title: Hypercaloric diet prevents sexual impairment induced by maternal food restriction.
abstract: Prenatal undernutrition impairs copulatory behavior and increases the tendency to become obese/overweight, which also reduces sexual behavior. Re-feeding rats prenatally undernourished with a normocaloric diet can restore their physiological conditions and copulatory behavior. Thus, the present study investigated whether a hypercaloric diet that is administered in rats during the juvenile period prevents sexual impairments that are caused by maternal food restriction and the tendency to become overweight/obese. Female rats were prenatally fed a 40% restricted diet from gestational day 2 to 18. The pups received a hypercaloric diet from postnatal day (PND) 23 to PND65 (food restricted hypercaloric [FRH] group) or laboratory chow (food restricted control [FRC] group). Pups from non-food-restricted dams received laboratory chow during the entire experiment (non-food-restricted [NFR] group). During the juvenile period and adulthood, body weight gain was evaluated weekly. The day of balanopreputial separation, sexual behavior, sexual organ weight, hypodermal adiposity, striatal dopamine and serotonin, serum testosterone, and tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) were evaluated. The FRH group exhibited an increase in body weight on PND58 and PND65. The FRC group exhibited an increase in the latency to the first mount and intromission and an increase in serum TNF-α levels but a reduction of dopaminergic activity. The hypercaloric diet reversed all of these effects but increased adiposity. We concluded that the hypercaloric diet administered during the juvenile period attenuated reproductive impairments that were induced by maternal food restriction through increases in the energy expenditure but not the tendency to become overweight/obese.
authors.affiliation: Environmental and Experimental Pathology, Paulista University, UNIP, Rua Dr. Bacelar, 1212, São Paulo, SP CEP 04026-002, Brazil; Mathematics, Computing and Cognition Center, Federal University of ABC, Av. dos Estados, 5001, Santo André, SP CEP 09210-971, Brazil. Electronic address: marthabernardi@gmail.com.
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Bernardi
authors.affiliation: Environmental and Experimental Pathology, Paulista University, UNIP, Rua Dr. Bacelar, 1212, São Paulo, SP CEP 04026-002, Brazil.
authors.forename: D J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Macrini
authors.affiliation: Mathematics, Computing and Cognition Center, Federal University of ABC, Av. dos Estados, 5001, Santo André, SP CEP 09210-971, Brazil.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Teodorov
authors.affiliation: Environmental and Experimental Pathology, Paulista University, UNIP, Rua Dr. Bacelar, 1212, São Paulo, SP CEP 04026-002, Brazil.
authors.forename: L V
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Bonamin
authors.affiliation: Environmental and Experimental Pathology, Paulista University, UNIP, Rua Dr. Bacelar, 1212, São Paulo, SP CEP 04026-002, Brazil.
authors.forename: L C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Dalboni
authors.affiliation: Graduate Program of Animal Medicine and Welfare, University of Santo Amaro, Rua Enéas de Siqueira Neto, 340, São Paulo, SP CEP 04829-900, Brazil.
authors.forename: C P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Coelho
authors.affiliation: Environmental and Experimental Pathology, Paulista University, UNIP, Rua Dr. Bacelar, 1212, São Paulo, SP CEP 04026-002, Brazil.
authors.forename: G P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Chaves-Kirsten
authors.affiliation: School of Veterinary Medicine, University of São Paulo, Av. Prof. Dr. Orlando Marques de Paiva, 87, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP CEP 05508-270, Brazil.
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Florio
authors.affiliation: School of Veterinary Medicine, University of São Paulo, Av. Prof. Dr. Orlando Marques de Paiva, 87, Cidade Universitária, São Paulo, SP CEP 05508-270, Brazil.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Queiroz-Hazarbassanov
authors.affiliation: Environmental and Experimental Pathology, Paulista University, UNIP, Rua Dr. Bacelar, 1212, São Paulo, SP CEP 04026-002, Brazil.
authors.forename: E F
authors.initials: EF
authors.lastname: Bondan
authors.affiliation: Environmental and Experimental Pathology, Paulista University, UNIP, Rua Dr. Bacelar, 1212, São Paulo, SP CEP 04026-002, Brazil.
authors.forename: T B
authors.initials: TB
authors.lastname: Kirsten
mesh_terms: D017667:Adipocytes / Q000473:pathology; D000367:Age Factors; D000818:Animals; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000378:metabolism; D059305:Diet, High-Fat / Q000379:methods*; D004298:Dopamine / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005508:Food Deprivation; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000503:physiopathology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D011930:Reaction Time; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology; D012735:Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D013739:Testosterone / Q000097:blood; D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha / Q000097:blood
chemical_list: D014409:Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha; D013739:Testosterone; D004298:Dopamine
keywords: Behavior; Developmental programming; Neuroendocrinology; Nutrition, monoamines levels; Testosterone