 days, whereas control rats were fed a normal-protein diet (20.5 %, NP group) throughout their lifetimes. To allow for dietary rehabilitation, from 120 to 180 days of age, the LP rats were fed a normal-protein diet. Then, we measured body composition, fat stores, glucose-insulin homeostasis and pancreatic islet function.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At 120 days of age, just after low-protein diet treatment, the LP rats displayed a strong lean phenotype, hypoinsulinemia, as assessed under fasting and glucose tolerance test conditions, as well as weak pancreatic islet insulinotropic response to glucose and acetylcholine (p < 0.01). At 180 days of age, after poor-protein diet rehabilitation, the LP rats displayed a slight lean phenotype (p < 0.05), which was associated with a high body weight gain (p < 0.001). Additionally, fat pad accumulation, glycemia and insulinemia, as well as the pancreatic islet insulinotropic response, were not significantly different between the LP and NP rats (p > 0.05).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Taken together, the present data suggest that the effects of dietary restriction as a stressor in adulthood are reversible with dietary rehabilitation, indicating that adulthood is not a sensitive or critical time window for metabolic programming.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Secretion Cell Biology, Department of Biotechnology, Genetic and Cell Biology, State University of Maringa/UEM, Block H67, Room 19, Colombo Avenue 5790, Maringá, PR, 87020-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ananda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Malta
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Endocrine Physiology, Department of Physiological Sciences, Biology Institute, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio De Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Egberto Gaspar
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: de Moura
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Secretion Cell Biology, Department of Biotechnology, Genetic and Cell Biology, State University of Maringa/UEM, Block H67, Room 19, Colombo Avenue 5790, Maringá, PR, 87020-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Tatiane Aparecida
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Secretion Cell Biology, Department of Biotechnology, Genetic and Cell Biology, State University of Maringa/UEM, Block H67, Room 19, Colombo Avenue 5790, Maringá, PR, 87020-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Laize Peron
authors.initials: LP
authors.lastname: Tófolo
authors.affiliation: Institut Polytechnique LaSalle Beauvais, EGEAL-UP 2012.10.101, Beauvais Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Latifa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Abdennebi-Najar
authors.affiliation: Maternal Perinatal Undernutrition Team, Perinatal Environment and Growth Laboratory, Lille-North of France University, University of Sciences and Technologies of Lille, Villeneuve d'Ascq Cedex, France.
authors.forename: Didier
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vieau
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Secretion Cell Biology, Department of Biotechnology, Genetic and Cell Biology, State University of Maringa/UEM, Block H67, Room 19, Colombo Avenue 5790, Maringá, PR, 87020-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luiz Felipe
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Barella
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Secretion Cell Biology, Department of Biotechnology, Genetic and Cell Biology, State University of Maringa/UEM, Block H67, Room 19, Colombo Avenue 5790, Maringá, PR, 87020-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: Paulo Cezar
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: de Freitas Mathias
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Endocrine Physiology, Department of Physiological Sciences, Biology Institute, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio De Janeiro, RJ, Brazil.
authors.forename: Patrícia Cristina
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Lisboa
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Secretion Cell Biology, Department of Biotechnology, Genetic and Cell Biology, State University of Maringa/UEM, Block H67, Room 19, Colombo Avenue 5790, Maringá, PR, 87020-900, Brazil. biojborges@gmail.com.|Laboratory of Endocrine Physiology, Department of Physiological Sciences, Biology Institute, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio De Janeiro, RJ, Brazil. biojborges@gmail.com.|Health Sciences Institute, Federal University of Mato Grosso, Sinop, MT, Brazil. biojborges@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Júlio Cezar
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6489-9348
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: de Oliveira
mesh_terms: D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000378:metabolism; D000818:Animals; D001786:Blood Glucose / Q000378:metabolism; D001823:Body Composition; D001835:Body Weight; D018753:Diet, Protein-Restricted / Q000009:adverse effects*; D004044:Dietary Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005951:Glucose Tolerance Test; D006706:Homeostasis; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood; D007515:Islets of Langerhans / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D024821:Metabolic Syndrome / Q000378:metabolism*; D010641:Phenotype; D011502:Protein-Energy Malnutrition / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D015430:Weight Gain
chemical_list: D001786:Blood Glucose; D004044:Dietary Proteins; D007328:Insulin; D000109:Acetylcholine
keywords: Insulin secretion; Low-protein diet; Metabolic programming; Thrifty phenotype hypothesis