Maternal High-Fat Diet during Pregnancy and Lactation Influences Obestatin and Ghrelin Concentrations in Milk and Plasma of Wistar Rat Dams and Their Offspring

Abstract

The study aims to establish the effect of a maternal high-fat diet on obestatin concentration, total ghrelin, and ghrelin/obestatin ratio during pregnancy and lactation of Wistar rats and their offspring in the first 21 days of life. On the mating day, females were randomly allocated and fed either a high-fat diet (30% of fat; HF) or breeding diet (5% fat; BD) till the 21st day of lactation. Hormones were analyzed in the blood plasma and milk of rat dams as well as in the blood plasma of their offspring. HF resulted in a significant decrease in obestatin level on the 14th day of lactation and elevation on the 21st day. Plasma obestatin in HFD offspring was significantly higher than in BD ones. HF diet did not significantly affect dam plasma ghrelin until the 21st day of lactation. The ghrelin concentrations in milk after both diets were significantly lower than in blood plasma. Milk ghrelin in HF dams was significantly higher than in the BD ones. Plasma ghrelin from HF offspring was significantly higher than that from BD dams. Our results demonstrate that a maternal HF diet during pregnancy and lactation influences ghrelin and obestatin level in both dams and their offspring.

Plasma Ghrelin Concentrations Were Altered with Oestrous Cycle Stage and Increasing Age in Reproductively Competent Wistar Females

“…These authors suggested that their findings could have serious implications for the fertility of women born to obese mothers who would have had blunted ghrelin levels due to their obesity. Another recent study has highlighted that a maternal high fat diet during pregnancy and lactation influenced both ghrelin and obestatin levels in the dams themselves, and their offspring [20]. These findings provide further support for the need to study females throughout their ovarian cycles, as well as during pregnancy, lactation and beyond, as pre-conception events are also critical to healthy reproductive outcomes.…”

Maternal High-Fat Diet During Pregnancy and Lactation has Opposite Effects on Gonadal Expression of Leptin and Leptin Receptor in Rat Dams and Their Offspring

“…It have been also suggested that the lower food intake (although the intake was hypercaloric) despite decreased plasma leptin levels was induced by elevated levels of insulin [24] and corticosterone [25] in HF dams, as they both inhibit food and energy intake. However, Slupecka et al [8] observed no significant changes in the body weight of dams and explained that fat mobilization of triglycerides from adipose tissue and larger plasma lipid extraction in HF dams rather than increased food intake. Human population studies indicate that approximately 10 % of obese individuals have low plasma leptin levels [26].…”

“…Based upon these measurements, female rats at the appropriate point in the estrous cycle were selected for breeding. On the mating day the animals were randomly allocated to either an HF (30 % fat; 4.7 kcal/g; n = 6) or standard breeding diet (BD) (5 % fat; 3.1 kcal/g; n = 6) using a previously published protocol [8]. The porcine lard was used as the source of fat for HF diet.…”

“…The porcine lard was used as the source of fat for HF diet. Diets were purchased from Wytwórnia Pasz Morawski (Kcynia, Poland; www.sukces.pl) (▶Table 1) and composed on the basis of requirements of National Research Council in terms of Nutrient Requirements of Laboratory Animals [8]. On day 14 of gestation, the females were separated from the males.…”

“…Our previously published study documented that a maternal HF diet changed steroid hormone secretion and other adipokine such as adiponectin parallel with opposite effect of maternal HF diet on gonadal adiponectin expression in female and male offspring: low-ering ovarian adiponectin protein expression while increasing it in testes [7]. Słupecka et al [8] described that plasma levels of other metabolic hormone such as ghrelin and obestatin increased in HF offspring correlated with glucose and triglycerides concentration.…”