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Sarcopenia is characterised by the loss of skeletal muscle mass and function, which leads to a high risk of increased morbidity and mortality. Maternal malnutrition has been linked to impaired development of skeletal muscle of the offspring; however, there are limited studies that report the long-term effect of a maternal low-protein diet during lactation on the ageing of skeletal muscles. This study aimed to examine how a maternal low-protein diet (LPD) during lactation affects skeletal muscle ageing in the offspring. Pups born from control mothers were lactated by mothers fed with an LPD. Post-weaning, mice were either maintained on an LPD or switched to a control, normal-protein diet (NPD). In males, an LPD mainly affected the size of the myofibres without a major effect on fibre number and led to reduced grip strength in ageing mice (24 months). Female mice from mothers on an LPD had a lower body and muscle weight at weaning but caught up with control mice at 3 months. During ageing, the muscle weight, myofibre number and survival rate of female pups were significantly affected. These findings highlight the effect of an LPD during lactation on skeletal muscle ageing, the lifespan of offspring and the importance of sexual dimorphism in response to dietary challenges. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maternal mortality rates are at an all-time high across the world and are set to increase in subsequent years. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death during pregnancy and postpartum, especially in the United States. Therefore, understanding the physiological changes in the cardiovascular system during normal pregnancy is necessary to understand disease-related pathology. Significant systemic and cardiovascular physiological changes occur during pregnancy that are essential for supporting the maternal-fetal dyad. The physiological impact of pregnancy on the cardiovascular system has been examined in both experimental animal models and in humans. However, there is a continued need in this field of study to provide increased rigor and reproducibility. Therefore, these guidelines aim to provide information regarding best practices and recommendations to accurately and rigorously measure cardiovascular physiology during normal and cardiovascular disease-complicated pregnancies in human and animal models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Diet is integral to the healthy ageing process and certain diets can mitigate prolonged and deleterious inflammation. This review aims to assess the impact of diets high in sustainably sourced proteins on nutrient intake, gut, and age-related health in older adults. A systematic search of the literature was conducted on 5 September 2023 across multiple databases and sources. Studies assessing sustainably sourced protein consumption in community dwelling older adults (≥65 years) were included. Risk of bias (RoB) was assessed using 'RoB 2.0′ and 'ROBINS-E'. Narrative synthesis was performed due to heterogeneity of studies. Twelve studies involving 12,166 older adults were included. Nine studies (n = 10,391) assessed habitual dietary intake and had some RoB concerns, whilst three studies (n = 1812), two with low and one with high RoB, conducted plant-based dietary interventions. Increased adherence to sustainably sourced diets was associated with improved gut microbial factors (n = 4640), healthier food group intake (n = 2142), and increased fibre and vegetable protein intake (n = 1078). Sustainably sourced diets positively impacted on gut microbiota and healthier intake of food groups, although effects on inflammatory outcomes and health status were inconclusive. Future research should focus on dietary interventions combining sustainable proteins and fibre to evaluate gut barrier function and consider inflammatory and body composition outcomes in older adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pregnancy complicated by maternal obesity contributes to an increased cardiovascular risk in offspring, which is increasingly concerning as the rates of obesity and cardiovascular disease are higher than ever before and still growing. There has been much research in humans and preclinical animal models to understand the impact of maternal obesity on offspring health. This review summarizes what is known about the offspring cardiovascular phenotype, describing a mechanistic role for oxidative stress, metabolic inflexibility, and mitochondrial dysfunction in mediating these impairments. It also discusses the impact of secondary postnatal insults, which may reveal latent cardiovascular deficits that originated in utero. Finally, current interventional efforts and gaps of knowledge to limit the developmental origins of cardiovascular dysfunction in offspring of obese pregnancy are highlighted., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology.)

Lipid metabolism is recognised as being central to growth, disease and health. Lipids, therefore, have an important place in current research on globally significant topics such as food security and biodiversity loss. However, answering questions in these important fields of research requires not only identification and measurement of lipids in a wider variety of sample types than ever before, but also hypothesis-driven analysis of the resulting 'big data'. We present a novel pipeline that can collect data from a wide range of biological sample types, taking 1 000 000 lipid measurements per 384 well plate, and analyse the data systemically. We provide evidence of the power of the tool through proof-of-principle studies using edible fish (mackerel, bream, seabass) and colonies of Bombus terrestris . Bee colonies were found to be more like mini-ecosystems and there was evidence for considerable changes in lipid metabolism in bees through key developmental stages. This is the first report of either high throughput LCMS lipidomics or systemic analysis in individuals, colonies and ecosystems. This novel approach provides new opportunities to analyse metabolic systems at different scales at a level of detail not previously feasible, to answer research questions about societally important topics.