Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-v5vhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-19T07:28:07.615Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Altered adipocyte properties in the offspring of protein malnourished rats

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

P.R Shepherd ,
N.J Crowther ,
M Desai ,
C.N Hales  and
S.E Ozanne
P.R Shepherd
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 2QR
N.J Crowther
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 2QR
M Desai
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 2QR
C.N Hales
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 2QR
S.E Ozanne
Affiliation:
Department of Clinical Biochemistry, University of Cambridge, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Hills Road, Cambridge CB2 2QR
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

It is becoming well established that poor fetal and early postnatal growth can have long-term effects on adult health, including susceptibility to non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease and hypertension. It is suggested that this results from poor nutrition during early life having permanent effects on the structure and metabolism of certain organs and tissues. In the present study we investigated the effect of a low-protein diet during pregnancy and lactation on adipocyte properties and glucose tolerance. Rat dams were fed on a diet containing either 200 (control) or 80 (low protein) g protein/kg during pregnancy and lactation. In addition cross-fostering techniques were employed to enable a separate evaluation of the prenatal and postnatal periods. All offspring were weaned onto a 200 g protein/kg diet at 21 d of age and then studied at 6 weeks of age. The mothers' protein supply during lactation appeared to be the most critical time window for longterm growth. In contrast, the offspring of mothers fed on a low-protein diet during pregnancy or lactation were significantly more glucose tolerant than controls, suggesting that both time windows can have long-term effects on glucose tolerance. In addition off spring of mothers fed on a lowprotein diet during pregnancy or lactation had significantly smaller adipocytes than controls. However the largest reduction in adipocyte size was observed when there was a low-protein diet during both pregnancy and lactation. The amount of insulin receptor present in adipocyte membranes was increased in the three animal groups that had been exposed to the low-protein diets while levels of the insulin responsive glucose transporter (GLUT 4) were similar in adipocyte membranes from all groups.

Keywords

Maternal dietAdipocytesLow-protein diet
Type
General Nutrition
Information
British Journal of Nutrition , Volume 78 , Issue 1 , July 1997 , pp. 121 - 129
Copyright
Copyright © The Nutrition Society 1997

References

REFERENCES

Athens, M., Valdez, R. & Stem, M. (1993). Effect of birthweight on future development of ‘syndrome X’ in aduit life. Diabetes 42, Suppl. 1, 61A Abstr.Google Scholar
Barker, D. J. P., Winter, P. D., Osmond, C., Margetts, B & Simmonds, S. J. (1989). Weight in infancy and death from ischaemic heart disease. Lancet ii, 577–580.Google Scholar
Crandall, D. L., Fried, S. K., Francendese, A. A., Nickel, M. & DiGirolamo, M. (1983). Lactate release from iolated rat adipocytes: influence of cell size, glucose concentration, insulin and epinephrine. Hormone and Metabolic Research 15, 326–329.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cushman, S. W. (1970). Structure-function relationships in the adipose cell. 1. Ultrastructure of the isolated adipose cell. Journal of Cell Biology 46, 326–341.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cushman, S. W. & Salans, L. B. (1978). Determination of adipose cell size and number in suspensions of isolated rat and human adipose cells. Journal of Lipid Research 19, 269–273.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Debant, A., Guerre-Millo, M., Le-Marchand-Brustel, Y., Freychett, P., Lavau, M. & Van Obberghen, E. (1987). Insulin receptor tyrosine kinase is hyperresponsive in adipocytes of youngobese Zucker rats. American Journal of Physiology 252, E273–E278.Google Scholar
Desai, M., Crowther, N. J., Lucas, A. & Hales, C. N. (1996). Organ-selective growth in the offspring of protein restricted mothers. British Journal of Nutrition 76, 591–603.Google Scholar
Desai, M., Crowther, N.J., Ozanne, S. E., Lucas, A. & Hales, C.N. (1995). Adult glucose and lipid metabolism may be programmed during fetal life. Biochemical Society Transactions 23, 331–335.Google Scholar
Dole, V.P. (1956). A relation between non-esterified fatty acids in plasma and the metabolism of glucose. Journal of Clinical Investigation 35, 150–155.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Eastman, N. J. & Jackson, E. (1968). Weight relationship in pregnancy 1. The bearing of maternal weight gain and pre-pregnancy weight on birthweight in full term pregnancies. Obstetric and Gynecological Surveys 23, 1003–1024.Google Scholar
Faust, I. M., Johnson, P. R., Stem, J. S. & Hirsch, J. (1978). Diet-induced adipocyte number increase in adult rats: a new model of obesity. American Journal of Physiology 235, E279–E285.Google Scholar
Hales, C. N., Barker, D.J.P., Clark, P.M.S., Cox, L. J., Fall, C. & Winter, P. D. (1991). Fetal and infant growth and impaired glucose tolerance at age 64 years. British Medical Journal 303, 1019–1022.Google Scholar
Hales, C. N., Desai, M., Ozanne, S. E. & Crowther, N. J. (1996). Fishing in the stream of diabetes: from measuring insulin to the control of fetal organogenesis. Biochemical Society Transactions 24, 341–350.Google Scholar
Haring, E. U. (1991). The insulin receptor: signalling mechanisms and contribution to pathogenic insulin resistance. Diabetologia 34, 848–857.Google Scholar
Hirsch, J. & Gallian, E. (1968). Methods for the determination of adipose cell size in man and mammals. Journal of Lipid Research 9, 110–119.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lucas, A., Baker, B. A., Desai, M. & Hales, C. N. (1996). Nutrition in pregnant or lactating rats programs lipid metabolism in the offspring. British Jounuzl of Nutrition 76, 605–612.Google Scholar
McCance, D. R., Pettitt, D. J., Hanson, R. L., Jacobsson, L.T.H., Knowle, W.C. & Bennet, P. H. (1994). Birthweight and non-insulin-dependent diabetes: ‘thrifty genotype’, ‘thrifty phenotype’, or ‘surviving small baby genotype’. British Medical Journal 38, 942–945.Google Scholar
Ozanne, S. E., Smith, G. D., Tikerpae, J. & Hales, C. N. (1996 a). Altered regulation of hepatic glucose output in the male offspring of protein malnourished rat dams. American Journal of Physiology 270, E559–E564.Google ScholarPubMed
Ozanne, S. E., Wang, C. L., Coleman, N. & Smith, G. D. (1996 b). Altered insulin sensitivity in the male offspring of protein malnourished rats. American Journal of Physiology 271, E1128–E1134.Google Scholar
Shepherd, P. R., Gnudi, L., Tozzo, E., Yang, H., Leach, F. & Kahn, B. B. (1993). Adipose cell hyperplasia and enhanced glucose disposal in transgenic mice overexpressing GLUT 4 selectively in adipose tissue. Journal of Biological Chemistry 268, 22243–22246.Google Scholar
Shepherd, P. R. & Kahn, B. B. (1994). Expression of the GLUT 4 glucose transporter in diabetes. In Molecular Biology of Diabetes, pp. 529–546 ‘Draznin, B. and LeRoith, D., editors’. Totowa, NJ: Humana Press.Google Scholar
Snoeck, I., Remacle, C., Reusens, B. & Hoet, J.-J. (1990). Effect of a low protein diet during pregnancy on the fetal rat endocrine pancreas. Biology of the Neonate 57, 107–118.Google Scholar
Tozzo, E., Shepherd, P. R., Gnudi, L. & Kahn, B. B. (1995). Transgenic GLUT 4 overexpression in fat enhances glucose metabolism: preferential effect on fatty acid synthesis. American Journal of Physiology 268, E956–E964.Google Scholar