MATERNAL PROTEIN MALNUTRITION DURING LACTATION PREDISPOSES TO A METABOLIC SYNDROME PHENOTYPE IN MALE WISTAR RATS

Abstract

Maternal nutritional insults during lactation can modulate the offspring phenotype associated
with the risk of non-communicable diseases at different stages of ontogenetic development.
The aim of this research was to analyze biometric and biochemical parameters of male Wistar
rats, born to dams fed a low-protein diet in the first two-thirds of lactation. Therefore, the
mothers received ad libitum a normal (NP, 23%) or low-protein (LP, 4%) diet, originating
two experimental groups that were evaluated at 14 days old (NP-14 and LP-14). The results
showed that the LP-14 offspring male rats had lower body weight (p<0.0001), reduced liver
(p<0.0001) and higher brown fat deposits (p<0.0001), compared to the equivalent control.
They also exhibited hyperglycemia (p<0.05), hypercholesterolemia (p<0.0001), and increased
serum β-hydroxybutyrate (p<0.0001), contrasting with reduced triglycerides (p<0.05) levels.
We conclude that maternal exposure to a low-protein diet during lactation was able to
program 14-day-old male neonates to develop a metabolic syndrome phenotype, probably due
to restriction of body and visceral growth in these animals.