Pregnancy and Infants' Outcome: Nutritional and Metabolic Implications

Pregnancy is a complex period of human growth, development, and imprinting. Nutrition and metabolism play a crucial role for the health and well-being of both mother and fetus, as well as for the long-term health of the offspring. Nevertheless, several biological and physiological mechanisms related to nutritive requirements together with their transfer and utilization across the placenta are still poorly understood. In February 2009, the Child Health Foundation invited leading experts of this field to a workshop to critically review and discuss current knowledge, with the aim to highlight priorities for future research. This paper summarizes our main conclusions with regards to maternal preconceptional body mass index, gestational weight gain, placental and fetal requirements in relation to adverse pregnancy and long-term outcomes of the fetus (nutritional programming). We conclude that there is an urgent need to develop further human investigations aimed at better understanding of the basis of biochemical mechanisms and pathophysiological events related to maternal-fetal nutrition and offspring health. An improved knowledge would help to optimize nutritional recommendations for pregnancy.

Hydroxytyrosol supplementation modulates the expression of miRNAs in rodents and in humans

Dietary microRNAs (miRNAs) modulation could be important for health and wellbeing. Part of the healthful activities of polyphenols might be due to a modulation of miRNAs' expression. Among the most biologically active polyphenols, hydroxytyrosol (HT) has never been studied for its actions on miRNAs. We investigated whether HT could modulate the expression of miRNAs in vivo. We performed an unbiased intestinal miRNA screening in mice supplemented (for 8 weeks) with nutritionally relevant amounts of HT. HT modulated the expression of several miRNAs. Analysis of other tissues revealed consistent HT-induced modulation of only few miRNAs. Also, HT administration increased triglycerides levels. Acute treatment with HT and in vitro experiments provided mechanistic insights. The HT-induced expression of one miRNA was confirmed in healthy volunteers supplemented with HT in a randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled trial. HT consumption affects specific miRNAs' expression in rodents and humans. Our findings suggest that the modulation of miRNAs' action through HT consumption might partially explain its healthful activities and might be pharmanutritionally exploited in current therapies targeting endogenous miRNAs. However, the effects of HT on triglycerides warrant further investigations.

Effect of Supplemental Corn Dried Distillers Grains with Solubles Fed to Beef Steers Grazing Native Rangeland during the Forage Dormant Season

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of the level of corn dry distillers grains with solubles (CDDGS) supplementation on growing performance, blood metabolites, digestion characteristics and ruminal fermentation patterns in steers grazing dormant forage. In Exp. 1, of growth performance, 120 steers (204±5 kg initial body weight [BW]) were distributed randomly into 3 groups (each of 40 steers), which were provided with the following levels of CDDGS supplement: 0%, 0.25%, or 0.50% BW. All groups of steers were grazed for 30 days in each of 3 grazing periods (March, April, and May). Approximately 1,000 ha of the land was divided with electric fencing into 3 equally sized pastures (333 ha in size). Blood samples were collected monthly from 20 steers in each grazing group for analysis of glucose (G), urea-nitrogen (UN) and non-esterified fatty acids. Final BW, average daily gain (ADG) and supplement conversion (CDDGS-C) increased with increasing levels of CDDGS supplementation (p<0.05).The CDDGS supplementation also increased the plasma G and UN concentrations (p<0.05). In Exp. 2, of digestive metabolism, 9 ruminally cannulated steers (BW = 350±3 kg) were distributed, following a completely randomized design, into groups of three in each pasture. The ruminally cannulated steers were provided the same levels of CDDGS supplementation as in the growing performance study (0%, 0.25%, and 0.50% BW), and they grazed along with the other 40 steers throughout the grazing periods. The dry matter intake, crude protein intake, neutral detergent fiber intake (NDFI), apparent digestibility of dry matter (ADDM), crude protein (ADCP) and neutral detergent fiber (ADNDF) increased with increasing levels of CDDGS supplementation (p<0.05). The ruminal degradation rates of CP (kdCP), NDF (kdNDF) and passage rate (kp) also increased with increasing levels of CDDGS supplementation (p<0.05). Ruminal ammonia nitrogen (NH₃-N) and propionate concentrations also increased with increasing levels of CDDGS supplementation (p<0.05). However, acetate concentrations decreased with increasing levels of CDDGS supplementation (p<0.05). Liquid dilution rate increased with increasing levels of CDDGS supplementation but ruminal liquid volume decreased (p<0.05). On the basis of these findings, we can conclude that CDDGS supplementation enhanced the productive performance of cattle grazing native rangeland without negatively affecting forage intake, glucose and urea-nitrogen blood concentrations, ruminal degradation and ruminal fermentation patterns.

Fate of orally administered radioactive fatty acids in the late-pregnant rat

To investigate the biodisponibility of placental transfer of fatty acids, rats pregnant for 20 days were given tracer amounts of [(14)C]palmitic (PA), oleic (OA), linoleic (LA), α-linolenic (LNA), or docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) orally and euthanized at 0.5, 1.0, 2.0, or 8.0 h thereafter. Maternal plasma radioactivity in lipids initially increased only to decline at later times. Most of the label appeared first as triacylglycerols (TAG); later, the proportion in phospholipids (PhL) increased. The percentage of label in placental lipids was also always highest shortly after administration and declined later; again, PhL increased with time. Fetal plasma radioactivity increased with time, with its highest value at 8.0 h after DHA or LNA administration. DHA initially appeared primarily in the nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA) and PA, OA, LA, and LNA as TAG followed by NEFA; in all cases, there was an increase in PhL at later times. Measurement of fatty acid concentrations allowed calculation of specific (radio)activities, and the ratio (fetal/maternal) of these in the plasmas gave an index of placental transfer activity, which was LNA > LA > DHA = OA > PA. It is proposed that a considerable proportion of most fatty acids transferred through the placenta are released into the fetal circulation in the form of TAG.

Fish oil diet in pregnancy and lactation reduces pup weight and modifies newborn hepatic metabolic adaptations in rats

PURPOSE

To determine the effects of a diet containing fish oil (FD) during pregnancy and lactation in rats on the metabolic adaptations made by the offspring during early extrauterine life and to compare it to an olive oil diet (OD).

METHODS

Rats were mated and randomly allocated to OD or FD containing 10 % of the corresponding oil. During lactation, litters were adjusted to eight pups per dam. Fetuses of 20 days and pups of 0, 1, 10, 20 and 30 days of age were studied.

RESULTS

Body weight and length were lower in pups of the FD group from birth. The diet, milk, pups' plasma and liver of FD group had higher proportions of n-3 LCPUFA, but the content of arachidonic acid (ARA) was lower. Plasma glucose was higher, but unesterified fatty acids, triacylglycerols (TAG), 3-hydroxybutyrate and liver TAG in 1-day-old pups were lower in the FD group, and differences in some of these variables were also found in pups up to 30 days old. Liver lipoprotein lipase activity and mRNA expression, and the expression of carnitine palmitoyl transferase I, acyl-CoA oxidase and 3-hydroxy 3-methyl glutaryl-CoA synthase increased more at birth in pups of the FD group, but the expression of sterol regulatory element binding protein-1c and Δ6-desaturase mRNA was lower in the FD group.

CONCLUSIONS

Maternal intake of high n-3 LCPUFA retards postnatal development, which could be the result of impaired ARA synthesis, and affects hepatic metabolic adaptations to extrauterine life.

[A core deficit in Parkinson disease?]

INTRODUCTION

Parkinson disease is a neurodegenerative condition involving motor, cognitive, and linguistic deficits. It is important to know why all these different deficits co-occur in the affected people. This paper aims to clarify whether these comorbid deficits result from the selective impairment of a computational primitive, namely, a context-sensitive computational ability according to Chomsky's Hierarchy (a well-established research tool in comparative neuroscience).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

A total of 15 medicated subjects with Parkinson disease and 15 controls were selected. They were matched in age and education. A battery of tasks was designed to test 3 different domains (motor capacities, cognition, and language) and 2 different computational abilities (context-free and context-sensitive operations).

RESULTS

Significant differences between groups were observed only regarding the linguistic task involving context-sensitive computations (correferences).

CONCLUSIONS

The observed deficits in our patients with Parkinson disease cannot be explained in terms of the selective impairment of one only unspecific, low-level computational process. At the same time, differences between patients and controls are expected to be greater if the former are not medicated. Moreover, we should pursue in the search of (this kind of) computational primitives than can be selectively impaired in people with Parkinson disease, because they may help to achieve an earlier diagnosis of this condition.

Supplementing diet with blackberry extract causes a catabolic response with increments in insulin sensitivity in rats

Blackberry (Rubus sp.) fruit has a high content of anthocyanins, but its health benefits have not been sufficiently explored in healthy individuals. Thus, the aim of the study was to determine the effects of blackberry extract on lipid and glucose variables in female and male rats. Sprague Dawley rats were given a standard pellet (SD) or cafeteria (CD) diet supplemented (SD+R and CD+R) or not with Rubus extract for 80 days. Female rats given SD+R had lower body and liver weights than SD females; both sexes given SD+R showed lower plasma glucose and insulin, higher plasma NEFA, glycerol and 3-hydroxybutyrate, and higher liver concentration of triacylglycerols than SD rats. The homeostasis model of insulin resistance (HOMA) was lower in SD+R rats than in SD rats, but higher in CD rats. No effects of Rubus extract were observed in CD rats. In conclusion, Rubus extract, in rats given SD, decreased glycemia and increased insulin sensitivity. It also increased lipid breakdown in adipose tissue. The effects were greater in females than in males. No effect was seen in rats given CD, probably as a result of their high insulin resistance.

Lipid metabolism during pregnancy and its implications for fetal growth

More glucose crosses the placenta than any other substrate, but correlations between its concentration in maternal plasma and fetal growth are not found consistently. The accumulation of maternal fat depots and hyperlipidemia are the two principal changes in lipid metabolism during pregnancy. Although lipids cross the placenta with difficulty, maternal plasma triacylglycerols (TAG) and non-esterified fatty acids (NEFA) correlate with fetal lipids, fetal growth and fat mass under certain conditions. In intrauterine growth restriction, impaired placental transfer of lipophilic compounds (long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids and lipophilic vitamins) seems to underpin metabolic dysfunction and decreased birth weight. In gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), maternal TAG and NEFA levels correlate with neonatal anthropometric measures. In GDM, adipocyte fatty acid-binding protein in fetuses correlated with neonatal fat mass; changes in maternal or cord blood leptin, retinol binding protein 4 and adiponectin concentrations have been related to neonatal fat mass or birth weight, although their importance remains to be investigated. The angiopoietin-like protein 4 (ANGPTL-4) is secreted from adipose tissue, liver and placenta, and irreversibly inhibits lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity. Maternal plasma ANGPTL-4 is decreased in GDM, and it has been proposed to be responsible for an increase in placental LPL activity, which would facilitate a greater fatty acid placental transfer, contributing to the higher fetal fat accumulation. Thus, while evidence suggesting major involvement of maternal lipid metabolism in fetal adiposity and growth exists, the precise mechanisms remain to be elucidated.

Three axis vector magnet set-up for cryogenic scanning probe microscopy

We describe a three axis vector magnet system for cryogenic scanning probe microscopy measurements. We discuss the magnet support system and the power supply, consisting of a compact three way 100 A current source. We obtain tilted magnetic fields in all directions with maximum value of 5T along z-axis and of 1.2T for XY-plane magnetic fields. We describe a scanning tunneling microscopy-spectroscopy (STM-STS) set-up, operating in a dilution refrigerator, which includes a new high voltage ultralow noise piezodrive electronics and discuss the noise level due to vibrations. STM images and STS maps show atomic resolution and the tilted vortex lattice at 150 mK in the superconductor β-Bi2Pd. We observe a strongly elongated hexagonal lattice, which corresponds to the projection of the tilted hexagonal vortex lattice on the surface. We also discuss Magnetic Force Microscopy images in a variable temperature insert.

169 INFLUENCE OF TIME BEFORE BOS INDICUS OOCYTE ASPIRATION ON EMBRYO DEVELOPMENTAL COMPETENCE, EXPRESSION OF MATER AND OCT-4, AND FOLLICULAR STEROID CONCENTRATION

The ability of bovine embryos to develop to the blastocyst stage, to implant, and to generate healthy offspring, depends greatly on the oocyte contribution. Oocyte competence is attributed to its close communication with the follicular environment and to its capacity to synthesise and store great amounts of mRNA. Higher developmental competence of bovine oocytes has been associated with the expression of certain genes and with the steroid concentration in the follicular fluid. Hence, the aim of this study was to establish the influence of OCT-4 and MATER mRNA abundance in the oocyte and the influence of progesterone and oestradiol follicular fluid concentration on the competence of bovine oocytes retrieved 30 min or 4 h after slaughter. Cumulus–oocyte complexes (COC) were left in postmortem ovaries for 30 min (Group I) or 4 h (Group II) at 30°C before aspiration. Progesterone and oestradiol concentrations were measured in the follicular fluid in both groups by immunoassay using an Immulite 2000 analyzer. Immature oocytes were evaluated for MATER and OCT-4 mRNA abundance by real-time PCR (total RNA isolated from pools of 100 oocytes per repeat) or were subjected to in vitro maturation (IVM), in vitro fertilization (IVF), and in vitro culture (IVC). For in vitro embryo production, 455 (Group I) and 470 (Group II) COC were used in three repeats. Progesterone concentration was lower (P ≤ 0.05) in Group II than in Group I. Conversely, oestradiol concentration did not vary between groups. Similarly, Group II oocytes exhibited the highest (P < 0.05) MATER and OCT-4 abundance. For embryo development, there were no significant differences between cleavage rates (72 h post-insemination) between both groups. However, blastocyst (168 h post-insemination) and hatching (216 h post-insemination) rates in Group II were greater (P < 0.05) with 21.3 compared with 30.7% and 54.2 compared with 75.3%, respectively. These results indicate that progesterone concentration in the follicle and the abundance of MATER and OCT-4 transcripts could be good predictors of embryo developmental competence and that retrieving COC 4 h after slaughter could increase blastocyst and hatching rates. This work was supported by COLCIENCIAS COD 122852128473 Colombia.

Lack of relationship between cord serum angiopoietin-like protein 4 (ANGPTL4) and lipolytic activity in human neonates born by spontaneous delivery

BACKGROUND

Ligands of peroxisome-proliferator activated receptors (PPARs), such as non-esterified fatty acids (NEFAs), induce expression of angiopoietin-like protein 4 (ANGPTL4). Recently ANGPTL4 has been reported to be a mediator of intracellular adipose lipolysis induced by glucocorticoids.

OBJECTIVE

To determine the concentrations of ANGPTL4 in cord serum of neonates born by spontaneous vaginal delivery (SVD) and by pre-labor cesarean section (CS) from healthy women, and to relate them to parameters of neonatal lipolytic activity at birth.

MEASUREMENTS

In 54 neonates born by SVD and in 56 neonates born by CS, arterial cord blood was drawn to determine insulin, cortisol, triacylglycerols (TAGs), glycerol, non-esterified fatty acids (NEFAs), individual fatty acids, ANGPTL4, adiponectin, retinol binding protein 4 (RBP4) and leptin.

RESULTS

Birth weight and neonatal fat mass in SVD and CS showed no difference, but the concentrations of glycerol, adiponectin, RBP4, NEFAs and most individual fatty acids were higher in cord serum of neonates born by SVD compared to CS, indicating a higher adipose tissue breakdown in the SVD group. The concentrations of TAG and cortisol were also higher and that of insulin was lower in cord serum of SVD compared to the CS group. However, the concentration in cord serum of ANGPTL4 did not differ between the two groups and no positive correlation with either NEFA or glycerol concentrations were detected.

CONCLUSION

ANGPTL4 is known to stimulate lipolysis in adults, but does not appear to mediate the increased activity in SVD, indicating the presence of different regulatory inputs.

Decreased concentrations of the lipoprotein lipase inhibitor angiopoietin-like protein 4 and increased serum triacylglycerol are associated with increased neonatal fat mass in pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus

CONTEXT

Angiopoietin-like protein 4 (ANGPTL4) is an extracellular inhibitor of lipoprotein lipase (LPL) activity. No studies have been done in pregnancy in which hypertriglyceridemia and tissue-specific changes in LPL activity are present.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of the study was to determine the relationship between neonatal fat mass (FM) and concentrations of ANGPTL4 and triacylglycerols (TAG) in maternal and cord serum of pregnant women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) compared with controls.

DESIGN

Maternal blood samples (control, n = 90, and GDM, n= 80) and umbilical cord blood were drawn before and after vaginal delivery, respectively. Control and GDM subjects were grouped separately into 3 subgroups, according to neonatal FM: 0-25th percentiles, 25th-75th percentiles, and 75th-100th percentiles.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Glucose, insulin, TAG, nonesterified fatty acids (NEFAs), and ANGPTL4 were determined in maternal and neonatal serum.

RESULTS

Age and pregestational body mass index did not differ between GDM and control women in any subgroups. Maternal serum of GDM pregnant women who delivered the newborn with the highest FM showed the highest concentrations of TAG and NEFAs and lowest concentration of ANGPTL4, despite glucose and insulin concentrations being independent of changes in neonatal FM. However, cord serum of neonates of GDM patients with the highest FM showed higher concentrations of insulin and lower concentrations of TAG than those with lower neonatal FM but no significant differences in NEFAs or ANGPTL4 concentrations.

CONCLUSIONS

In well-controlled GDM pregnancies, decreased maternal ANGPTL4 concentrations and a gradient of TAG toward the fetus are related with higher neonatal FM. However, in GDM fetuses with the highest FM, the potential effect of ANGPTL4 inhibiting adipose tissue LPL activity could be overcome by their hyperinsulinemia.