Abstract
The global prevalence of obesity has been increasing in recent years and is now the major public health challenge worldwide. While the risks of developing metabolic disorders (MD) including obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D) have been historically thought to be essentially driven by increased caloric intake and lack of exercise, this is insufficient to account for the observed changes in disease trends. Based on human epidemiological and pre-clinical experimental studies, this overview questioned the role of non-nutritional components as contributors to the epidemic of MD with a special emphasis on food contaminants and social stress. This overview examines the impact of early life adverse events (ELAE) focusing on exposures to food contaminants or social stress on weight gain and T2D occurrence in the offspring and explores potential mechanisms leading to MD in adulthood. Indeed, summing up data on both ELAE models in parallel allowed us to identify common patterns that appear worthwhile to study in MD etiology. This overview provides some evidence of a link between ELAE-induced intestinal barrier disruption, inflammation, epigenetic modifications, and the occurrence of MD. This overview sums up evidence that MD could have developmental origins and that ELAE are risk factors for MD at adulthood independently of nutritional status.
Highlights
In recent decades, metabolic disorders (MD) encompassing obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases have been increasing worldwide
Neonatal maternal separation (MS) is a stress model widely used in rodents as a paradigm of early life adverse events that can occur in humans but is widely used as a model of Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS)
We combined studies highlighting a role of early life adverse events (ELAE) focusing on Bisphenol A (BPA)/phthalates and social stress on MD development
Summary
Metabolic disorders (MD) encompassing obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases have been increasing worldwide. Biomolecules 2021, 11, 687 and infants during their first years of life This has led to the concept of the “neonatal window of opportunity”, considering the postnatal period as a non-redundant time period after birth during which microbial, nutritional, and environmental exposure prime the host’s organ development as well as innate and adaptive immune system. Complementary data coming from epidemiological studies and experimental animal studies suggest that exogenous factors during perinatal life influence the life-long susceptibility to MD in adulthood independently of nutritional status The aim of this overview is to compile evidence highlighting a relationship between ELAE-induced (food contaminants or social stress) intestinal barrier disruption, inflammation, epigenetics, and the occurrence of MD. Our goal is to combine evidences based on a review of the literature and offer a new field of research and perspectives on the role of DOHaD in MD occurrence
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