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Iron deficiency during pregnancy and lactation modifies the fatty acid composition of the brain of neonatal rats

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 September 2019

William D. Rees Open the ORCID record for William D. Rees [Opens in a new window] ,
Susan M. Hay ,
Helen E. Hayes ,
Valerie J. Stevens ,
Lorraine Gambling  and
Harry J. McArdle
William D. Rees*
Affiliation:
The Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, The University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Aberdeen, AB25 2ZD, Scotland, UK
Susan M. Hay
Affiliation:
The Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, The University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Aberdeen, AB25 2ZD, Scotland, UK
Helen E. Hayes
Affiliation:
The Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, The University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Aberdeen, AB25 2ZD, Scotland, UK
Valerie J. Stevens
Affiliation:
The Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, The University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Aberdeen, AB25 2ZD, Scotland, UK
Lorraine Gambling
Affiliation:
The Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, The University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Aberdeen, AB25 2ZD, Scotland, UK
Harry J. McArdle
Affiliation:
The Rowett Institute of Nutrition and Health, The University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Aberdeen, AB25 2ZD, Scotland, UK
*
Address for correspondence: William D. Rees, Rowett Institute, The University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Aberdeen, AB25 2ZD, Scotland, UK. Email: w.rees@abdn.ac.uk
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Abstract

Iron deficiency is common in pregnant and lactating women and is associated with reduced cognitive development of the offspring. Since iron affects lipid metabolism, the availability of fatty acids, particularly the polyunsaturated fatty acids required for early neural development, was investigated in the offspring of female rats fed iron-deficient diets during gestation and lactation. Subsequent to the dams giving birth, one group of iron-deficient dams was recuperated by feeding an iron-replete diet. Dams and neonates were killed on postnatal days 1, 3 and 10, and the fatty acid composition of brain and stomach contents was assessed by gas chromatography. Changes in the fatty acid profile on day 3 became more pronounced on day 10 with a decrease in the proportion of saturated fatty acids and a compensatory increase in monounsaturated fatty acids. Long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids in the n-6 family were reduced, but there was no change in the n-3 family. The fatty acid profiles of neonatal brain and stomach contents were similar, suggesting that the change in milk composition may be related to the changes in the neonatal brain. When the dams were fed an iron-sufficient diet at birth, the effects of iron deficiency on the fatty acid composition of lipids in both dam’s milk and neonates’ brains were reduced. This study showed an interaction between maternal iron status and fatty acid composition of the offspring’s brain and suggests that these effects can be reduced by iron repletion of the dam’s diet at birth.

Type
Original Article
Information
Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease , Volume 11 , Issue 3 , June 2020 , pp. 264 - 272
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press and the International Society for Developmental Origins of Health and Disease 2019

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