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Maternal overweight induced by reduced litter size impairs the behavioral neurodevelopment of offspring.

Authors :
de Novais CO
Batista TH
Ribeiro ACAF
Vitor-Vieira F
Rojas VCT
Ferri BG
Vieira JS
Giusti-Paiva A
Vilela FC
Source :
Life sciences [Life Sci] 2021 Jul 15; Vol. 277, pp. 119611. Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 May 10.
Publication Year :
2021

Abstract

Aims: We assessed the influence of maternal overweight on the behavioral neurodevelopment of male and female offspring in prepubertal age by reducing the litter size.<br />Main Methods: To reduce litter size in Wistar rats, the offspring of generation 0 (G0) were culled for 12 pups (6 males and 6 females: normal litter, NL-G1) or 4 pups (2 males and 2 females: small litter, SL-G1). In G1 dams, overweight was characterized, maternal behavior and locomotor activity were assessed. At G2, we quantified the ultrasonic vocalizations in post-natal day 5 (PND5); we evaluated olfactory discrimination in the homing behavior test on PND13; and in PND28-32 (prepubertal age), we performed the following tests: social play behavior, hole board, object recognition, and open field. At the end of the experiments, hippocampus and prefrontal cortex were dissected to quantify the synaptophysin by western blotting.<br />Key Findings: Our data demonstrated that a reduction in litter size was able to induce maternal overweight without altering the parameters related to overweight in the offspring. The SL-G2 offspring showed deficits in early social communication, olfactory discrimination, social play behavior, and the exploration of objects, in addition to increasing repetitive and stereotyped movements. There were also changes in the synaptophysin levels in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex of the offspring from reduced litter dams. In conclusion, maternal overweight caused by litter reduction impairs behavioral neurodevelopment, inducing autism-like symptoms in the offspring.<br />Significance: This study alerts the public about the negative consequences of maternal overweight in the descendants.<br /> (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Details

Language :
English
ISSN :
1879-0631
Volume :
277
Database :
MEDLINE
Journal :
Life sciences
Publication Type :
Academic Journal
Accession number :
33984359
Full Text :
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lfs.2021.119611