Mechanisms by which macronutrients program postnatal metabolism

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There is convincing evidence that nutritional influences early in life can permanently program adult health. A range of animal studies have shown that maternal under-nutrition during pregnancy can be harmful to the offspring when they reach adulthood. Disturbances in body weight, blood glucose control and lipid (fat) metabolism often present to a greater extent in offspring of undernourished versus well-nourished female rats. Much less is known about maternal over-nutrition and the lasting effects it has on offspring. To add to the complexity emerging evidence suggests that the greater the degree of mismatch between early nutrition and that encountered in adulthood the greater the risk of metabolic disturbance. Our goal, therefore, is to determine if re-matching offspring to the diet their mother consumed during pregnancy can reduce some of the detrimental effects they experience after consuming a high fat/sugar diet. We hypothesize or predict that re-matching offspring to a maternal diet high in dietary fiber will program protective effects and re-matching to a maternal diet high in protein will program detrimental effects in offspring as adults. The specific objectives we will address in this grant are: 1) to examine whether re-matching offspring to maternal diet will have beneficial effects on metabolic health of offspring after an 8 wk high fat/sucrose diet challenge; 2) to determine whether changes in the structure of the intestine occurs in offspring re-matched to maternal diets high in prebiotic fiber or protein; 3) to determine if maternal diets high in protein or prebiotic fiber alter maternal milk composition; 4) to determine whether a postnatal diet high in prebiotic fiber can reverse the developmental programming associated with a compromised prenatal environment. The overall goal of this proposal is to undertake basic research on how dietary patterns during fetal development affect glucose and lipid metabolism. Results of this work will provide important insight into the factors involved in the developmental origins of health and disease. Examining the impact of high fiber and protein diets, a relatively untouched area in the developmental literature, is likely to greatly expand our knowledge of how nutrition programs the health of the fetus for life.