Maternal obesity in the rat impairs male offspring aging of the testicular antioxidant defence system

Late-in-life Exercise Ameliorates the Aging Trajectory Metabolism Programmed by Maternal Obesity in Rats: It is Never Too Late

BACKGROUND

Maternal obesity (MO) has been shown to adversely affect metabolic, oxidative, reproductive, and cognitive function in offspring. However, it is unclear whether lifestyle modification can ameliorate the metabolic and organ dysfunction programmed by MO and prevent the effects of metabolic syndrome in adulthood. This study aimed to evaluate whether moderate voluntary exercise in the offspring of rats born to obese mothers can ameliorate the adverse effects of MO programming on metabolism and liver function in mid-adulthood.

METHODS

Offspring of control (CF1) and MOF1 mothers were fed with a control diet from weaning. Adult males and females participated in 15 min exercise sessions five days/week. Metabolic parameters were analyzed before and after the exercise intervention. Liver oxidative stress biomarkers and antioxidant enzymes were analyzed before and after the intervention.

RESULTS

Males showed that CF1ex ran more than MOF1ex and increased the distance covered. In contrast, females in both groups ran similar distances and remained constant but ran more distance than males. At PND 300 and 450, male and female MOF1 had higher leptin, triglycerides, insulin, and HOMA-IR levels than CF1. However, male MOF1ex had lower triglycerides, insulin, and HOMA-IR levels than MOF1. Improvements in liver fat and antioxidant enzymes were observed in CF1ex and MOF1ex males and females compared to their respective CF1 and MOF1 groups.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that moderate voluntary exercise, even when started in mid-adulthood, can improve metabolic outcomes and delay accelerated metabolic aging in MO-programmed rats in a sex-dependent manner.

Intra-uterine programming of future fertility

The developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) shows that a relationship exists between parental environment at large, foeto-placental development and the risk for the offspring to develop non-transmittable disease(s) in adulthood. This concept has been validated in both humans and livestock. In mammals, after fertilization and time spent free in the maternal reproductive tract, the embryo develops a placenta that, in close relationship with maternal endometrium, is the organ responsible for exchanges between dam and foetus. Any modification of the maternal environment can lead to adaptive mechanisms affecting placental morphology, blood flow, foetal-maternal exchanges (transporters) and/or endocrine function, ultimately modifying placental efficiency. Among deleterious environments, undernutrition, protein restriction, overnutrition, micronutrient deficiencies and food contaminants can be outlined. When placental adaptive capacities become insufficient, foetal growth and organ formation is no longer optimal, including foetal gonadal formation and maturation, which can affect subsequent offspring fertility. Since epigenetic mechanisms have been shown to be key to foetal programming, epigenetic modifications of the gametes may also occur, leading to inter-generational effects. After briefly describing normal gonadal development in domestic species and inter-species differences, this review highlights the current knowledge on intra-uterine programming of offspring fertility with a focus on domestic animals and underlines the importance to assess transgenerational effects on offspring fertility at a time when new breeding systems are developed to face the current climate changes.

Maternal high-fat diet during pregnancy and lactation affects factors that regulate cell proliferation and apoptosis in the testis of adult progeny

Context A maternal high-fat diet is thought to pose a risk to spermatogenesis in the progeny. Aims We tested whether a maternal high-fat diet would affect Sertoli cell expression of transcription factors (insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I); glial-cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF); Ets variant 5 (ETV5)) and cell proliferation and apoptotic proteins, in the testis of adult offspring. Methods Pregnant rats were fed ad libitum with a standard diet (Control) or a high-fat diet (HFat) throughout pregnancy and lactation. After weaning, male pups were fed the standard diet until postnatal day 160. Males were monitored daily from postnatal day 34 to determine onset of puberty. On postnatal day 160, their testes were processed for morphometry and immunohistochemistry. Key results The HFat diet increased seminiferous-tubule diameter (P P P P P P P P Conclusions A maternal high-fat diet alters the balance between spermatogonia proliferation and spermatid apoptosis. Implications A maternal high-fat diet seems to 'program' adult male fertility.

Chronic consumption of a hypercaloric diet increases neuroinflammation and brain senescence, promoting cognitive decline in middle-aged female Wistar rats

Being overweight and obesity are world health problems, with a higher prevalence in women, defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that increases the risk of chronic diseases. Excess energy leads to adipose expansion, generating hypertrophic adipocytes that produce various pro-inflammatory molecules. These molecules cause chronic low-intensity inflammation, affecting the organism's functioning and the central nervous system (CNS), inducing neuroinflammation. The neuroinflammatory response during obesity occurs in different structures of the CNS involved in memory and learning, such as the cortex and the hippocampus. Here we analyzed how obesity-related peripheral inflammation can affect CNS physiology, generating neuroinflammation and promoting cellular senescence establishment. Since some studies have shown an increase in senescent cells during aging, obesity, and neurodegenerative diseases, we proposed that cellular senescence participation may contribute to the cognitive decline in an obesity model of middle-aged female Wistar rats. The inflammatory state of 6 and 13 months-old female Wistar rats fed with a hypercaloric diet was measured in serum and CNS (cortex and hippocampus). Memory was evaluated using the novel object recognition (NOR) test; the presence of senescent markers was also determined. Our data suggest that the systemic inflammation generated by obesity induces a neuroinflammatory state in regions involved in learning and memory, with an increase in senescent markers, thus proposing senescence as a potential participant in the negative consequences of obesity in cognition.

Parental High-Fat High-Sugar Diet Intake Programming Inflammatory and Oxidative Parameters of Reproductive Health in Male Offspring

Parental nutrition can impact the health of future generations, programming the offspring for the development of diseases. The developing germ cells of the offspring could be damaged by the maternal or the paternal environment. The germ cells in development and their function could be affected by nutritional adversity and therefore, harm the health of subsequent generations. The paternal or maternal intake of high-fat diets has been shown to affect the reproductive health of male offspring, leading to imbalance in hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, testicular oxidative stress, low testosterone production, and changes in sperm count, viability, motility, and morphology. There is a need for studies that address the combined effects of diets with a high-fat and high-sugar (H) content by both progenitors on male reproduction. In this context, our study evaluated epigenetic parameters and the inflammatory response that could be associated to oxidative stress in testis and epididymis of adult offspring. 90 days-old male rats were divided according to the combination of the parental diet: CD (control paternal and maternal diet), HP (H paternal diet and control maternal diet), HM (H maternal diet and control paternal diet) and HPM (H paternal and maternal diet).We evaluated serum levels of testosterone and FSH; testicular gene expression of steroidogenic enzymes Star and Hsd17b3 and epigenetic markers Dnmt1, Dnmt3a, Dnmt3b, and Mecp2; testicular and epididymal levels of TNF-α, IL-6, IL-10, and IL-1β; testicular and epididymal activity of SOD, CAT, and GST; the oxidative markers MDA and CP; the daily sperm production, sperm transit time, and sperm morphology. Testicular epigenetic parameter, inflammatory response, oxidative balance, and daily sperm production of the offspring were affected by the maternal diet; paternal diet influenced serum testosterone levels, and lower daily sperm production was exacerbated by the interaction effect of both parental intake of high-fat high-sugar diet in the testis. There was isolated maternal and paternal effect in the antioxidant enzyme activity in the cauda epididymis, and an interaction effect of both parents in protein oxidative marker. Maternal effect could also be observed in cytokine production of cauda epididymis, and no morphological effects were observed in the sperm. The potential programming effects of isolated or combined intake of a high-fat high-sugar diet by the progenitors could be observed at a molecular level in the reproductive health of male offspring in early adulthood.

Diet-induced maternal obesity and overnutrition cause a decrease in the sperm quality of the offspring

The present work aimed to study the changes caused by maternal obesity and overnutrition in both the quality and function of spermatozoa of the offspring. To this end, female rats received either a standard (SD) or cafeteria (CD) diet from 22 days of age until the weaning of their offspring, and the male offspring (OSD and OCD respectively) were used. Different endpoints in the offspring, as body weight, weight gain and glycemia were recorded and the testes were removed at 60 days of age. Different spermatozoa parameters, such as mitochondrial function, functional integrity of the sperm plasma membrane, capacitation, and acrosome status, were evaluated. The OCD group was heavier than the OSD group and exhibited lower testis and epididymal indices. The OCD group also showed a decrease in the ability of the sperm tail to react in the presence of a hypoosmotic solution, deficiency in sperm mitochondrial function, a lower percentage of spermatozoa without acrosome when exposed to a capacitation medium, and a higher number of abnormal metaphases. In addition, compared with OSD, OCD rats had a higher number of TUNEL-positive cells in the histological sections of the testis, and greater presence of reactive oxygen species in the spermatozoa, evaluated by a fluorescent probe. However, the OCD group displayed lower protein levels of cytochrome c and caspase-3 in testis tissue than the control group. These results suggest that maternal obesity and overnutrition program the offspring to develop poor sperm quality and function, which may imply a condition of subfertility.

Effects of maternal diet-induced obesity on metabolic disorders and age-associated miRNA expression in the liver of male mouse offspring

OBJECTIVE

This study investigated the effect of maternal obesity on aged-male offspring liver phenotype and hepatic expression of a programmed miRNA.

METHODS

A mouse model (C57BL/6 J) of maternal diet-induced obesity was used to investigate fasting-serum metabolites, hepatic lipid content, steatosis, and relative mRNA levels (RT-PCR) and protein expression (Western blotting) of key components involved in hepatic and mitochondrial metabolism in 12-month-old offspring. We also measured hepatic lipid peroxidation, mitochondrial content, fibrosis stage, and apoptosis in the offspring. To investigate potential mechanisms leading to the observed phenotype, we also measured the expression of miR-582 (a miRNA previously implicated in liver cirrhosis) in 8-week-old and 12-month-old offspring.

RESULTS

Body weight and composition was similar between 8-week-old offspring, however, 12-month-old offspring from obese mothers had increased body weight and fat mass (19.5 ± 0.8 g versus 10.4 ± 0.9 g, p < 0.001), as well as elevated serum levels of LDL and leptin and hepatic lipid content (21.4 ± 2.1 g versus 12.9 ± 1.8 g, p < 0.01). This was accompanied by steatosis, increased Bax/Bcl-2 ratio, and overexpression of p-SAPK/JNK, Tgfβ1, Map3k14, and Col1a1 in the liver. Decreased levels of Bcl-2, p-AMPKα, total AMPKα and mitochondrial complexes were also observed. Maternal obesity was associated with increased hepatic miR-582-3p (p < 0.001) and miR-582-5p (p < 0.05). Age was also associated with an increase in both miR-582-3p and miR-582-5p, however, this was more pronounced in the offspring of obese dams, such that differences were greater in 12-month-old animals (-3p: 7.34 ± 1.35 versus 1.39 ± 0.50, p < 0.0001 and -5p: 4.66 ± 1.16 versus 1.63 ± 0.65, p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Our findings demonstrate that maternal diet-induced obesity has detrimental effects on offspring body composition as well as hepatic phenotype that may be indicative of accelerated-ageing phenotype. These whole-body and cellular phenotypes were associated with age-dependent changes in expression of miRNA-582 that might contribute mechanistically to the development of metabolic disorders in the older progeny.

Developmental programming and ageing of male reproductive function

Developmental programming predisposes offspring to metabolic, behavioural and reproductive dysfunction in adult life. Evidence is accumulating that ageing phenotype and longevity are in part developmentally programmed in each individual. Unfortunately, there are few studies addressing the effects of developmental programming by maternal nutrition on the rate of ageing of the male reproductive system. This review will discuss effects of foetal exposure to maternal environmental challenges on male offspring fertility and normal ageing of the male reproductive system. We focus on several key factors involved in reproductive ageing such as decreased hormone production, DNA fragmentation, oxidative stress, telomere shortening, epigenetics, maternal lifestyle and nutrition. There is compelling evidence that ageing of the male reproductive system is developmentally programmed. Both maternal over- or undernutrition accelerate ageing of male offspring reproductive function through similar mechanisms such as decreased serum testosterone levels, increase in oxidative stress biomarkers in both the testes and sperm and changes in sperm quality. Importantly, even in adult life, exercise in male offspring of obese mothers improves adverse effects of programming on reproductive function. Maternal consumption of a low-protein diet causes transgenerational effects in progeny via the paternal line. The seminal fluid has effects on the intrauterine environment. Programming by male factors may involve more than just the sperm. Improving knowledge on developmental programming ageing interactions will improve not only male health and life span but also the health of future generations by reducing programming via the paternal line.

Metformin and tBHQ Treatment Combined with an Exercise Regime Prevents Osteosarcopenic Obesity in Middle-Aged Wistar Female Rats

Osteosarcopenic obesity (OSO) is characterized by bone density, mass, and muscle strength loss, in conjunction with adipose tissue increase. OSO impairs physical activity and mobility, provoking autonomy loss; also, it is known that augmenting body fat in the elderly decreases life expectancy. The main factors influencing this health deterioration are the inflammatory environment induced by adipose tissue and its infiltration into muscle tissue, which leads to oxidative stress generation. Currently, there are several treatments to delay OSO, among which exercise training stands out because it improves muscle fiber quality and quantity and decreases adipose tissue. We have recently demonstrated that the combined treatment between moderate exercise and metformin slows sarcopenia's onset by a mechanism that includes adipose reduction and REDOX regulation. On the other hand, tert-butylhydroquinone (tBHQ) is a well-known antioxidant that counteracts oxidative stress. Therefore, to slow down obesity's harmful effects on muscle mass and bone mineral density, we performed different interventions, including combining a Fartlek-type exercise routine with metformin and tBHQ administration, in a model of middle-aged female Wistar rats with obesity induced with a hypercaloric diet. Our results showed that the combined exercise-metformin-tBHQ treatment increased muscle mass and strength, decreased body weight, body mass index, and fat percentage, and improved redox status, thus increasing animal survival.

Could parental high-fat intake program the reproductive health of male offspring? A review

High-fat diet (HFD) intake can cause overweight and obesity and has become a global public health concern in recent years. Nutritional adversity at vulnerable windows of development can affect developing cells and their functions, including germ cells. Evidence shows that parental HFD intake prior to conception and/or during gestation and lactation could program the reproductive health of male offspring, ultimately resulting in impairment of the first as well as subsequent generations. In male offspring, adipose tissue and hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis imbalance can impair the production of gonadotropins, leading to dysfunction of testosterone production and pubertal onset. The gonads can be directly impaired through oxidative stress, causing poor testosterone production and spermatogenesis; low sperm count, viability, and motility; and abnormal sperm morphology, which results in low sperm quality. Parental HFD intake could also be a risk factor for prostate hyperplasia and cancer in advanced age. It can impact the reproductive pattern of male offspring resulting in impairments in the subsequent generations. The investigation of semen quality must be extended to epidemiological and clinical studies of the male offspring of overweight and/or obese parents in order to improve the quality of human semen. This review addresses the effects of parental HFD intake on the reproductive parameters of male offspring and discusses the possible underlying mechanisms.

Bertholletia excelsa Seeds Reduce Anxiety-Like Behavior, Lipids, and Overweight in Mice

Overweight, obesity, and psychiatric disorders are serious health problems. To evidence the anxiolytic-like effects and lipid reduction in mice receiving a high-calorie diet and Bertholletia excelsa seeds in a nonpolar extract (SBHX, 30 and 300 mg/kg), animals were assessed in open-field, hole-board, and elevated plus-maze tests. SBHX (3 and 10 mg/kg) potentiated the pentobarbital-induced hypnosis. Chronic administration of SBHX for 40 days was given to mice fed with a hypercaloric diet to determine the relationship between water and food intake vs. changes in body weight. Testes, epididymal white adipose tissue (eWAT), and liver were dissected to analyze fat content, triglycerides, cholesterol, and histological effects after administering the hypercaloric diet and SBHX. Fatty acids, such as palmitoleic acid (0.14%), palmitic acid (21.42%), linoleic acid (11.02%), oleic acid (59.97%), and stearic acid (7.44%), were identified as constituents of SBHX, producing significant anxiolytic-like effects and preventing body-weight gain in mice receiving the hypercaloric diet without altering their water or food consumption. There was also a lipid-lowering effect on the testicular tissue and eWAT and a reduction of adipocyte area in eWAT. Our data evidence beneficial properties of B. excelsa seeds influencing global health concerns such as obesity and anxiety.

Impact of maternal overweight on the sexual maturity of male offspring in rats

The aims of the present work were to study the effect of maternal overweight on both the count and quality of sperm of the offspring and to assess whether this maternal condition is able to alter testicular integrity and spermatogenic process. To this end, male offspring from rats fed a standard (OSD) or cafeteria (OCD) diet were used. Body and testis weight, length, preputial separation and ano-genital distance (AGD) were recorded and testes were removed at 60 days of age. In addition, the number of germ, Leydig and Sertoli cells, spermatogenesis and sperm integrity were examined. The OCD rats were divided into two groups: offspring from rats with 25% and≥35% of overweight (OCD25 and OCD35, respectively). Both OCD groups showed higher body and testis weight, higher length, and greater AGD than OSD rats. OCD25 also showed early preputial separation and OCD35 exhibited a high level of testosterone with normal glycemia. Both OCD25 and OCD35 rats had a lower number of spermatozoa and Leydig cells than OSD rats, and OCD35 also exhibited a lower number of spermatogonia and Sertoli cells than OSD rats. In addition, both OCD groups exhibited lower number of sperm cells with normal morphology and sperm motility, and OCD35 showed changes in both the seminiferous epithelium and spermatogenic process. These results suggest that maternal overweight severely affects the reproductive capacity of male offspring, likely leading to a subfertility condition and a premature reduction of the reproductive life span.

Nutritional adversity, sex and reproduction: 30 years of DOHaD and what have we learned?

It is well established that early life environmental signals, including nutrition, set the stage for long-term health and disease risk - effects that span multiple generations. This relationship begins early, in the periconceptional period and extends into embryonic, fetal and early infant phases of life. Now known as the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD), this concept describes the adaptations that a developing organism makes in response to early life cues, resulting in adjustments in homeostatic systems that may prove maladaptive in postnatal life, leading to an increased risk of chronic disease and/or the inheritance of risk factors across generations. Reproductive maturation and function is similarly influenced by early life events. This should not be surprising, since primordial germ cells are established early in life and thus vulnerable to early life adversity. A multitude of 'modifying' cues inducing developmental adaptations have been identified that result in changes in reproductive development and impairments in reproductive function. Many types of nutritional challenges including caloric restriction, macronutrient excess and micronutrient insufficiencies have been shown to induce early life adaptations that produce long-term reproductive dysfunction. Many pathways have been suggested to underpin these associations, including epigenetic reprogramming of germ cells. While the mechanisms still remain to be fully investigated, it is clear that a lifecourse approach to understanding lifetime reproductive function is necessary. Furthermore, investigations of the impacts of early life adversity must be extended to include the paternal environment, especially in epidemiological and clinical studies of offspring reproductive function.

Different Statistical Approaches to Characterization of Adipocyte Size in Offspring of Obese Rats: Effects of Maternal or Offspring Exercise Intervention

Adipocyte size (AS) shows asymmetric distribution related to current metabolic state, e.g., adipogenesis or lipolysis. We profiled AS distribution using different statistical approaches in offspring (F1) of control (C) and obese (MO) mothers (F0) with and without F0 or F1 exercise. Offspring from F0 exercise were designated CF0ex and MOF0ex. Exercised F1 of sedentary mothers were designated CF1ex and MOF1ex. F1 retroperitoneal fat cross-sectional AS was measured by median, cumulative distributions, data dispersion and extreme values based on gamma distribution modeling. F1 metabolic parameters: body weight, retroperitoneal fat, adiposity index (AI), serum leptin, triglycerides (TG) and insulin resistance index (IRI) were measured. Male and female F1 AS showed different cumulative distribution between C and MO (p < 0.0001) therefore comparisons were performed among C, CF0ex and CF1ex groups and MO, MOF0ex and MOF1ex groups. MO AI was higher than C (p < 0.05) and male MOF1ex AI lower than MO (p < 0.05). Median AS was higher in male and female MO vs. C (p < 0.05). Male and female MOF0ex and MOF1ex reduced median AS (p < 0.05). Lower AS dispersion was observed in male CF1ex and MOF1ex vs. CF0ex and MOF0ex, respectively. MO reduced small and increased large adipocyte proportions vs. C (p < 0.05); MOF0ex increased small and MOF1ex the proportion of large adipocytes vs. MO (p < 0.05). MOF0ex reduced male IRI and female TG vs. MO (p < 0.05). MOF1ex reduced male and female leptin (p < 0.05); CF1ex reduced male leptin (p < 0.05). Conclusions: several factors, diet, physical activity and gender modify AS distribution. Conventional AS distribution methods normally do not include analyzes of extreme, large and small adipocytes, which characterize different phenotypes. Maternal high fat diet affects F1 AS distribution, which was programmed during development. F0ex and F1ex have gender specific F1 beneficial effects. AS distribution characterization helps explain adipose tissue metabolic changes in different physiological conditions and will aid design of efficacious interventions to prevent and/or recuperate adverse developmental programming outcomes. Finally, precise identification of effects of specific interventions as exercise of F0 and/or F1 are needed to improve outcomes in obese women and their obesity prone offspring.

Paternal hyperglycemia induces transgenerational inheritance of susceptibility to hepatic steatosis in rats involving altered methylation on Pparα promoter

OBJECTIVE

Diabetes exerts adverse effects on the initiation or progression of diabetes and metabolic syndrome in the next generation. In past studies, limited attention has been given to the fathers' role in shaping the metabolic landscape of offspring. Our study was designed to investigate how paternal hyperglycemia exerts an intergenerational effect in mammals as well as the underlying mechanisms.

METHODS

Hyperglycemia was introduced in male rats by intraperitoneally injected streptozotocin and these males were bred with healthy females to generate offspring. The metabolic profiles of the progeny were assessed; DNA methylation profiles and gene expression were investigated. Mutagenesis constructs of the Ppara promoter region, and a luciferase reporter assay were used to determine transcription factor binding sites (TFBSs) and the effects of hypermethylation on Ppara transcription.

RESULTS

Paternal hyperglycemia induced increased liver weight, and plasma TC, TG, LDL, accumulation of triglycerides in the liver. We discovered that CpG 13 in the amplified promoter region (-852 to -601) of Ppara was hypermethylated in adult offspring liver and expression of Ppara, Acox1, Cpt-1α, and Cd36 was down regulated. Hypermethylation of CpG site 13 in the Ppara promoter inhibited the gene transcription, probably through abrogation of SP1 binding. The same epigenetic alteration was discovered in the fetus (E16.5) liver of hyperglycemic father's progeny.

CONCLUSIONS

Paternal hyperglycemia may induce epigenetic modification of Ppara in offspring's liver, probably through interaction with SP1 binding, causing impaired lipid metabolism. Our investigation may have implications for the understanding of father-offspring interactions with the potential to account for metabolic syndromes.

Maternal overnutrition by hypercaloric diets programs hypothalamic mitochondrial fusion and metabolic dysfunction in rat male offspring

Background

Maternal overnutrition including pre-pregnancy, pregnancy and lactation promotes a lipotoxic insult leading to metabolic dysfunction in offspring. Diet-induced obesity models (DIO) show that changes in hypothalamic mitochondria fusion and fission dynamics modulate metabolic dysfunction. Using three selective diet formula including a High fat diet (HFD), Cafeteria (CAF) and High Sugar Diet (HSD), we hypothesized that maternal diets exposure program leads to selective changes in hypothalamic mitochondria fusion and fission dynamics in male offspring leading to metabolic dysfunction which is exacerbated by a second exposure after weaning.

Methods

We exposed female Wistar rats to nutritional programming including Chow, HFD, CAF, or HSD for 9 weeks (pre-mating, mating, pregnancy and lactation) or to the same diets to offspring after weaning. We determined body weight, food intake and metabolic parameters in the offspring from 21 to 60 days old. Hypothalamus was dissected at 60 days old to determine mitochondria-ER interaction markers by mRNA expression and western blot and morphology by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Mitochondrial-ER function was analyzed by confocal microscopy using hypothalamic cell line mHypoA-CLU192.

Results

Maternal programming by HFD and CAF leads to failure in glucose, leptin and insulin sensitivity and fat accumulation. Additionally, HFD and CAF programming promote mitochondrial fusion by increasing the expression of MFN2 and decreasing DRP1, respectively. Further, TEM analysis confirms that CAF exposure after programing leads to an increase in mitochondria fusion and enhanced mitochondrial-ER interaction, which partially correlates with metabolic dysfunction and fat accumulation in the HFD and CAF groups. Finally, we identified that lipotoxic palmitic acid stimulus in hypothalamic cells increases Ca²⁺ overload into mitochondria matrix leading to mitochondrial dysfunction.

Conclusions

We concluded that maternal programming by HFD induces hypothalamic mitochondria fusion, metabolic dysfunction and fat accumulation in male offspring, which is exacerbated by HFD or CAF exposure after weaning, potentially due to mitochondria calcium overflux.

Effect of maternal high-fat diet on key components of the placental and hepatic endocannabinoid system

Maternal obesity in pregnancy has been linked to a spectrum of adverse developmental changes. Involvement of eCBs in obesity is well characterized. However, information regarding eCB physiology in obesity associated with pregnancy is sparse. This study evaluated fetomaternal hepatic, systemic, and placental eCB molecular changes in response to maternal consumption of a HFD. From ≥9 mo before conception, nonpregnant baboons ( Papio spp.) were fed a diet of either 45 (HFD; n = 11) or 12% fat or a control diet (CTR; n = 11), and dietary intervention continued through pregnancy. Maternal and fetal venous plasma samples were evaluated using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry to quantify AEA and 2-AG. Placental, maternal and fetal hepatic tissues were analyzed using RT-PCR, Western blot, and immunohistochemistry. mRNA and protein expression of endocannabinoid receptors (CB1R and CB2R), FAAH, DAGL, MAGL, and COX-2 were determined. Statistical analyses were performed with the nonparametric Scheirer-Ray-Hare extension of the Kruskal-Wallis test to analyze the effects of diet (HFD vs. CTR), fetal sex (male vs. female), and the diet × sex interaction. Fetal weight was influenced by fetal sex but not by maternal diet. The increase in maternal weight in animals fed the HFD vs. the CTR diet approached significance ( P = 0.055). Maternal circulating 2-AG concentrations increased, and fetal circulating concentrations decreased in the HFD group, independently of fetal sex. CB1R receptor expression was detected in syncytiotrophoblasts (HFD) and the fetal endothelium (CTR and HFD). Placental CB2R protein expression was higher in males and lower in female fetuses in the HFD group. Fetal hepatic CB2R, FAAH, COX-2 (for both fetal sexes), and DAGLα (in male fetuses) protein expression decreased in the HFD group compared with the CTR group. We conclude that consumption of a HFD during pregnancy results in fetal systemic 2-AG and hepatic eCB deficiency.