Exposure to a Western diet during gestation and lactation adversely impacts offspring mood, learning, and memory. We determined if high dose maternal methyl donor nutrient (MDN) supplementation amelio Show more
Exposure to a Western diet during gestation and lactation adversely impacts offspring mood, learning, and memory. We determined if high dose maternal methyl donor nutrient (MDN) supplementation ameliorated the effects of a high fat/high sucrose (HFS) diet during gestation and lactation on the behavior of young, adult offspring. Rat dams consumed the following diets through gestation and lactation: [1] AIN93G control (CON) diet, [2] 45% fat diet with sucrose (HFS), [3] CON diet supplemented with folic acid, B MDN supplementation increased depression-related behavior regardless of maternal base diet (P = 0.003). Learning under stress was reduced in offspring of MDN supplemented dams evidenced by fewer SBET escapes (P = 0.042) and increased escape latency in FR1 trials (P = 0.037). MDNs did not alter novelty reactivity, anxiety-related behavior, or working memory but improved reference memory (P = 0.023). MDNs did not affect corticosterone, reduced BDNF when dams consumed the HFS diet (P = 0.025), and tended to increase DNA methylation (P = 0.065). Maternal MDN supplementation increased depression-related behavior and decreased learning under stress, indicating high dose MDN supplementation may not be warranted. Show less
The present study investigated the effect of perinatal programming combined with exposure to a western diet on gene expression related to inflammation, neurodegeneration, and synaptic plasticity in th Show more
The present study investigated the effect of perinatal programming combined with exposure to a western diet on gene expression related to inflammation, neurodegeneration, and synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus of adult rats. Male rats from mothers fed either a standard diet or a western diet during gestation and lactation were used. All pups received only the standard chow diet from the 25th postnatal day (PND), and their body weight was analysed. Rats from the two groups fed the maternal diet were then divided on the 195 Adult rats submitted to a western diet during pregnancy and lactation showed signs of metabolic programming. In addition, glucose and total protein were found to have increased in the serum. The effect of acute exposure to a western diet is increased cholesterol. The western diet decreased gene expression of inflammatory factors ( Acute exposure to a western diet in adulthood alters pre-translational pathways ( Show less