Gestational diabetes affects spatial working memory and lipid metabolism but not oxidative stress biomarkers in second generation offspring rats

Abstract

Gestational diabetes (GD) is an impairment of glucose metabolism during pregnancy, an increment of blood glucose in the intrauterine milieu results in abnormal fetal development and increased risk of developing metabolic disorders as diabetes mellitus 2, neurodegenerative diseases and behavior abnormalities in the offspring. In addition, increased oxidative stress in specific brain regions at early ages has been reported in the offspring of experimental models of GD. However, the consequences in the F2 offspring behavior and oxidative stress in cerebral cortex remains unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of gestational diabetes in the spatial working memory and oxidative stress of adult male and female F2 GD offspring. Twelve Wistar female rats were placed mate with a control male. Gestation pregnant rats (day 10) were divided randomly in two groups: Gestation control rats (GC) and gestational diabetic rats (GD). GD rats were injected with a single intraperitoneal injection of a low dose of streptozotocin (STZ), only rats exhibiting blood glucose levels 140–300 mg/dL were considered for the study. Four months female rats (F1) were mated with control male rats to obtain F2 offspring. Six‐months old rats (adult) male and female F2 offspring from GC and GD were employed in this work. We evaluated anxiety in the elevated plus maze and open field and spatial working memory in the eight‐arm radial maze. Oxidative stress biomarkers (reactive oxygen species, lipid‐peroxidation, glutathione status) were evaluated in cerebral cortex. We found an impairment in lipid metabolism and a deficiency in spatial working memory of F2 female GD offspring. On the other hand, we did not find changes in oxidative stress biomarkers. In conclusion, these results suggest a transgenerational effect of gestational diabetes in lipid metabolism and cognitive behavior without the involvement of oxidative stress.Support or Funding InformationThe authors appreciate the partial economic support from CIC‐UMSNH (2.16 to ASM).