Abstract
BackgroundThe composition of dietary fatty acids (FA) during early life may impact adult adipose tissue (AT) development. We investigated the effects of α-linolenic acid (ALA) intake during the suckling/weaning period on AT development and metabolic markers in the guinea pig (GP).MethodsNewborn GP were fed a 27%-fat diet (w/w %) with high (10%-ALA group), moderate (2.4%-ALA group) or low (0.8%-ALA group) ALA content (w/w % as total FA) until they were 21 days old (d21). Then all animals were switched to a 15%-fat diet containing 2% ALA (as total FA) until 136 days of age (d136).ResultsALA and docosapentaenoic acid measured in plasma triglycerides (TG) at d21 decreased with decreasing ALA intake. Total body fat mass was not different between groups at d21. Adipose tissue TG synthesis rates and proliferation rate of total adipose cells, as assessed by 2H2O labelling, were unchanged between groups at d21, while hepatic de novo lipogenesis was significantly 2-fold increased in the 0.8%-ALA group. In older GP, the 0.8%-ALA group showed a significant 15-%-increased total fat mass (d79 and d107, p < 0.01) and epididymal AT weight (d136) and tended to show higher insulinemia compared to the 10%-ALA group. In addition, proliferation rate of cells in the subcutaneous AT was higher in the 0.8%-ALA (15.2 ± 1.3% new cells/5d) than in the 10%-ALA group (8.6 ± 1.7% new cells/5d, p = 0.021) at d136. AT eicosanoid profiles were not associated with the increase of AT cell proliferation.ConclusionA low ALA intake during early postnatal life promotes an increased adiposity in the adult GP.
Highlights
Worldwide, about 1.3 billion of individuals suffer of excessive adiposity, 940 million are overweight and 400 million are obese [1]
For eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) in PL, there was a significant difference between 10%-a-linolenic acid (ALA) group (0.10 ± 0.01 mol %) and 0.8%-ALA group (0.01 ± 0.01 mol %, p = 0.018)
There was no difference in plasma linoleic acid (LA) between groups and increasing ALA intake did not modify the proportion of n-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA)
Summary
About 1.3 billion of individuals suffer of excessive adiposity, 940 million are overweight and 400 million are obese [1]. This epidemic is driven by a widespread energy imbalance, with energy intake exceeding energy expenditure. Fetal over and under-nutrition promotes adiposity later in life in different animal models [2,3] and infants small for gestational age appear to have a higher risk of developing adult obesity [4]. Our understanding of the since enhancing the LA/ALA ratio in the diet implies either a substantial increase of LA [8], a decrease of ALA [7] or both [8], it is difficult to determine if the n-6 PUFA promote adipose tissue development or if the n-3 PUFA have anti-adipogenic properties. We investigated the effects of a-linolenic acid (ALA) intake during the suckling/weaning period on AT development and metabolic markers in the guinea pig (GP)
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