Perinatal exposure to a high-fat diet alters proopiomelanocortin, neuropeptide Y and dopaminergic receptors gene expression and the food preference in offspring adult rats.

L S Santos,M S Gonçalves,G S Perez,G S Cordeiro,J M Barreto-Medeiros,T C B J Deiró,R T Silva,D A E Santo,G T Boaventura,R J B Matos

doi:10.1590/1519-6984.234855

Abstract

Exposure to the hight-fat diet may alter the control of food intake promoting hyperphagia and obesity. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of this diet on dopamine receptors (drd1 and drd2), proopiomelanocortin (pomc), neuropeptideY (npy) genes expression, and preference food in adult rats. Wistar female rats were fed a hight-fat or control diet during pregnancy and lactation. The offspring were allocated into groups: Lactation - Control (C) and High-fat (H). Post-weaning - Control Control (CC), offspring of mothers C, fed a control diet after weaning; Control Hight-fat (CH), offspring of mothers C, fed a hight-fat diet after weaning; Hight-fat Control (HC), offspring of mothers H, fed with control diet after weaning; and Hight-fat Hight-fat (HH), offspring of mothers H, fed a H diet after weaning. The groups CH and HH presented greater expression of drd1 in comparison to the CC. The drd2 of CH and HC presented higher gene expression than did CC. HH presented higher pomc expression in comparison to the other groups. HC also presented greater expression in comparison to CH. The npy of HH presented greater expression in relation to CH and HC. HH and HC have had a higher preference for a high-fat diet at 102º life's day. The high-fat diet altered the gene expression of the drd1, drd2, pomc and npy, and influencing the food preference for high-fat diet.

Highlights

The intake of a high-fat diet, especially during critical periods of development, has been extensively investigated in experimental research (Perez et al, 2015; Lima et al, 2018; Santos et al, 2018)
The groups exposed to high-fat diet after weaning had drd1 receptor expression 4 times higher when compared to the control group (CC: 1.0 ± 0.1, n= 5; Control Hight-fat (CH): 3,9 ± 0.4, n= 5; Hight-fat Control (HC): 2.8 ± 1.3, n= 5; HH: 3.9 ± 0.4, n= 5)
In relation to the drd2 receptor, the CH and HC groups presented approximately 3 times higher gene expression in the nucleus accumbens compared to the Control Control (CC) group (CC: 1.0 ± 0.1, n= 5; CH: 3.1 ± 0.4, n= 5; HC: 3.3 ± 0.5, n= 5; HH: 2.4 ± 0.6, n= 5)

Summary

Introduction

The intake of a high-fat diet, especially during critical periods of development (gestation and lactation), has been extensively investigated in experimental research (Perez et al, 2015; Lima et al, 2018; Santos et al, 2018). Excessive intake this diet can alter physiology by promoting hyperphagia and, lead to an obesity phenotype (Ong and Muhlhausler, 2011). It was evidenced that rats that consumed a cafeteria diet had a lower drd receptor concentration, in a brain region known the striated complex, when compared to lean rats that were not exposed to the cafeteria diet (Johnson and Kenny, 2010)

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