This study investigated the effect of maternal undernutrition during late pregnancy on the growth and development of ovine fetal visceral organs. One hundred Mongolian ewes were mated at a synchronized oestrus and divided into three groups and offered 0.175 MJ ME kgw -0.75 d -1 (Restricted Group1; RG1), 0.33 MJ ME kgw -0.75 d -1 (Restricted Group2; RG2) and ad libitum access to feed (Control Group; CG) during late pregnancy (90 days). Selected animals in each group were slaughtered immediately at d 90 of pregnancy and after parturition (neonatal lambs), and major visceral organs were removed and weighed separately. The results indicated that the weights of lung (p<0.01), spleen (p<0.01), heart (p<0.05), liver (p<0.05) and abomasum (p<0.01) in RG1 were significantly lighter than those of CG. For RG2, only the weights of the lung (p<0.05) and spleen (p<0.01) were significantly lighter than those of CG; when expressed as a percentage of body weight, significance was retained in the spleen (p<0.01) for both restricted groups, but the percentage of brain in RG1 was significantly higher than that in CG (p<0.01). For lung and spleen, the amount of DNA was significantly lower (p<0.01) in both groups of restricted neonatal lambs compared to CG; however, there was a significant difference only between RG1 and CG for protein: DNA ratio (p<0.01). The DNA content of kidney, abomasum and jejunum were decreased (p<0.05) in RG1 neonatal lambs,but protein: DNA ratio in the liver was decreased compared with that of CG (p<0.05). The plane of maternal undernutrition during late pregnancy had a significant effect on the growth and development of fetal visceral organs, which altered ontogeny of fetal organ growth and development. These perturbations in fetal visceral development may have significant implications on postnatal growth and adult health.
To investigate the effect of a high-fat diet and aerobic exercise intervention and its related mechanism on rat germ cell apoptosis. Forty male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into control group, high-fat diet group, control exercise group and high-fat exercise group. Rats were fed with high-fat diet or were given weight-free swimming. The levels of TG, TC, HDL, LDL and IL-6 in serum of rats were measured. The body weight, body length and inguinal fat weight were measured to calculate the Lee's index and lipid/body weight ratio. The expression of IL-6 mRNA in inguinal fat and IL-6R,Bcl-2 and Bax mRNA in testis was detected by RT-PCR. The morphological structure of testis was observed, and the Johnsen's ten-point score was calculated by HE staining, and the germ cell apoptosis was detected by TUNEL method. We got from the experimental results: a high-fat diet induces obesity and lipid metabolism disorder, alters testis morphological structure and increases germ cell apoptosis in rats. Aerobic exercise improves the lipid metabolism disorder and interferes with germ cell apoptosis by reducing interleukin-6 and interleukin-6 receptor expression.
This study investigated the effects of hormonal status and metabolic changes of restricted ewes during late pregnancy on the ovine fetus growth and development. One hundred Mongolian ewes, synchronized for oestrus and mated, were divided into three groups and offered 0.175 MJME·kgw -0.75 ·d -1 (Restricted Group 1, RG1), 0.33 MJME·kgw -0.75 ·d -1 (Restricted Group 2, RG2) and ad libitum access to feed (Control Group, CG) during their late pregnancy respectively. The results suggested that with the supply of exogenous energy decreasing during late pregnancy, maternal body weight and net body weight loss in RG2 and RG1 were lower than those of CG (P<0.01). The insulin and IGF-1 concentrations of ewes in RG2 and RG1 tended to be lower than those of CG (P>0.05), but the GH concentrations in RG2 and RG1 were enhanced and there was significant difference between RG1 and CG on d 120 of gestation (P<0.05). The glucose concentration of ewes in RG2 and RG1 was decreased throughout the feed restriction period, and the differences were observed between RG1 and CG on d 120 of gestation (P<0.05). In addition, the nonesterified fatty acid (NEFA) and total amino acid (TAA) concentrations of ewes in RG2 tended to increase, but there was no significant difference (P>0.05). However, the NEFA and FAA concentrations of ewes in RG1 were reduced from d 90 to d 120 of gestation, then enhanced from d 120 to d 140 of gestation. During the late pregnancy, with the supply of nutrition decreasing, the negatively physiological and biochemical maternal reactions to restriction became worse, which significantly reduced the average lamb birth weight and daily growth rate of fetus in RG2 (P<0.05) and RG1
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