Adaptive effects of gestational caloric restriction in the mitochondria of Wistar rats' brain: A DOHaD approach

Abstract

Developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) is a ield of biological science dedicated to investigating how diferent interventions during development afect an individual's life. Diet is an essential way to interact with the environment, and during pregnancy afects not only the mother but also can impact the next generations. One of these interventions is caloric restriction (CR), which has shown positive redox modulation in rats' ofspring when malnutrition is responsibly controlled. Considering that mitochondrial metabolism is determinant for redox status, we investigated parameters related to mitochondrial functionality and reactive species levels in ofspring's brain from rats delivered to pregnant caloric restricted dams. Therefore, pregnant rats were divided between control (ad libitum food) and CR (20% food restriction plus micronutrients supplementation) groups, and ofspring's brain was analyzed on post-natal days (PND) 0, 7, 21, and 60. Mitochondrial function, as well as superoxide content, were decreased in most brain areas on PND0 and went through adaptation, showing increased mass and membrane potential in adulthood. Concerning mitochondrial electron transport system (METS), the most afected area was the cerebellum, which was impaired at birth and activated at adulthood. In conclusion, our results show that gestational CR promotes adaptation from impaired mitochondrial parameters at birth, improving mitochondrial function when compared to control, without increasing superoxide generation, at adult age. More studies are necessary in order to support the use of CR as a clinical approach.

Early weaning alters redox status in the hippocampus and hypothalamus of rat pups

“…Nitric oxide levels were measured using 10 µM 4‐amino‐5‐methylamino‐2′,7′‐difluorescein diacetate (DAF‐FM®; Invitrogen, Molecular Probes, Carlsbad, CA) (Stone et al., 2019), and lipid peroxidation levels were measured using 10 µM 4,4‐difluoro‐3a,4adiaza‐s‐indacene (BODIPY®; Invitrogen, Molecular Probes, Eugene, OR). A count of 30,000 events was acquired per sample in a BD FACSCalibur Flow Cytometry System (San Jose, CA, USA).…”

Late pregnancy maternal naringin supplementation affects the mitochondria in the cerebellum of Wistar rat offspring via sirtuin 3 and AKT

“…The mating protocol was performed by the animal facility veterinarian, in which two female rats were caged with one male. On the next day, the presence of sperm in the vaginal smear was used to confirm the pregnancy diagnosis (Stone et al, 2019). The diagnosis day was considered gestational day zero.…”