Abstract
Obesity during pregnancy contributes to the development of metabolic disorders in offspring. Maternal exercise may limit gestational weight gain and ameliorate these programming effects. We previously showed benefits of post-weaning voluntary exercise in offspring from obese dams. Here we examined whether voluntary exercise during pregnancy influences lipid and glucose homeostasis in muscle and fat in offspring of both lean and obese dams. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were fed chow (C) or high fat (F) diet for 6 weeks before mating. Half underwent voluntary exercise (CE/FE) with a running wheel introduced 10 days prior to mating and available until the dams delivered; others remained sedentary (CS/FS). Male and female pups were killed at postnatal day (PND)19 and retroperitoneal fat and gastrocnemius muscle were collected for gene expression. Lean and obese dams achieved similar modest levels of exercise. At PND1, both male and female pups from exercised lean dams were significantly lighter (CE versus CS), with no effect in those from obese dams. At PND19, maternal obesity significantly increased offspring body weight and adiposity, with no effect of maternal exercise. Exercise significantly reduced insulin concentrations in males (CE/FE versus CS/FS), with reduced glucose in male FE pups. In males, maternal obesity significantly decreased muscle myogenic differentiation 1 (MYOD1) and glucose transporter type 4 (GLUT4) mRNA expressions (FS vs CS); these were normalized by exercise. Maternal exercise upregulated adipose GLUT4, interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma coactivator 1 alpha (PGC1α) mRNA expression in offspring of dams consuming chow. Modest voluntary exercise during pregnancy was associated with lower birth weight in pups from lean dams. Maternal exercise appeared to decrease the metabolic risk induced by maternal obesity, improving insulin/glucose metabolism, with greater effects in male than female offspring.
Highlights
Obesity is increasing worldwide across all age groups and is associated with a range of adverse outcomes
We examined the expression of key determinants of glucose and lipid homeostasis in muscle and white adipose tissue (WAT)
Insulin concentrations and visceral fat mass were decreased in pups from lean exercised dams, with no significant effect on body weight
Summary
Obesity is increasing worldwide across all age groups and is associated with a range of adverse outcomes. Overweight and obese women are at increased risk of several pregnancy complications, including gestational diabetes mellitus, hypertension, preeclampsia, cesarean delivery, and postpartum weight retention [2]. Maternal obesity has been associated with increased local and systemic inflammation; adipose tissue, placenta and vascular endothelial tissue are potential sources of inflammatory mediators during pregnancy [6]. Maternal obesity and weight gain during pregnancy are related to higher BMI in childhood and subsequent obesity in adulthood [7]. Maternal obesity and excessive gestational weight gain are linked with greater weight gain in early infancy and higher risk of early childhood obesity [8]. Body weight during early childhood (kindergarten age) is a strong predictor of the development of later childhood obesity. Maternal obesity is associated with insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia in offspring [9,10]
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