Direct and Long-Term Metabolic Consequences of Lowly vs. Highly-Digestible Starch in the Early Post-Weaning Diet of Mice.

José M S Fernández-Calleja,Lianne M S Bouwman,Evert M Van Schothorst,Annemarie Oosting,Jaap Keijer,Hans J M Swarts

doi:10.3390/nu10111788

José M S Fernández-Calleja, Lianne M S Bouwman + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10111788

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Abstract

Starches of low and high digestibility have different metabolic effects. Here, we examined whether this gives differential metabolic programming when fed in the immediate post-weaning period. Chow-fed mice were time-mated, and their nests were standardized and cross-fostered at postnatal days 1–2. After postnatal week (PW) 3, individually housed female and male offspring were switched to a lowly-digestible (LDD) or highly-digestible starch diet (HDD) for three weeks. All of the mice received the same high-fat diet (HFD) for nine weeks thereafter. Energy and substrate metabolism and carbohydrate fermentation were studied at the end of the HDD/LDD and HFD periods by extended indirect calorimetry. Glucose tolerance (PW 11) and metabolic flexibility (PW14) were analyzed. Directly in response to the LDD versus the HDD, females showed smaller adipocytes with less crown-like structures in gonadal white adipose tissue, while males had a lower fat mass and higher whole body fat oxidation levels. Both LDD-fed females and males showed an enlarged intestinal tract. Although most of the phenotypical differences disappeared in adulthood in both sexes, females exposed to LDD versus HDD in the early post-weaning period showed improved metabolic flexibility in adulthood. Cumulatively, these results suggest that the type of starch introduced after weaning could, at least in females, program later-life health.

Highlights

Life experiences in critical periods during prenatal and postnatal development have the potential to program metabolic health later in life
After three weeks of consumption of highly-digestible starch diet (HDD) or LDD (PW 4–6), there was no difference in body weight or lean mass between the two groups (Figure 2A,C; Figure S1A,C,D,F)
Males on the HDD developed more fat mass compared to those fed the LDD in this period

Summary

Introduction

Life experiences in critical periods during prenatal and postnatal development have the potential to program metabolic health later in life. While early-life nutrition has been identified as a major environmental condition inducing long-lasting effects in the organism, the optimal diet to promote a healthy life from conception to adulthood is still ill-defined. It is recognized that the critical development period extends after infancy in some organs and systems [1]. Life exposure to different qualities and quantities of protein and lipids has been shown to have a lasting impact on adult metabolic health [2,3,4,5]. Dietary carbohydrates may have a role in programming of later-life metabolic health, as both quality and quantity could provide cues for Nutrients 2018, 10, 1788; doi:10.3390/nu10111788 www.mdpi.com/journal/nutrients

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