Low protein diet fed exclusively during mouse oocyte maturation leads to behavioural and cardiovascular abnormalities in offspring.

Early embryonic development is known to be susceptible to maternal undernutrition, leading to a disease-related postnatal phenotype. To determine whether this sensitivity extended into oocyte development, we examined the effect of maternal normal protein diet (18% casein; NPD) or isocaloric low protein diet (9% casein; LPD) restricted to one ovulatory cycle (3.5 days) prior to natural mating in female MF-1 mice. After mating, all females received NPD for the remainder of gestation and all offspring were litter size adjusted and fed standard chow. No difference in gestation length, litter size, sex ratio or postnatal growth was observed between treatments. Maternal LPD did, however, induce abnormal anxiety-related behaviour in open field activities in male and female offspring (P < 0.05). Maternal LPD offspring also exhibited elevated systolic blood pressure (SBP) in males at 9 and 15 weeks and in both sexes at 21 weeks (P < 0.05). Male LPD offspring hypertension was accompanied by attenuated arterial responsiveness in vitro to vasodilators acetylcholine and isoprenaline (P < 0.05). LPD female offspring adult kidneys were also smaller, but had increased nephron numbers (P < 0.05). Moreover, the relationship between SBP and kidney or heart size or nephron number was altered by diet treatment (P < 0.05). These data demonstrate the sensitivity of mouse maturing oocytes in vivo to maternal protein undernutrition and identify both behavioural and cardiovascular postnatal outcomes, indicative of adult disease. These outcomes probably derive from a direct effect of protein restriction, although indirect stress mechanisms may also be contributory. Similar and distinct postnatal outcomes were observed here compared with maternal LPD treatment during post-fertilization preimplantation development which may reflect the relative contribution of the paternal genome.

Photoperiod differentially regulates circadian oscillators in central and peripheral tissues of the Syrian hamster.

In many seasonally breeding rodents, reproduction and metabolism are activated by long summer days (LD) and inhibited by short winter days (SD). After several months of SD, animals become refractory to this inhibitory photoperiod and spontaneously revert to LD-like physiology. The suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) house the primary circadian oscillator in mammals. Seasonal changes in photic input to this structure control many annual physiological rhythms via SCN-regulated pineal melatonin secretion, which provides an internal endocrine signal representing photoperiod. We compared LD- and SD-housed animals and show that the waveform of SCN expression for three circadian clock genes (Per1, Per2, and Cry2) is modified by photoperiod. In SD-refractory (SD-R) animals, SCN and melatonin rhythms remain locked to SD, reflecting ambient photoperiod, despite LD-like physiology. In peripheral oscillators, Per1 and Dbp rhythms are also modified by photoperiod but, in contrast to the SCN, revert to LD-like, high-amplitude rhythms in SD-R animals. Our data suggest that circadian oscillators in peripheral organs participate in photoperiodic time measurement in seasonal mammals; however, circadian oscillators operate differently in the SCN. The clear dissociation between SCN and peripheral oscillators in refractory animals implicates intermediate factor(s), not directly driven by the SCN or melatonin, in entrainment of peripheral clocks.

Expression of agouti-related peptide, neuropeptide Y, pro-opiomelanocortin and the leptin receptor isoforms in fetal mouse brain from pregnant dams on a protein-restricted diet.

Expression of agouti-related peptide, neuropeptide Y, pro-opiomelanocortin and leptin receptor isoforms were found in fetal mouse brain at embryonic day 12 (E12). Levels of expression for these genes were altered in brains of E12 fetuses from pregnant dams on a protein-restricted diet, suggesting that the fetal brain is responsive to changes in maternal nutrition prior to birth.

Evidence for an endogenous per1- and ICER-independent seasonal timer in the hamster pituitary gland.

Most mammals use changing annual day-length cycles to regulate pineal melatonin secretion and thereby drive many physiological rhythms including reproduction, metabolism, immune function, and pelage. Prolonged exposure to short winter day lengths results in refractoriness, a spontaneous reversion to long-day physiological status. Despite its critical role in the timing of seasonal rhythms, refractoriness remains poorly understood. The aim of this study was therefore to describe cellular and molecular mechanisms driving the seasonal secretion of a key hormone, prolactin, in refractory Syrian hamsters. We used recently developed single cell hybridization and reporter assays to show that this process is initiated by timed reactivation of endocrine signaling from the pars tuberalis (PT) region of the pituitary gland, a well-defined melatonin target site, causing renewed activation of prolactin gene expression. This timed signaling is independent of per1 clock gene expression in the suprachiasmatic nuclei and PT and of melatonin secretion, which continue to track day length. Within the PT, there is also a continued short day-like profile of ICER expression, suggesting that the change in hormone secretion is independent of cAMP signaling. Our data thus identify the PT as a key anatomical structure involved in endogenous seasonal timing mechanisms, which breaks from prevailing day length-induced gene expression.

Different photoperiods affect proliferation of lymphocytes but not expression of cellular, humoral, or innate immunity in hamsters.

In seasonal mammals, photoperiod change is associated with a suite of alterations in physiology. It has recently been proposed that the immune response is one of the systems regulated by changes in photoperiod, although this hypothesis has not been rigorously challenged by assays of functional immune responses. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that photoperiod modulates immune responsiveness in Syrian (Mesocricetus auratus) and Siberian (Phodopus sungorus) hamsters. Consistent with previously reported data, short-day-housed (SD) animals exhibited a significant increase in lymph node cell (LNC) numbers and increased cellular proliferation in response to the polyclonal mitogen concanavalin A compared to long-day-housed (LD) animals. In contrast, LNC numbers from intact or gonadectomized SD animals that had been sensitized with the antigen dinitrofluorobenzene (DNFB) exhibited a reduced ex vivo proliferative response and reduced production of interleukin-6 (IL-6) compared to LD animals. In vivo studies of the contact hypersensitivity response of animals that had previously been sensitized, and subsequently challenged, with DNFB were similar in SD and LD animals, as was the proliferative activity of LNC recovered from these animals. There were also no photoperiodic differences in the antidinitrophenyl antibody response of animals sensitized with DNFB, or the anti-sheep red blood cell (srbc) response of animals immunized with srbc. Furthermore, no differences could be detected in the activity of natural killer cells from spleens of LD and SD Siberian hamsters, or in lipopolysaccharide-induced IL-6 production by LD and SD Syrian hamsters in vivo. Thus, although photoperiod is able to influence factors regulating the gross number and non-antigen-specific proliferation of lymphocytes in seasonally breeding mammals, day length does not directly influence activation of an effective immune response. The authors conclude, therefore, that expression of the immune response is not directly modified or compromised by photoperiod in these seasonally breeding hamster species.

Interaction between maternal and offspring diet to impair vascular function and oxidative balance in high fat fed male mice.

AIMS: To determine the impact of maternal and post-weaning consumption of a high fat diet on endothelium-dependent vasorelaxation and redox regulation in adult male mouse offspring. METHODS: Female C57BL6J mice were fed an obesogenic high fat diet (HF, 45% kcal fat) or standard chow (C, 21% kcal fat) pre-conception and throughout pregnancy and lactation. Post-weaning, male offspring were continued on the same diet as their mothers or placed on the alternative diet to give 4 dietary groups (C/C, HF/C, C/HF and HF/HF) which were studied at 15 or 30 weeks of age. RESULTS: There were significant effects of maternal diet on offspring body weight (p<0.004), systolic blood pressure (p = 0.026) and endothelium-dependent relaxation to ACh (p = 0.004) and NO production (p = 0.005) measured in the femoral artery. With control for maternal diet there was also an effect of offspring post-weaning dietary fat to increase systolic blood pressure (p<0.0001) and reduce endothelium-dependent relaxation (p = 0.022) and ACh-mediated NO production (p = 0.007). There was also a significant impact of age (p<0.005). Redox balance was perturbed, with altered regulation of vascular enzymes involved in ROS/NO signalling. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal consumption of a HF diet is associated with changes in vascular function and oxidative balance in the offspring of similar magnitude to those seen with consumption of a high fat diet post-weaning. Further, this disadvantageous vascular phenotype is exacerbated by age to influence the risk of developing obesity, raised blood pressure and endothelial dysfunction in adult life.

Maternal periconceptional and gestational low protein diet affects mouse offspring growth, cardiovascular and adipose phenotype at 1 year of age.

Human and animal studies have revealed a strong association between periconceptional environmental factors, such as poor maternal diet, and an increased propensity for cardiovascular and metabolic disease in adult offspring. Previously, we reported cardiovascular and physiological effects of maternal low protein diet (LPD) fed during discrete periods of periconceptional development on 6-month-old mouse offspring. Here, we extend the analysis in 1 year aging offspring, evaluating mechanisms regulating growth and adiposity. Isocaloric LPD (9% casein) or normal protein diet (18% casein; NPD) was fed to female MF-1 mice either exclusively during oocyte maturation (for 3.5 days prior to mating; Egg-LPD, Egg-NPD, respectively), throughout gestation (LPD, NPD) or exclusively during preimplantation development (for 3.5 days post mating; Emb-LPD). LPD and Emb-LPD female offspring were significantly lighter and heavier than NPD females respectively for up to 52 weeks. Egg-LPD, LPD and Emb-LPD offspring displayed significantly elevated systolic blood pressure at 52 weeks compared to respective controls (Egg-NPD, NPD). LPD females had significantly reduced inguinal and retroperitoneal fat pad: body weight ratios compared to NPD females. Expression of the insulin receptor (Insr) and insulin-like growth factor I receptor (Igf1r) in retroperitoneal fat was significantly elevated in Emb-LPD females (P<0.05), whilst Emb-LPD males displayed significantly decreased expression of the mitochondrial uncoupling protein 1 (Ucp1) gene compared to NPD offspring. LPD females displayed significantly increased expression of Ucp1 in interscapular brown adipose tissue when compared to NPD offspring. Our results demonstrate that aging offspring body weight, cardiovascular and adiposity homeostasis can be programmed by maternal periconceptional nutrition. These adverse outcomes further exemplify the criticality of dietary behaviour around the time of conception on long-term offspring health.

High-unsaturated-fat, high-protein, and low-carbohydrate diet during pregnancy and lactation modulates hepatic lipid metabolism in female adult offspring.

Whether a high-unsaturated-fat, high-protein (HFP), and low-carbohydrate (CHO) diet during gestation has long-lasting beneficial effects on lipid metabolism in the offspring was investigated using a mouse model. Female mice were fed either a standard (CHO rich) chow diet or a CHO HFP diet, before and during gestation and lactation. All offspring were weaned onto the same chow until adulthood. Although liver cholesterol concentration and fasting plasma triglyceride (TG), cholesterol, and free fatty acid concentrations were not affected in either male or female HFP offspring, hepatic TG concentration was reduced by approximately 51% (P < 0.05) in the female adult offspring from dams on the HFP diet, compared with females from dams on the chow diet (a trend toward reduced TG concentration was also observed in the male). Furthermore, hepatic protein levels for CD36, carnitine palmitoyltransferase-1 (CPT-1), and peroxisomal proliferator activated receptor-alpha (PPAR-alpha) were increased by approximately 46% (P < 0.001), approximately 52% (P < 0.001), and approximately 14% (P = 0.035), respectively, in the female HFP offspring. Liver TG levels were negatively correlated with protein levels of CD 36 (r = -0.69, P = 0.007), CPT-1 (r = -0.55, P = 0.033), and PPAR-alpha (r = -0.57, P = 0.025) in these offspring. In conclusion, a maternal HFP diet during gestation and lactation reduces hepatic TG concentration in female offspring, which is linked with increased protein levels in fatty acid oxidation.