Abstract
Introduction: Gestational under nutrition in rats has been shown to decrease expression of sympathetic innervation markers in peripheral tissues of offspring, including the stomach. This has been linked to lower gastric secretion and decreased circulating levels of ghrelin. Considering the critical role of leptin intake during lactation in preventing obesity and reversing adverse developmental programming effects, we aimed to find out whether leptin supplementation may reverse the above mentioned alterations caused by mild gestational calorie restriction.Methods: Three groups of male rats were studied at a juvenile age (25 days old) and during adulthood (3 and 6 months old): the offspring of ad libitum fed dams (controls), the offspring of dams that were diet restricted (20%) from days 1 to 12 of gestation (CR), and CR rats supplemented with a daily oral dose of leptin (equivalent to 5 times the average amount they could receive each day from maternal milk) throughout lactation (CR-Leptin). The density of TyrOH-immunoreactive (TyrOH+) fibers and the levels of Tyrosine hydroxylase (TyrOH)—used as potential markers of functional sympathetic innervation—were measured in stomach. Plasma leptin and ghrelin levels were also determined.Results: Twenty five-day-old CR rats, but not CR-Leptin rats, displayed lower density of TyrOH+ fibers (−46%) and TyrOH levels (−47%) in stomach compared to controls. Alterations in CR animals were mitigated at 6 months of age, and differences were not significant. Adult CR-Leptin animals showed higher plasma ghrelin levels than CR animals, particularly at 3 months (+16%), and a lower leptin/ghrelin ratio (−28 and −37% at 3 and 6 months, respectively).Conclusion: Leptin intake during lactation is able to reverse the alterations in the density of TyrOH+ fibers in the stomach and normalize the increased leptin/ghrelin ratio linked to a mild gestational calorie restriction in rats, supporting the relevance of leptin as an essential nutrient during lactation.
Highlights
Gestational under nutrition in rats has been shown to decrease expression of sympathetic innervation markers in peripheral tissues of offspring, including the stomach
Tyrosine hydroxylase (TyrOH)+ fibers were mainly detected in the muscular layer area of the stomach
CR animals displayed significantly lower number of TyrOH+ fibers in the muscular layer compared to controls (54 ± 16 vs. 100 ± 8), whereas the alteration was totally reverted in CR-Leptin animals (99 ± 11; P < 0.05, least significant difference (LSD) post-hoc one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA))
Summary
Gestational under nutrition in rats has been shown to decrease expression of sympathetic innervation markers in peripheral tissues of offspring, including the stomach. Several animal studies have explored the effects of maternal under nutrition during gestation and have found that even a mild calorie restriction during the first period of gestation exerts detrimental effects in the offspring regarding energy balance and metabolic regulation, increasing the susceptibility to develop obesity-related pathologies in adulthood, especially when exposed to dietary stressful conditions (Vickers et al, 2000; Palou et al, 2010) These programming effects and their potential reversion require special attention, when considering strategies for obesity prevention from the early stages of life. This ratio has been described to decrease in type 2 diabetes patients who experienced an improvement in insulin sensitivity (Hajimohammadi et al, 2017)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
