Maternal obesity affects offspring

Abstract

Physiology Alterations in cellular homeostasis can cause endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and activation of the stress pathway—the unfolded protein response. Obesity in mice induces ER stress in tissues and the hypothalamus, a brain region that plays a role in many important functions, including controlling food intake and energy expenditure. Park et al. found that diet-induced obesity in pregnant mice resulted in postnatal ER stress in the pancreas and hypothalamus of offspring. These mice had increased food intake, adiposity, and body weight and showed disrupted development of specific hypothalamic neurons associated with energy homeostasis. Treatment of offspring with an ER stress–relieving drug reversed these effects. This suggests that in mice, maternal physiology has important nutritional programming effects on offspring. PLOS Biol. 18 , e3000296 (2020).