title: Volume of the Sexually Dimorphic Nucleus of the Preoptic Area in Rats Exposed to a Maternal High Fat Diet.
abstract: Mice and rats exposed to a maternal diet high in fat have an increased risk of reproductive system tumors later in life. To test whether a part of the hypothalamus associated with sex differentiation, the sexually dimorphic nucleus of the preoptic area (SDN-POA), might be involved, this nucleus was measured in the offspring of female rats on a high, or low fat diet during pregnancy and nursing. The measurements showed that the SDN-POA was smaller in female offspring exposed to a maternal high fat diet than in female offspring exposed to a maternal low fat diet. This could result in endocrine disturbances and thus provide a possible explanation for the linkage between high fat exposure prenatally and increased female reproductive system cancer.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Anatomy , Michigan State University , East Lansing , MI 48824-1316 , USA.
authors.forename: B E
authors.initials: BE
authors.lastname: Walker
keywords: Dietary fat; Preoptic area; Reproductive system tumors; Sexually dimorphic nucleus