Diet before and during pregnancy and child health: lessons from animals models
L'importanza della dieta materna prima e durante la gravidanza per la salute del bambino: studi su modelli animali
Résumé
Epidemiological studies have shawn that early nutrition plays a seminal role in determining offspring's long-term health and metabolism. The study of children born to women having suffered the Dutch famine during WW2 has clearly highlighted the role of maternal nutrition during pregnancy. Current concerns focus on the increased incidence of obesity and diabetes prior and during pregnancy in humans. Animal models give the possibility to pinpoint critical periods of development, assess the role of specific nutrients and decipher mechanisms. Although rodents are essential for fundamental biological explorations, other species can offer more physiological resemblance to humans. Using a rabbit model, we showed that maternal high fat diet administered ta females from before puberty affects the onset of puberty and follicular reserve in the ovary. Although fertility is not affected, early embryos accumulate lipid droplets within the trophoblast, which is accompanied by disturbed gene expression. During gestation, sex-specific perturbations of fetal and placental metabolism are observed. Offspring develop components of the metabolic syndrome as adults with alterations in ovarian follicular reserve as well as testicular function. These data and those of others demonstrate the importance of maternal nutrition not during gestation, in the periconceptional period and before conception.