Effects Of Chronic Postnatal Overnutrition-induced Maternal Obesity In Offspring

Objective: The present study is to investigate whether maternalobesity affects their offspring either on standard or high-fat diet feeding.Methods: Normal body weight female ICR mice (control group, CTR)and chronic postnatal overnutrition-induced obese mice (CPO) were allowedto mate with male ICR mice. In both groups, litters were adjusted to10pupsper dam after postpartum and then weaned to either standard chow diet(CTR-S and CPO-S) or high fat diet (CTR-H and CPO-H) until5months ofage. Glucose tolerance tests (GTT) were performed. Serum insulin levelswere determined with ELISA toolkit. Adipose tissue histological study wasperformed through hematoxylin and eosin staining. Abilities of memory andcognition were assessed by avoidance test in adult offspring.Results: Offspring from CPO groups displayed accelerated growth rate,higher body weights, and higher visceral fat mass in both CPO-S and CPO-Hcompared with their counterpart from CTR groups. CPO offspring alsoexhibited impaired glucose tolerance, elevated fasting glucose levels, decreased insulin sensitivity, and reduce memory and cognitiveperformance.Conclusion: Maternal obesity contributes to the development ofobesity and metabolic dysfunctions in their offspring. The impact ofmaternal obesity on their offspring may be exacerbated by high fat dietfeeding.