Maternal high-fat diet programming of the neuroendocrine system and behavior

Sex-dependent effects of Setd1a haploinsufficiency on development and adult behaviour

Loss of function (LoF) mutations affecting the histone methyl transferase SETD1A are implicated in the aetiology of a range of neurodevelopmental disorders including schizophrenia. We examined indices of development and adult behaviour in a mouse model of Setd1a haploinsufficiency, revealing a complex pattern of sex-related differences spanning the pre- and post-natal period. Specifically, male Setd1a+/- mice had smaller placentae at E11.5 and females at E18.5 without any apparent changes in foetal size. In contrast, young male Setd1a+/- mice had lower body weight and showed enhanced growth, leading to equivalent weights by adulthood. Embryonic whole brain RNA-seq analysis revealed expression changes that were significantly enriched for mitochondria-related genes in Setd1a+/ samples. In adulthood, we found enhanced acoustic startle responding in male Setd1a+/- mice which was insentitive to the effects of risperidone, but not haloperidol, both commonly used antipsychotic drugs. We also observed reduced pre-pulse inhibition of acoustic startle, a schizophrenia-relevant phenotype, in both male and female Setd1a+/- mice which could not be rescued by either drug. In the open field and elevated plus maze tests of anxiety, Setd1a haplosufficiency led to more anxiogenic behaviour in both sexes, whereas there were no differences in general motoric ability and memory. Thus, we find evidence for changes in a number of phenotypes which strengthen the support for the use of Setd1a haploinsufficient mice as a model for the biological basis of schizophrenia. Furthermore, our data point towards possible underpinning neural and developmental mechanisms that may be subtly different between the sexes.

Early life adversities, psychopathologies and novel pharmacological strategies

Exposure to adversities during early life stages (early life adversities - ELA), ranging from pregnancy to adolescence, represents a major risk factor for the vulnerability to mental disorders. Hence, it is important to understand the molecular and functional underpinning of such relationship, in order to develop strategies aimed at reducing the psychopathologic burden associated with ELA, which may eventually lead to a significant improvement in clinical practice. In this review, we will initially recapitulate clinical and preclinical evidence supporting the link between ELA and psychopathology and we will primarily discuss the main biological mechanisms that have been described as potential mediators of the effects of ELA on the psychopathologic risk, including the role for genetic factors as well as sex differences. The knowledge emerging from these studies may be instrumental for the development of novel therapeutic strategies aimed not only at correcting the deficits that emerge from ELA exposure, but also in preventing the manifestation of a full-blown psychopathologic condition. With this respect, we will specifically focus on adolescence as a key time frame for disease onset as well as for early therapeutic intervention. We believe that incorporating clinical and preclinical research data in the context of early life adversities can be instrumental to elucidate the mechanisms contributing to the risk for psychopathology or that may promote resilience. This will ultimately allow the identification of 'at risk' individuals who may benefit from specific forms of interventions that, by interfering with disease trajectories, could result in more benign clinical outcomes.

A shift to a standard diet after exposure to a high-fat, high-sucrose diet from gestation to weaning restores brain metabolism and behavioral flexibility in adult rats

Prolonged consumption of diets high in saturated fat and sugar has been related to obesity and overweight, which in turn are linked to cognitive impairment in both humans and rodents. This has become a current issue, especially in children and adolescents, because these stages are crucial to neurodevelopmental processes and programming of adult behavior. To evaluate the effects of gestational and early exposure to an obesogenic diet, three groups with different dietary patterns were established: high-fat and high-sucrose diet (HFS), standard diet (SD), and a dietary shift from a high-fat, high-sucrose diet to a standard diet after weaning (R). Spatial learning and behavioral flexibility in adult male and female Wistar rats were evaluated using the Morris water maze (MWM) at PND 60. Furthermore, regional brain oxidative metabolism was assessed in the prefrontal cortex and the hippocampus. Contrary to our hypothesis, the HFS diet groups showed similar performance on the spatial learning task as the other groups, although they showed impaired cognitive flexibility. The HFS group had increased brain metabolic capacity compared to that of animals fed the standard diet. Shifting from the HFS diet to the SD diet after weaning restored the brain metabolic capacity in both sexes to levels similar to those observed in animals fed the SD diet. In addition, animals in the R group performed similarly to those fed the SD diet in the Morris water maze in both tasks. However, dietary shift from HFS diet to standard diet after weaning had only moderate sex-dependent effects on body weight and fat distribution. In conclusion, switching from an HFS diet to a balanced diet after weaning would have beneficial effects on behavioral flexibility and brain metabolism, without significant sex differences.

The influence of asthma on neuroinflammation and neurodevelopment: From epidemiology to basic models

Asthma is a highly heterogeneous inflammatory disease that can have a significant effect on both the respiratory system and central nervous system. Population based studies and animal models have found asthma to be comorbid with a number of neurological conditions, including depression, anxiety, and neurodevelopmental disorders. In addition, maternal asthma during pregnancy has been associated with neurodevelopmental disorders in the offspring, such as autism spectrum disorders and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. In this article, we review the most current epidemiological studies of asthma that identify links to neurological conditions, both as it relates to individuals that suffer from asthma and the impacts asthma during pregnancy may have on offspring neurodevelopment. We also discuss the relevant animal models investigating these links, address the gaps in knowledge, and explore the potential future directions in this field.

Swimming training and caffeine supplementation protects against metabolic syndrome-induced nuclear factor-κB activation and cognitive deficits in rats

Metabolic syndrome (MS) is a disorder that increasingly affects the world population, mainly because of changes in lifestyle and dietary habits. In this regard, both physical exercise and caffeine are low-cost and easily accessible therapies that separately have shown positive effects against metabolic disorders. Therefore, we hypothesized that physical exercise combined with caffeine could have a synergistic effect in the treatment of MS, risk factors, and cognitive deficits. Animals were divided into 8 groups and received fructose (15% w/v) or vehicle for 10 weeks. Swimming training and caffeine (6 mg/kg) started 4 weeks after fructose administration. Trained animals presented decreased body weight and visceral fat mass and increased soleus weight compared with untrained fructose-treated animals. Caffeine supplementation also prevented the gain of visceral fat mass induced by fructose. Furthermore, both treatments reversed fructose-induced decrease in glucose clearance over time and fructose-induced increase in 4-hydroxynonenal and nuclear factor-κB immunoreactivity. Physical training also improved the lipidic profile in fructose-treated animals (high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, and triglycerides), improved short-term, long-term, and localization memory, and reversed the fructose-induced deficit in short-term memory. Physical training also increased nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 immunoreactivity per se. Considering that physical training and caffeine reversed some of the damages induced by fructose it is plausible to consider these treatments as alternative, nonpharmacological, and low-cost therapies to help reduce MS-associated risk factors; however, combined treatments did not show additive effects as hypothesized.

Molecular pathways in placental-fetal development and disruption

The first trimester of pregnancy ranks high in priority when minimizing harmful exposures, given the wide-ranging types of organogenesis occurring between 4- and 12-weeks' gestation. One way to quantify potential harm to the fetus in the first trimester is to measure a corollary effect on the placenta. Placental biomarkers are widely present in maternal circulation, cord blood, and placental tissue biopsied at birth or at the time of pregnancy termination. Here we evaluate ten diverse pathways involving molecules expressed in the first trimester human placenta based on their relevance to normal fetal development and to the hypothesis of placental-fetal endocrine disruption (perturbation in development that results in abnormal endocrine function in the offspring), namely: human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), thyroid hormone regulation, peroxisome proliferator activated receptor protein gamma (PPARγ), leptin, transforming growth factor beta, epiregulin, growth differentiation factor 15, small nucleolar RNAs, serotonin, and vitamin D. Some of these are well-established as biomarkers of placental-fetal endocrine disruption, while others are not well studied and were selected based on discovery analyses of the placental transcriptome. A literature search on these biomarkers summarizes evidence of placenta-specific production and regulation of each biomarker, and their role in fetal reproductive tract, brain, and other specific domains of fetal development. In this review, we extend the theory of fetal programming to placental-fetal programming.

Dietary inflammatory index and neuropsychiatric disorders

Neuropsychiatric disorders (NPDs) are considered a potential threat to mental health. Inflammation predominantly plays a role in the pathophysiology of NPDs. Dietary patterns are widely postulated to be involved in the physiological response to inflammation. This review aims to discuss the literature on how dietary inflammatory index (DII) is related to inflammation and, consequently, NPDs. After comprehensive scrutiny in different databases, the articles that investigated the relation of DII score and various NPDs and psychological circumstances were included. The association between dietary patterns and mental disorders comprising depression, anxiety, and stress proved the role of a proinflammatory diet in these conditions' exacerbation. Aging is another condition closely associated with DII. The impact of proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory diet on sleep quality indicated related disorders like sleep latency and day dysfunctions among the different populations are in relation with the high DII score. The potential effects of genetic backgrounds, dietary patterns, and the gut microbiome on DII are discussed as well. To plan preventive or therapeutic interventions considering the DII, these factors, especially genetic variations, should be considered as there is a growing body of literature indicating the role of personalized medicine in different NPDs. To the best of our knowledge, there is a limited number of RCTs on this subject, so future research should evaluate the causality via RCTs and look for therapeutic interventions with an eye on personalized medicine using information about DII in NPDs.

Maternal-placental axis and its impact on fetal outcomes, metabolism, and development

Maternal obesity could impact offspring's health. During "critical period" such as pregnancy insults have a significant role in developing chronic diseases later in life. Literature has shown that diet can play a major role in essential metabolic and development processes on fetal outcomes. Moreover, the placenta, an essential organ developed in pregnancy, seems to have its functions impaired based on pre-gestational and gestational nutritional status. Specifically, a high-fat diet has been shown as a potential nutritional insult that also affects the maternal-placental axis, which is involved in offspring development and outcome. Moreover, some classes of nutrients are associated with pregnancy complications such as reduced intake of micronutrients and diabetes, preeclampsia, and preterm delivery. Thus, we will summarize the current literature on maternal environment factors that impacts the placental development and consequently the fetal an offspring health, or the maternal-placental axis, and this on fetal outcomes, metabolism, and development.

Evaluating different models of maternal stress on stress-responsive systems in prepubertal mice

Introduction

Maternal adversity during pregnancy influences neurodevelopment in human and model animal offspring. Adversity can result from stressors coming from many different directions ranging from environmental to nutritional and physiological to immune (e.g., infection). Most stressors result in fetal overexposure to glucocorticoids that have been directly linked to long- and short-term negative impacts on neurological health of offspring. Neuropsychiatric diseases postulated to have fetal origins are diverse and include such things cardiovascular disease, obesity, affective disorders, and metabolic and immune disorders.

Methods

The experiments in the current study compare 3 stressors: prenatal exposure to dexamethasone (DEX), maternal high fat diet (HFD), and maternal caloric restriction (CR). Offspring of mothers with these treatments were examined prepubertally to evaluate stress responsiveness and stress-related behaviors in in male and female mice.

Results

Prenatal exposure to synthetic glucocorticoid, DEX, resulted in decreased neonatal body weights, reduced social interaction behavior, and hypoactive stress response offspring exposed to maternal DEX. Maternal CR resulted in decreased body weights and social interaction behavior in males and females and increased anxiety-like behavior and acute stress response only in males. HFD resulted in altered body weight gain in both sex offspring with decreased anxiety-like behavior in a female-biased manner.

Discussion

The idea that glucocorticoid responses to different stressors might serve as a common stimulus across stress paradigms is insufficient, given that different modes of prenatal stress produced differential effects. Opposite nutritional stressors produced similar outcomes for anxiety-like behavior in both sexes, social-like behavior in females, and a hyperactive adrenal stress response in males. One common theme among the three models of maternal stress (DEX, CR, and HFD) was consistent data showing their role in activating the maternal and fetal immune response. By tuning in on the more immediate immunological aspect on the developing fetus (e.g., hormones, cytokines), additional studies may tease out more direct outcomes of maternal stress in rodents and increase their translational value to human studies.

Pancreatic GLUT2 protein expression and isolated islets insulin secretion decreased in high-fat fed rat dams

Purpose

Chronic consumption of high-fat foods during the reproductive period may endanger the dams' metabolic homeostasis and might adversely affect pregnancy outcome. In this regard the present study aimed to investigate the effect of long-term high-fat feeding on pancreatic glucose transporter-2 (GLUT2) protein expression and isolated islets glucose-stimulated insulin secretion in Wistar rat dams.

Materials and methods

Female rats were randomly divided into normal (N) and high-fat (HF; containing cow butter) diet groups and consumed their respective diets for 10 weeks (from prepregnancy to the end of lactation). After lactation, fasting plasma concentrations of glucose and insulin were measured to calculate HOMA-IR index, then intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test (IPGTT) was performed. Moreover, the pancreatic GLUT2 protein expression and insulin secretion from isolated islets at basal (5.6 mM) and stimulated (16.7 mM) glucose concentrations were assessed.

Results

In HF group compared to N group, the plasma insulin level increased, whereas the plasma glucose level did not change in fasting state. Accordingly, the HOMA-IR index increased in HF fed animals. Furthermore, the IPGTT revealed glucose intolerance based on the plasma glucose and insulin results. Also, the pancreatic GLUT2 expression and isolated islets insulin secretion, in response to high glucose concentration, were decreased.

Conclusion

The chronic consumption of high-fat foods during prepregnancy, pregnancy, and lactation periods can lead to glucose intolerance, insulin resistance, and inhibition of pancreatic GLUT2 expression, which impairs glucose homeostasis. Therefore, it is crucial to carefully monitor the diet composition of dams during this critical period.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40200-023-01274-6.

The Impact of Obesity on Reproductive Health and Pregnancy Outcomes

Women carry the majority of the burden of our obesogenic surroundings, with a larger prevalence of obesity than males, a greater impact on fertility and treatment success, and increased maternal and perinatal morbidity and death. Obesity and its associated morbidity are now among our most pressing global health concerns. Women are more susceptible to gaining weight, which has reproductive, coronary, and emotional consequences. The current data on the negative consequences of obesity before conception (fertility issues, assisted reproductive treatment, polycystic ovary disease, overweight and obesity preventative measures, and emotional well-being), pregnancy (preventing excess gestational body weight, gestational diabetes, and preeclampsia, as well as labor and newborn health), and following delivery (the lactation process and breastfeeding, postnatal weight retention, and depressive symptoms) health is summarized. in this review. Along with this, underlying factors, consequences, and solutions to the obesity pandemic are investigated, as well as the mechanisms of obesity's effect on women and men, the epigenetic consequences of masculine obesity, its significant effects on reproductive results, and the implications of the loss of weight preceding to pregnancy as well as during pregnancy. This review suggests study methodologies that might assist in guiding attempts to enhance reproductive health and neonatal health in obese or overweight women.

Maternal adherence to healthy lifestyle and risk of depressive symptoms in the offspring: mediation by offspring lifestyle

BACKGROUND

Adherence to healthy lifestyles can be beneficial for depression among adults, but the intergenerational impact of maternal healthy lifestyles on offspring depressive symptoms is unknown.

METHODS

In total, 10 368 mothers in Nurses' Health Study II and 13 478 offspring in the Growing Up Today Study were paired. Maternal and offspring healthy lifestyles were defined as a composite score including a healthy diet, normal body mass index (BMI), never-smoking, light-to-moderate consumption of alcohol, and regular moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Maternal lifestyles were assessed during their offspring's childhood. Offspring depressive symptoms were repeatedly assessed five times using the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale-10 (CESD-10); the offspring were between the ages of 14 and 30 when the first CESD-10 was assessed. Covariates included maternal variables (age at baseline, race/ethnicity, antidepressant use, pregnancy complications, etc.) and offspring age and sex.

RESULTS

Children of mothers with the healthiest lifestyle had significantly fewer depressive symptoms (a 0.30 lower CESD-10 score, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.09-0.50) in comparison with children of mothers with the least healthy lifestyle. The association was only found significant in female offspring but not in males. For individual maternal lifestyle factors, a normal BMI, never-smoking, and adherence to regular physical activity were independently associated with fewer depressive symptoms among the offspring. The association between maternal healthy lifestyles and offspring depressive symptoms was mediated by offspring's healthy lifestyles (mediation effect: 53.2%, 95% CI 15.8-87.3).

CONCLUSIONS

Our finding indicates the potential mechanism of intergenerational transmission of healthy lifestyles to reduce the risk of depressive symptoms in offspring.

Examining Maternal Cardiometabolic Markers in Pregnancy on Child Emotional and Behavior Trajectories: Using Growth Curve Models on a Cohort Study

Background

Poor maternal cardiometabolic health in pregnancy is associated with negative effects on child health outcomes, but there is limited literature on child and adolescent socioemotional outcomes. The study aimed to investigate associations between maternal cardiometabolic markers during pregnancy with child and adolescent socioemotional trajectories.

Methods

Growth curve models were run to examine how maternal cardiometabolic markers in pregnancy affected child socioemotional trajectories from ages 4 to 16. Models were adjusted for all pregnancy trimesters and maternal, child, and socioeconomic covariates. This study used the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (United Kingdom) cohort. Participants consisted of mother-child pairs (N = 15,133). Maternal predictors of fasting glucose, triglycerides, high-density lipoprotein, low-density lipoprotein, and body mass index were taken from each pregnancy trimester (T1, T2, T3). Child outcomes included emotional problems, conduct problems, and hyperactivity problems from the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire.

Results

Fully adjusted models showed significant associations between elevated T1 fasting glucose and increased conduct problems, higher T1 body mass index and increased hyperactivity problems, lowered T1 high-density lipoprotein and decreased hyperactivity problems, and elevated T2 triglycerides and increased hyperactivity problems.

Conclusions

Maternal cardiometabolic risk is associated with conduct and hyperactivity outcomes from ages 4 to 16. This study suggests that maternal markers of fasting glucose, low-density lipoprotein, high-density lipoprotein, and triglycerides during pregnancy could be added as supplements for clinical measures of risk when predicting child and adolescent socioemotional trajectories.

Adverse effects of gestational ω-3 and ω-6 polyunsaturated fatty acid imbalance on the programming of fetal brain development

Obesity is a key medical challenge of our time. The increasing number of children born to overweight or obese women is alarming. During pregnancy, the circulation of the mother and her fetus interact to maintain the uninterrupted availability of essential nutrients for fetal organ development. In doing so, the mother's dietary preference determines the amount and composition of nutrients reaching the fetus. In particular, the availability of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), chiefly their ω-3 and ω-6 subclasses, can change when pregnant women choose a specific diet. Here, we provide a succinct overview of PUFA biochemistry, including exchange routes between ω-3 and ω-6 PUFAs, the phenotypes, and probable neurodevelopmental disease associations of offspring born to mothers consuming specific PUFAs, and their mechanistic study in experimental models to typify signaling pathways, transcriptional, and epigenetic mechanisms by which PUFAs can imprint long-lasting modifications to brain structure and function. We emphasize that the ratio, rather than the amount of individual ω-3 or ω-6 PUFAs, might underpin physiologically correct cellular differentiation programs, be these for neurons or glia, during pregnancy. Thereupon, the PUFA-driven programming of the brain is contextualized for childhood obesity, metabolic, and endocrine illnesses.

Maternal high fat diets: impacts on offspring obesity and epigenetic hypothalamic programming

Maternal high-fat diet (HFD) during pregnancy is associated with rapid weight gain and fetal fat mass increase at an early stage. Also, HFD during pregnancy can cause the activation of proinflammatory cytokines. Maternal insulin resistance and inflammation lead to increased adipose tissue lipolysis, and also increased free fatty acid (FFA) intake during pregnancy (˃35% of energy from fat) cause a significant increase in FFA levels in the fetus. However, both maternal insulin resistance and HFD have detrimental effects on adiposity in early life. As a result of these metabolic alterations, excess fetal lipid exposure may affect fetal growth and development. On the other hand, increase in blood lipids and inflammation can adversely affect the development of the liver, adipose tissue, brain, skeletal muscle, and pancreas in the fetus, increasing the risk for metabolic disorders. In addition, maternal HFD is associated with changes in the hypothalamic regulation of body weight and energy homeostasis by altering the expression of the leptin receptor, POMC, and neuropeptide Y in the offspring, as well as altering methylation and gene expression of dopamine and opioid-related genes which cause changes in eating behavior. All these maternal metabolic and epigenetic changes may contribute to the childhood obesity epidemic through fetal metabolic programming. Dietary interventions, such as limiting dietary fat intake <35% with appropriate fatty acid intake during the gestation period are the most effective type of intervention to improve the maternal metabolic environment during pregnancy. Appropriate nutritional intake during pregnancy should be the principal goal in reducing the risks of obesity and metabolic disorders.

Early Intervention of Elateriospermum tapos Yoghurt in Obese Dams Mitigates Intergenerational Cognitive Deficits and Thigmotactic Behaviour in Male Offspring via the Modulation of Metabolic Profile

Maternal obesity is an intergenerational vicious cycle and one of the primary causes of cognitive deficits and high anxiety levels in offspring, which often manifest independently of sex. It is proven that curbing the intergenerational inheritance of obesity through early intervention during the gestation period has a positive outcome on the body composition, cognitive function, and anxiety level of the offspring. A recent discovery shows that the consumption of Elateriospermum tapos (E. tapos) seed extract modulates body mass and ameliorates stress hormones in obese dams, while a probiotic bacterial strain can cross the placenta and boost a child's memory. Thus, we speculate that probiotics are the best medium to integrate plant extract (E. tapos extract) to access the effect on the child's cognition. Thus, this study aimed to investigate the early intervention of E. tapos yoghurt in obese dams in the cognition and anxiety levels of male offspring. In this study, 40 female rats were fed with a high-fat diet (HFD) to induce obesity before pregnancy, while another 8 rats were fed with standard rat pellets for 16 weeks. Upon successful copulation, treatment was initiated for the obese dams up to the postnatal day (PND) 21. The groups included normal chow and saline (NS), HFD and saline (HS), HFD and yoghurt (HY), HFD and 5 mg/kg E. tapos yoghurt (HYT5), HFD and 50 mg/kg E. tapos yoghurt (HYT50), and HFD and 500 mg/kg E. tapos yoghurt (HYT500). All rats were euthanised on PND 21, and the body mass index (BMI), Lee index, and waist circumference were measured for the male offspring. Hippocampal-dependent memory tests and open field tests were conducted to access for cognition and anxiety status. Fasting blood glucose (FBG), total fat (%), insulin, leptin, lipid profile, and antioxidant parameter on serum and hypothalamus (FRAP and GSH) were accessed on PND 21. The result shows male offspring of 50 mg/kg-supplemented obese dams have comparable total fat (%), lipid profile, insulin level, FBG level, plasma insulin level, recognition index, low anxiety level, and improved hypothalamic FRAP and GSH levels to the normal group. In conclusion, this study highlights that the effect of early intervention of our novel formulation of E. tapos yoghurt in obese dams alleviates cognitive deficits and anxiety in male offspring by modulating metabolic profiles at the dose of 50 mg/kg.

High-Fat Diet Exacerbates Autistic-Like Restricted Repetitive Behaviors and Social Abnormalities in CC2D1A Conditional Knockout Mice

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) represents a heterogeneous group of neurodevelopmental disorders characterized by deficits in social communication, social interaction, and the presence of restricted repetitive behaviors. The cause of ASD involves complex interactions between genetic and environmental factors. Haploinsufficiency of the Coiled-coil and C2 domain containing 1A (Cc2d1a) gene is causally linked to ASD, and obesity has been associated with worse outcomes for ASD. High-fat diet (HFD) feeding leads to the development of obesity and metabolic dysfunction; however, the effect of HFD on pre-existing autistic-like phenotypes remains to be clarified. Here, we report that male Cc2d1a conditional knockout (cKO) mice fed with HFD, from weaning onwards and throughout the experimental period, show a marked aggravation in autistic-like phenotypes, manifested in increased restricted repetitive behaviors and impaired performance in the preference for social novelty, but not in sociability and cognitive impairments assessed using the object location memory, novel object recognition, and Morris water maze tests. HFD feeding also results in increased numbers of reactive microglia and astrocytes, and exacerbates reductions in dendritic complexity and spine density of hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons. Furthermore, we demonstrate that chronic treatment with minocycline, a semisynthetic tetracycline-derived antibiotic, rescues the observed behavioral and morphological deficits in Cc2d1a cKO mice fed with HFD. Collectively, these findings highlight an aggravating role of HFD in pre-existing autistic-like phenotypes and suggest that minocycline treatment can alleviate abnormal neuronal morphology and behavioral symptoms associated with ASD resulted from the interplay between genetic and environmental risk factors.

Early-life dietary exposures mediate persistent shifts in the gut microbiome and visceral fat metabolism

In utero dietary exposures are linked to the development of metabolic syndrome in adult offspring. These dietary exposures can potentially impact gut microbial composition and offspring metabolic health. Female BALB/c mice were administered a lard, lard + flaxseed oil, high sugar, or control diet 4 wk before mating, throughout mating, pregnancy, and lactation. Female offspring were offered low-fat control diet at weaning. Fecal 16S sequencing was performed. Untargeted metabolomics was performed on visceral adipose tissue (VAT) of adult female offspring. Immunohistochemistry was used to determine adipocyte size, VAT collagen deposition, and macrophage content. Hippurate was administered via weekly intraperitoneal injections to low-fat and high-fat diet-fed female mice and VAT fibrosis and collagen 1A (COL1A) were assessed by immunohistochemistry. Lard diet exposure was associated with elevated body and VAT weight and dysregulated glucose metabolism. Lard + flaxseed oil attenuated these effects. Lard diet exposures were associated with increased adipocyte diameter and VAT macrophage count. Lard + flaxseed oil reduced adipocyte diameter and fibrosis compared with the lard diet. Hippurate-associated bacteria were influenced by lard versus lard + flax exposures that persisted to adulthood. VAT hippurate was increased in lard + flaxseed oil compared with lard diet. Hippurate supplementation mitigated VAT fibrosis pathology. Maternal high-fat lard diet consumption resulted in long-term metabolic and gut microbiome programming in offspring, impacting VAT inflammation and fibrosis, and was associated with reduced VAT hippurate content. These traits were not observed in maternal high-fat lard + flaxseed oil diet-exposed offspring. Hippurate supplementation reduced VAT fibrosis. These data suggest that detrimental effects of early-life high-fat lard diet exposure can be attenuated by dietary omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid supplementation.

Preterm infant body composition, working memory, and temperament

Altered body composition in preterm infants is associated with risks to cognitive development, but the effect specific to prefrontal cortex (PFC) development is unknown. We were interested in the impact of fat mass (FM) and fat free mass (FFM) gains out to 4 months corrected gestational age (CGA) on PFC development, as indexed by working memory and temperament. This is a prospective observational pilot study recruiting 100 preterm (<33 weeks gestation), appropriate for gestational age, and very low birth weight infants, of which 49 infants met inclusion criteria. Body composition was measured using air displacement plethysmography at hospital discharge and 4 months CGA. Questionnaire based temperament assessments were completed at 12 and 24 months CGA and a working memory assessment was completed at 24 months CGA. Associations between developmental tests and body composition obtained at term and 4 months were analyzed. Increased FM at discharge was associated with increased fear and decreased soothability at 12 months. Increased FM at 4 months was associated with increased activity level, increased distress from limitations at 12 months and decreased attentional shifting, decreased frustration, and decreased inhibitory control at 24 months. Increased FFM at 4 months was associated with increased activity level at 12 months and increased impulsivity and decreased low intensity pleasure at 24 months. In this exploratory pilot study, increased FM out to 4 months and increased FFM after discharge are associated with negative markers of infant temperament. Infant temperament may be sensitive to body composition status at least to 4 months CGA.

Associations of maternal glucose markers in pregnancy with cord blood glucocorticoids and child hair cortisol levels

Exposure to maternal hyperglycemia in utero has been associated with adverse metabolic outcomes in offspring. However, few studies have investigated the relationship between maternal hyperglycemia and offspring cortisol levels. We assessed associations of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) with cortisol biomarkers in two longitudinal prebirth cohorts: Project Viva included 928 mother-child pairs and Gen3G included 313 mother-child pairs. In Project Viva, GDM was diagnosed in N = 48 (5.2%) women using a two-step procedure (50 g glucose challenge test, if abnormal followed by 100 g oral glucose tolerance test [OGTT]), and in N = 29 (9.3%) women participating in Gen3G using one-step 75 g OGTT. In Project Viva, we measured cord blood glucocorticoids and child hair cortisol levels during mid-childhood (mean (SD) age: 7.8 (0.8) years) and early adolescence (mean (SD) age: 13.2 (0.9) years). In Gen3G, we measured hair cortisol at 5.4 (0.3) years. We used multivariable linear regression to examine associations of GDM with offspring cortisol, adjusting for child age and sex, maternal prepregnancy body mass index, education, and socioeconomic status. We additionally adjusted for child race/ethnicity in the cord blood analyses. In both Project Viva and Gen3G, we observed null associations of GDM and maternal glucose markers in pregnancy with cortisol biomarkers in cord blood at birth (β = 16.6 nmol/L, 95% CI -60.7, 94.0 in Project Viva) and in hair samples during childhood (β = -0.56 pg/mg, 95% CI -1.16, 0.04 in Project Viva; β = 0.09 pg/mg, 95% CI -0.38, 0.57 in Gen3G). Our findings do not support the hypothesis that maternal hyperglycemia is related to hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis activity.

Maternal anxiety, depression and stress affects offspring gut microbiome diversity and bifidobacterial abundances

Uncovering mechanisms underlying fetal programming during pregnancy is of critical importance. Atypical neurodevelopment during the pre- and immediate postnatal period has been associated with long-term adverse health outcomes, including mood disorders and aberrant cognitive ability in offspring. Maternal factors that have been implicated in anomalous offspring development include maternal inflammation and tress, anxiety, and depression. One potential mechanism through which these factors perturb normal offspring postnatal development is through microbiome disruption. The mother is a primary source of early postnatal microbiome seeding for the offspring, and the transference of a healthy microbiome is key in normal neurodevelopment. Since psychological stress, mood disorders, and inflammation have all been implicated in altering maternal microbiome community structure, passing on aberrant microbial communities to the offspring that may then affect developmental outcomes. Therefore, we examined how maternal stress, anxiety and depression assessed with standardized instruments, and maternal inflammatory cytokine levels in the pre- and postnatal period are associated with the offspring microbiome within the first 13 months of life, utilizing full length 16S sequencing on infant stool samples, that allowed for species-level resolution. Results revealed that infants of mothers who reported higher anxiety and perceived stress had reduced alpha diversity. Additionally, the relative taxonomic quantitative abundances of Bifidobacterium dentium and other species that have been associated with either modulation of the gut-brain axis, or other beneficial health outcomes, were reduced in the offspring of mothers with higher anxiety, perceived stress, and depression. We also found associations between bifidobacteria and prenatal maternal pro-inflammatory cytokines IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10. In summary, specific microbial taxa involved in maintaining proper brain and immune function are lower in offspring born to mothers with anxiety, depression, or stress, providing strong evidence for a mechanism by which maternal factors may affect offspring health through microbiota dysregulation.

Maternal immune activation as an epidemiological risk factor for neurodevelopmental disorders: Considerations of timing, severity, individual differences, and sex in human and rodent studies

Epidemiological evidence suggests that one's risk of being diagnosed with a neurodevelopmental disorder (NDD)-such as autism, ADHD, or schizophrenia-increases significantly if their mother had a viral or bacterial infection during the first or second trimester of pregnancy. Despite this well-known data, little is known about how developing neural systems are perturbed by events such as early-life immune activation. One theory is that the maternal immune response disrupts neural processes important for typical fetal and postnatal development, which can subsequently result in specific and overlapping behavioral phenotypes in offspring, characteristic of NDDs. As such, rodent models of maternal immune activation (MIA) have been useful in elucidating neural mechanisms that may become dysregulated by MIA. This review will start with an up-to-date and in-depth, critical summary of epidemiological data in humans, examining the association between different types of MIA and NDD outcomes in offspring. Thereafter, we will summarize common rodent models of MIA and discuss their relevance to the human epidemiological data. Finally, we will highlight other factors that may interact with or impact MIA and its associated risk for NDDs, and emphasize the importance for researchers to consider these when designing future human and rodent studies. These points to consider include: the sex of the offspring, the developmental timing of the immune challenge, and other factors that may contribute to individual variability in neural and behavioral responses to MIA, such as genetics, parental age, the gut microbiome, prenatal stress, and placental buffering.

Maternal Western-style diet reduces social engagement and increases idiosyncratic behavior in Japanese macaque offspring

Recent evidence in humans and animals indicates an association between maternal obesity and offspring behavioral outcomes. In humans, increased maternal body mass index has been linked to an increased risk of children receiving a diagnosis of early-emerging neurodevelopmental disorders such as Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and/or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). However, a limited number of preclinical studies have examined associations between maternal Western-Style Diet (mWSD) exposure and offspring social behavior. To our knowledge, this is the first study to investigate relationships between mWSD exposure and social behavior in non-human primates. Since aberrant social behavior is a diagnostic criterion for several neurodevelopmental disorders, the current study focuses on examining the influence of maternal nutrition and metabolic state on offspring social behavior in Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata). We found that mWSD offspring initiated less affiliative social behaviors as well as proximity to a peer. Using path analysis, we found that the association between mWSD consumption and reduced offspring social engagement was statistically mediated by increased maternal interleukin (IL)-12 during the third trimester of pregnancy. Additionally, mWSD offspring displayed increased idiosyncratic behavior, which was related to alterations in maternal adiposity and leptin in the third trimester. Together, these results suggest that NHP offspring exposed to mWSD exhibit behavioral phenotypes similar to what is described in some early-emerging neurodevelopmental disorders. These results provide evidence that mWSD exposure during gestation may be linked to increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders and provides targets for prevention and intervention efforts.

Palmitic Acid Impedes Extravillous Trophoblast Activity by Increasing MRP1 Expression and Function

Normal function of placental extravillous trophoblasts (EVTs), which are responsible for uteroplacental vascular remodeling, is critical for adequate delivery of oxygen and nutrients to the developing fetus and normal fetal programming. Proliferation and invasion of spiral arteries by EVTs depends upon adequate levels of folate. Multidrug resistance-associated protein 1 (MRP1), which is an efflux transporter, is known to remove folate from these cells. We hypothesized that palmitic acid increases MRP1-mediated folate removal from EVTs, thereby interfering with EVTs' role in early placental vascular remodeling. HTR-8/SVneo and Swan-71 cells, first trimester human EVTs, were grown in the absence or presence of 0.5 mM and 0.7 mM palmitic acid, respectively, for 72 h. Palmitic acid increased ABCC1 gene expression and MRP1 protein expression in both cell lines. The rate of folate efflux from the cells into the media increased with a decrease in migration and invasion functions in the cultured cells. Treatment with N-acetylcysteine (NAC) prevented the palmitic acid-mediated upregulation of MRP1 and restored invasion and migration in the EVTs. Finally, in an ABCC1 knockout subline of Swan-71 cells, there was a significant increase in invasion and migration functions. The novel finding in this study that palmitic acid increases MRP1-mediated folate efflux provides a missing link that helps to explain how maternal consumption of saturated fatty acids compromises the in utero environment.

The impact of maternal high-fat diet on offspring neurodevelopment

A maternal high-fat diet affects offspring neurodevelopment with long-term consequences on their brain health and behavior. During the past three decades, obesity has rapidly increased in the whole human population worldwide, including women of reproductive age. It is known that maternal obesity caused by a high-fat diet may lead to neurodevelopmental disorders in their offspring, such as autism spectrum disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia. A maternal high-fat diet can affect offspring neurodevelopment due to inflammatory activation of the maternal gut, adipose tissue, and placenta, mirrored by increased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines in both maternal and fetal circulation. Furthermore, a maternal high fat diet causes gut microbial dysbiosis further contributing to increased inflammatory milieu during pregnancy and lactation, thus disturbing both prenatal and postnatal neurodevelopment of the offspring. In addition, global molecular and cellular changes in the offspring's brain may occur due to epigenetic modifications including the downregulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) expression and the activation of the endocannabinoid system. These neurodevelopmental aberrations are reflected in behavioral deficits observed in animals, corresponding to behavioral phenotypes of certain neurodevelopmental disorders in humans. Here we reviewed recent findings from rodent models and from human studies to reveal potential mechanisms by which a maternal high-fat diet interferes with the neurodevelopment of the offspring.

Maternal High-Fat Diet Reduces Type-2 Neural Stem Cells and Promotes Premature Neuronal Differentiation during Early Postnatal Development

Maternal obesity or exposure to a high-fat diet (HFD) has an irreversible impact on the structural and functional development of offspring brains. This study aimed to investigate whether maternal HFD during pregnancy and lactation impairs dentate gyrus (DG) neurogenesis in offspring by altering neural stem cells (NSCs) behaviors. Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a chow diet (CHD) or HFD (60% fat) during gestation and lactation. Pups were collected on postnatal day 1 (PND 1), PND 10 and PND 21. Changes in offspring body weight, brain structure and granular cell layer (GCL) thickness in the hippocampus were analyzed. Hippocampal NSCs behaviors, in terms of proliferation and differentiation, were investigated after immunohistochemical staining with Nestin, Ki67, SOX2, Doublecortin (DCX) and NeuN. Maternal HFD accelerated body weight gain and brain structural development in offspring after birth. It also reduced the number of NSCs and their proliferation, leading to a decrease in NSCs pool size. Furthermore, maternal HFD intensified NSCs depletion and promoted neuronal differentiation in the early postnatal development period. These findings suggest that maternal HFD intake significantly reduced the amount and capability of NSCs via reducing type–2 NSCs and promoting premature neuronal differentiation during postnatal hippocampal development.

The Influence of Maternal Metabolic State and Nutrition on Offspring Neurobehavioral Development: A Focus on Preclinical Models

The prevalence of both obesity and neurodevelopmental disorders has increased substantially over the last several decades. Early environmental factors, including maternal nutrition and metabolic state during gestation, influence offspring neurodevelopment. Both human and preclinical models demonstrate a link between poor maternal nutrition, altered metabolic state, and risk of behavioral abnormalities in offspring. This review aims to highlight evidence from the current literature connecting maternal nutrition and the associated metabolic changes with neural and behavioral outcomes in the offspring, as well as identify possible mechanisms underlying these neurodevelopmental outcomes. Owing to the highly correlated nature of poor nutrition and obesity in humans, preclinical animal models are important in distinguishing the unique effects of maternal nutrition and metabolic state on offspring brain development. We use a translational lens to highlight results from preclinical animal models of maternal obesogenic diet related to alterations in behavioral and neurodevelopmental outcomes in offspring. Specifically, we aim to highlight results that resemble behavioral phenotypes described in the diagnostic criteria of neurodevelopmental conditions in humans. Finally, we examine the proinflammatory nature of maternal obesity and consumption of a high-fat diet as a mechanism for neurodevelopmental alterations that may alter offspring behavior later in life. It is important that future studies examine potential therapeutic interventions and prevention strategies to interrupt the transgenerational transmission of the disease. Given the tremendous risk to the next generation, changes need to be made to ensure that all pregnant people have access to nutritious food and are informed about the optimal diet for their developing child.

Dietary rescue of adult behavioral deficits in the Fmr1 knockout mouse

The current study aimed to further address important questions regarding the therapeutic efficacy of omega-3 fatty acids for various behavioral and neuroimmune aspects of the Fmr1 phenotype. To address these questions, our experimental design utilized two different omega-3 fatty acid administration timepoints, compared to both standard laboratory chow controls ("Standard") and a diet controlling for the increase in fat content ("Control Fat"). In the first paradigm, post-weaning supplementation (after postnatal day 21) with the omega-3 fatty acid diet ("Omega-3") reversed deficits in startle threshold, but not deficits in prepulse inhibition, and the effect on startle threshold was not specific to the Omega-3 diet. However, post-weaning supplementation with both experimental diets also impaired acquisition of a fear response, recall of the fear memory and contextual fear conditioning compared to the Standard diet. The post-weaning Omega-3 diet reduced hippocampal expression of IL-6 and this reduction of IL-6 was significantly associated with diminished performance in the fear conditioning task. In the perinatal experimental paradigm, the Omega-3 diet attenuated hyperactivity and acquisition of a fear response. Additionally, perinatal exposure to the Control Fat diet (similar to a "Western" diet) further diminished nonsocial anxiety in the Fmr1 knockout. This study provides significant evidence that dietary fatty acids throughout the lifespan can significantly impact the behavioral and neuroimmune phenotype of the Fmr1 knockout model.

Mood Disorders Induced by Maternal Overnutrition: The Role of the Gut-Brain Axis on the Development of Depression and Anxiety

Since the first evidence suggesting that maternal nutrition can impact the development of diseases in the offspring, much has been elucidated about its effects on the offspring’s nervous system. Animal studies demonstrated that maternal obesity can predispose the offspring to greater chances of metabolic and neurodevelopmental diseases. However, the mechanisms underlying these responses are not well established. In recent years, the role of the gut-brain axis in the development of anxiety and depression in people with obesity has emerged. Studies investigating changes in the maternal microbiota during pregnancy and also in the offspring demonstrate that conditions such as maternal obesity can modulate the microbiota, leading to long-term outcomes in the offspring. Considering that maternal obesity has also been linked to the development of psychiatric conditions (anxiety and depression), the gut-brain axis is a promising target to be further explored in these neuropsychiatric contexts. In the present study, we review the relationship between maternal obesity and anxious and depressive features, exploring the gut-brain axis as a potential mechanism underlying this relationship.

Prenatal LPS exposure increases hippocampus IL-10 and prevents short-term memory loss in the male adolescent offspring of high-fat diet fed dams

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) tolerance can reduce the neuroinflammation caused by high fat maternal diets; however, there are no reports that have evaluated the effects of prenatal LPS exposure on the memories of the offspring of high-fat diet fed dams. This study evaluated the effects of prenatal LPS exposure on the inflammatory parameters and redox status in the brain, as well as the object recognition memory of adolescent offspring of Wistar rat dams that were treated with a high-fat diet during gestation and lactation. Female pregnant Wistar rats randomly received a standard diet (17.5% fat) or a high-fat diet (45.0% fat) during gestation and lactation. On gestation days 8, 10, and 12, half of the females in each group were intraperitoneally treated with LPS (0.1 mg.kg-1). After weaning, the male offspring were placed in cages in standard conditions, and at 6 weeks old, animals underwent the novel object recognition test (for short- and long-term memory). The offspring of the high-fat diet fed dams showed increased hippocampus IL-6 levels (21-days-old) and impaired short-term memories. These effects were avoided in the offspring of high-fat diet fed dams submitted to prenatal LPS exposure, which showed greater hippocampus IL-10 levels (at 21- and 50-days-old), increased antioxidant activity (50-days-old) in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex, without memory impairments (short- and long-term memory). IL-6 has been consistently implicated in memory deficits and as an endogenous mechanism for limiting plasticity, while IL-10 regulates glial activation and has a strong association with improvements in cognitive function. Prenatal LPS exposure preventing the increase of IL-6 in the hippocampus and the impairment to short-term object recognition memory caused by the high-fat maternal diet.

Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor Deficiency is Associated with Cognitive Impairment and Elevated Phospholipase A2 Activity in Plasma of Mice

Decreased levels of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF) are a common finding in schizophrenia. Another well-documented protein linked to schizophrenia is intracellular Ca²⁺-independent Phospholipase (PLA2). However, the potential association between PLA2 and BDNF with regard to schizophrenia has yet to be examined. In the present study, male and female BDNF knockout mice, a possible genetic model of schizophrenia, were exposed to prenatal stress and tested in the nest test, open field test and T-maze. Following behavioral tests, whole brain and plasma samples were harvested to measure the activity of PLA2. BDNF knockout mice showed cognitive deficits in the T-maze. Furthermore, there was a quadratic association of PLA2 with performance in the open field test. Moreover, BDNF deficiency and female sex were associated with elevated plasma PLA2 levels. The cognitive impairment of BDNF heterozygous mice as well as their increased PLA2 activity in plasma is consistent with findings in schizophrenia patients. The particular elevation of PLA2 activity in females may partly explain sex differences of clinical symptoms in schizophrenia (e.g. age of onset, severity of symptoms). Additionally, PLA2 was significantly correlated with body and adrenal weight after weaning, whereby the latter emphasizes the possible connection of PLA2 with steroidogenesis.

Maternal early-pregnancy body mass index-associated metabolomic component and mental and behavioral disorders in children

Maternal pre-pregnancy obesity and/or higher body mass index (BMI) have been associated with neurodevelopmental and mental health adversities in children. While maternal metabolomic perturbations during pregnancy may underpin these associations, the existing evidence is limited to studying individual metabolites, not capturing metabolic variation specific to maternal BMI, and not accounting for the correlated nature of the metabolomic measures. By using multivariate supervised analytical methods, we first identified maternal early-pregnancy BMI-associated metabolomic component during pregnancy. We then examined whether this component was associated with mental and behavioral disorders in children, improved the prediction of the child outcomes over maternal BMI, and what proportion of the effect of maternal BMI on the child outcomes this component mediated. Early-pregnancy BMI of 425 mothers participating in the PREDO study was extracted from the national Medical Birth Register. During pregnancy, mothers donated up to three blood samples, from which a targeted panel of 68 metabolites were measured. Mental and behavioral disorders in children followed-up from birth until 8.4-12.8 years came from the Care Register for Health Care. Of the 68 metabolites averaged across the three sampling points, 43 associated significantly with maternal early-pregnancy BMI yielding a maternal early-pregnancy BMI-associated metabolomic component (total variance explained, 55.4%; predictive ability, 52.0%). This metabolomic component was significantly associated with higher hazard of any mental and behavioral disorder [HR 1.45, 95%CI(1.15, 1.84)] and relative risk of having a higher number of co-morbid disorders [RR 1.43, 95%CI(1.12, 1.69)] in children. It improved the goodness-of-model-fit over maternal BMI by 37.7-65.6%, and hence the predictive significance of the model, and mediated 60.8-75.8% of the effect of maternal BMI on the child outcomes. Maternal BMI-related metabolomic perturbations during pregnancy are associated with a higher risk of mental and behavioral disorders in children. These findings may allow identifying metabolomic targets for personalized interventions.

Perinatal diet and offspring anxiety: A scoping review

Health behaviors during pregnancy have an impact on the developing offspring. Dietary factors play a role in the development of mental illness: however, less is known about the impact of diet factors during pre-conception, gestation, and lactation on anxiety levels in offspring. This scoping review sought to systematically map the available research involving human and animal subjects to identify nutritional interventions which may have a harmful or protective effect, as well as identify gaps. Studies investigating an association between any perinatal diet pattern or diet constituent and offspring anxiety were included. The number of studies reporting an association with increased or decreased levels of anxiety were counted and presented in figures. A total of 55,914 results were identified as part of a larger scoping review, and 120 articles met the criteria for inclusion. A greater intake of phytochemicals and vitamins were associated with decreased offspring anxiety whereas maternal caloric restriction, protein restriction, reduced omega-3 consumption, and exposure to a high fat diet were associated with higher levels of offspring anxiety. Results were limited by a very large proportion of animal studies. High quality intervention studies involving human subjects are warranted to elucidate the precise dietary factors or constituents that modulate the risk of anxiety in offspring.

Animal Foetal Models of Obesity and Diabetes - From Laboratory to Clinical Settings

The prenatal period, during which a fully formed newborn capable of surviving outside its mother's body is built from a single cell, is critical for human development. It is also the time when the foetus is particularly vulnerable to environmental factors, which may modulate the course of its development. Both epidemiological and animal studies have shown that foetal programming of physiological systems may alter the growth and function of organs and lead to pathology in adulthood. Nutrition is a particularly important environmental factor for the pregnant mother as it affects the condition of offspring. Numerous studies have shown that an unbalanced maternal metabolic status (under- or overnutrition) may cause long-lasting physiological and behavioural alterations, resulting in metabolic disorders, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Various diets are used in laboratory settings in order to induce maternal obesity and metabolic disorders, and to alter the offspring development. The most popular models are: high-fat, high-sugar, high-fat-high-sugar, and cafeteria diets. Maternal undernutrition models are also used, which results in metabolic problems in offspring. Similarly to animal data, human studies have shown the influence of mothers' diets on the development of children. There is a strong link between the maternal diet and the birth weight, metabolic state, changes in the cardiovascular and central nervous system of the offspring. The mechanisms linking impaired foetal development and adult diseases remain under discussion. Epigenetic mechanisms are believed to play a major role in prenatal programming. Additionally, sexually dimorphic effects on offspring are observed. Therefore, further research on both sexes is necessary.

The Type of Fat in the Diet Influences Regulatory Aminopeptidases of the Renin-Angiotensin System and Stress in the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis in Adult Wistar Rats

(1) Background: Prolonged feeding with a high-fat diet (HFD) acts as a stressor by activating the functions of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal gland (HPA) stress axis, accompanied of hypertension by inducing the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system. Angiotensinases enzymes are regulatory aminopeptidases of angiotensin metabolism, which together with the dipeptidyl peptidase IV (DPP-IV), pyroglutamyl- and tyrosyl-aminopeptidase (pGluAP, TyrAP), participate in cognitive, stress, metabolic and cardiovascular functions. These functions appear to be modulated by the type of fat used in the diet. (2) Methods: To analyze a possible coordinated response of aminopeptidases, their activities were simultaneously determined in the hypothalamus, adenohypophysis and adrenal gland of adult male rats fed diets enriched with monounsaturated (standard diet (S diet) supplemented with 20% virgin olive oil; VOO diet) or saturated fatty acids (diet S supplemented with 20% butter and 0.1% cholesterol; Bch diet). Aminopeptidase activities were measured by fluorimetry using 2-Naphthylamine as substrates. (3) Results: the hypothalamus did not show differences in any of the experimental diets. In the pituitary, the Bch diet stimulated the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) by increasing certain angiotensinase activities (alanyl-, arginyl- and cystinyl-aminopeptidase) with respect to the S and VOO diets. DPP-IV activity was increased with the Bch diet, and TyrAP activity decrease with the VOO diet, having both a crucial role on stress and eating behavior. In the adrenal gland, both HFDs showed an increase in angiotensinase aspartyl-aminopeptidase. The interrelation of angiotensinases activities in the tissues were depending on the type of diet. In addition, correlations were shown between angiotensinases and aminopeptidases that regulate stress and eating behavior. (4) Conclusions: Taken together, these results support that the source of fat in the diet affects several peptidases activities in the HPA axis, which could be related to alterations in RAS, stress and feeding behavior.

Maternal pre-pregnancy BMI associates with neonate local and distal functional connectivity of the left superior frontal gyrus

Maternal obesity/overweight during pregnancy has reached epidemic proportions and has been linked with adverse outcomes for the offspring, including cognitive impairment and increased risk for neuropsychiatric disorders. Prior neuroimaging investigations have reported widespread aberrant functional connectivity and white matter tract abnormalities in neonates born to obese mothers. Here we explored whether maternal pre-pregnancy adiposity is associated with alterations in local neuronal synchrony and distal connectivity in the neonate brain. 21 healthy mother-neonate dyads from uncomplicated pregnancies were included in this study (age at scanning 26.14 ± 6.28 days, 12 male). The neonates were scanned with a 6-min resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) during natural sleep. Regional homogeneity (ReHo) maps were computed from obtained rs-fMRI data. Multiple regression analysis was performed to assess the association of pre-pregnancy maternal body-mass-index (BMI) and ReHo. Seed-based connectivity analysis with multiple regression was subsequently performed with seed-ROI derived from ReHo analysis. Maternal adiposity measured by pre-pregnancy BMI was positively associated with neonate ReHo values within the left superior frontal gyrus (SFG) (FWE-corrected p < 0.005). Additionally, we found both positive and negative associations (p < 0.05, FWE-corrected) for maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and seed-based connectivity between left SFG and prefrontal, amygdalae, basal ganglia and insular regions. Our results imply that maternal pre-pregnancy BMI associates with local and distal functional connectivity within the neonate left superior frontal gyrus. These findings add to the evidence that increased maternal pre-pregnancy BMI has a programming influence on the developing neonate brain functional networks.

Alteration of the Early Development Environment by Maternal Diet and the Occurrence of Autistic-like Phenotypes in Rat Offspring

Epidemiological and preclinical studies suggest that maternal obesity increases the risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in offspring. Here, we assessed the effects of exposure to modified maternal diets limited to pregnancy and lactation on brain development and behavior in rat offspring of both sexes. Among the studied diets, a maternal high-fat diet (HFD) disturbed the expression of ASD-related genes (Cacna1d, Nlgn3, and Shank1) and proteins (SHANK1 and TAOK2) in the prefrontal cortex of male offspring during adolescence. In addition, a maternal high-fat diet induced epigenetic changes by increasing cortical global DNA methylation and the expression of miR-423 and miR-494. As well as the molecular changes, behavioral studies have shown male-specific disturbances in social interaction and an increase in repetitive behavior during adolescence. Most of the observed changes disappeared in adulthood. In conclusion, we demonstrated the contribution of a maternal HFD to the predisposition to an ASD-like phenotype in male adolescent offspring, while a protective effect occurred in females.

The link between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms and obesity-related traits: genetic and prenatal explanations

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often co-occurs with obesity, however, the potential causality between the traits remains unclear. We examined both genetic and prenatal evidence for causality using Mendelian Randomisation (MR) and polygenic risk scores (PRS). We conducted bi-directional MR on ADHD liability and six obesity-related traits using summary statistics from the largest available meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies. We also examined the shared genetic aetiology between ADHD symptoms (inattention and hyperactivity) and body mass index (BMI) by PRS association analysis using longitudinal data from Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 (NFBC1986, n = 2984). Lastly, we examined the impact of the prenatal environment by association analysis of maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and offspring ADHD symptoms, adjusted for PRS of both traits, in NFBC1986 dataset. Through MR analyses, we found evidence for bidirectional causality between ADHD liability and obesity-related traits. PRS association analyses showed evidence for genetic overlap between ADHD symptoms and BMI. We found no evidence for a difference between inattention and hyperactivity symptoms, suggesting that neither symptom subtype is driving the association. We found evidence for association between maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and offspring ADHD symptoms after adjusting for both BMI and ADHD PRS (association p-value = 0.027 for inattention, p = 0.008 for hyperactivity). These results are consistent with the hypothesis that the co-occurrence between ADHD and obesity has both genetic and prenatal environmental origins.

Of 'junk food' and 'brain food': how parental diet influences offspring neurobiology and behaviour

Unhealthy lifestyles and mental health problems are increasingly prevalent globally. Not only are 'junk food'-induced overweight and obesity risk factors for the development of brain disorders but they are also associated intergenerationally with ill health. Here, we reflect on the current knowledge of how maternal and paternal diet influences offspring brain development and behaviour, potentially predisposing children to mental health problems. Mounting evidence indicates diet-induced maternal and paternal programming of infant metabolism and neurobehavioural function, with potential downstream effects on mental health and resilience. Beyond the central nervous system (CNS), the microbiota-gut-brain axis has emerged as an important mediator of host physiology. We discuss how intergenerational seeding of the gut microbiome via parental lineage can influence offspring gut health and neurobiology.

Maternal Obesity: A Focus on Maternal Interventions to Improve Health of Offspring

Maternal obesity has many implications for offspring health that persist throughout their lifespan that include obesity and cardiovascular complications. Several different factors contribute to obesity and they encompass interplay between genetics and environment. In the prenatal period, untreated obesity establishes a foundation for a myriad of symptoms and negative delivery experiences, including gestational hypertensive disorders, gestational diabetes, macrosomia, and labor complications. However, data across human and animal studies show promise that nutritional interventions and physical activity may rescue much of the adverse effects of obesity on offspring metabolic health. Further, these maternal interventions improve the health of the offspring by reducing weight gain, cardiovascular disorders, and improving glucose tolerance. Mechanisms from animal studies have also been proposed to elucidate the signaling pathways that regulate inflammation, lipid metabolism, and oxidative capacity of the tissue, ultimately providing potential specific courses of treatment. This review aims to pinpoint the risks of maternal obesity and provide plausible intervention strategies. We delve into recent research involving both animal and human studies with maternal interventions. With the increasing concerning of obesity rates witnessed in the United States, it is imperative to acknowledge the long-term effects posed on future generations and specifically modify maternal nutrition and care to mitigate these adverse outcomes.

Maternal effects in mammals: Broadening our understanding of offspring programming

The perinatal period is a sensitive time in mammalian development that can have long-lasting consequences on offspring phenotype via maternal effects. Maternal effects have been most intensively studied with respect to two major conditions: maternal diet and maternal stress. In this review, we shift the focus by discussing five major additional maternal cues and their influence on offspring phenotype: maternal androgen levels, photoperiod (melatonin), microbiome, immune regulation, and milk composition. We present the key findings for each of these topics in mammals, their mechanisms of action, and how they interact with each other and with the maternal influences of diet and stress. We explore their impacts in the contexts of both predictive adaptive responses and the developmental origins of disease, identify knowledge gaps and research opportunities in the field, and place a particular emphasis on the application and consideration of these effects in non-model species and natural ecological systems.

Caloric restriction or cafeteria diet from birth to adulthood increases the sensitivity to ephedrine in anxiety and locomotion in Wistar rats

INTRODUCTION

Obesity and undernutrition, consequences of malnutrition, have been linked to the development of mental illnesses. Both states have been linked to increased sensitivity to some drugs, but there are few data for this association considering drugs with noradrenergic-dopaminergic action.

OBJECTIVE

To evaluate the nutritional status of animals treated with either a caloric restriction (CR) or cafeteria (CAF) diet from birth and their behavior after ephedrine application.

METHODS

During the lactation period, 12 litters of Wistar rats (dam + 8 pups) were fed one of three diets: control (n = 4), CR (n = 4), and CAF (n = 4). After weaning, the males were placed in individual boxes and received the same diet as their respective dams. Nutritional assessments were performed after weaning and in adulthood. In adulthood, males received either saline or ephedrine (20 mg/kg) and underwent behavioral tests including the elevated plus-maze, open-field, and food intake tests.

RESULTS

The CR group exhibited higher serum high-density lipoprotein (HDL) levels and lower food and caloric intake, weight gain, and fat mass than the control group. The CAF group exhibited lower food intake and higher fat caloric intake, fat mass, and serum low-density lipoprotein (LDL), triglyceride, total cholesterol, and hepatic lipid levels than the control group. These results indicated that the CR and CAF groups had developed undernutrition and obesity, respectively. In the elevated plus-maze and open-field tests, the CR and CAF groups showed lower anxiety-like behaviors than the control group after ephedrine application. This result indicates that the animal's nutritional status (undernutrition or obesity) can enhance ephedrine sensitivity.

CONCLUSION

The CR group exhibited undernutrition, whereas the CAF group exhibited obesity. Ephedrine altered anxiety and locomotion in animals that received the CR and CAF diets in manner different than that observed in animals receiving the standard diet.

Maternal exposure to high-fat diet modifies anxiety-like/depression-like behaviors and compounds of Serotonergic System in offspring: A preclinical systematic review

Maternal nutrition affects offspring physiology and behavior including susceptibility to mental health-related states. Perinatal high-fat diet (HFD) consumption has been associated with lower levels of serotonin as well as the development of anxiety-like and depression-like behaviors in offspring. The aim of this systematic review was to investigate the effects of maternal HFD during pregnancy and/or lactation on these behaviors and on some aspects of the serotonergic system. Criteria for eligibility included studies of offspring of rodents and non-human primates exposed to HFD at least during pregnancy and/or lactation, offspring that showed outcomes related to anxiety-like and depression-like behaviors and to the serotonergic system. The searches were realized in the LILACS, Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed databases. The systematic review protocol was registered on the CAMARADES website. The internal validity was assessed by the SYRCLE risk of bias tool. The Kappa index was used for analyzing agreement among the reviewers. In addition, the PRISMA statement was used to report this systematic review. Sixteen articles were included in this review. Most of which studied HFD prior to mating and during pregnancy and lactation. All studies analyzed outcomes related to emotional behavior; three analyzed outcomes related to serotonin system compounds. Maternal consumption of HFD was found to be associated with an inconsistent pattern of the expression of TPH2 as well as reduced the immunoreactivity of 5-HT in the prefrontal cortex and increased 5-HT1A receptor expression in the dorsal raphe of offspring. An association between an HFD and alterations in emotional behavior was found in most of the studies selected.

Dietary Quality and Dietary Inflammatory Potential During Pregnancy and Offspring Emotional and Behavioral Symptoms in Childhood: An Individual Participant Data Meta-analysis of Four European Cohorts

BACKGROUND

The impact of maternal diet during pregnancy on child neurodevelopment is of public health and clinical relevance. We evaluated the associations of dietary quality based on the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) score and dietary inflammatory potential based on the energy-adjusted Dietary Inflammatory Index (E-DII) score during pregnancy with emotional and behavioral symptoms of offspring at 7 to 10 years of age.

METHODS

Individual participant data for 11,870 mother-child pairs from four European cohorts participating in the ALPHABET project were analyzed. Maternal antenatal DASH and E-DII scores were generated from self-completed food frequency questionnaires. Symptoms of depression and anxiety, aggressive behavior, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in children were assessed using mother-reported tests and classified within the normal or borderline/clinical ranges using validated cutoffs. Adjusted odds ratios were determined by multivariable logistic regression models and aggregated by the two-level individual participant data meta-analysis method.

RESULTS

Higher maternal DASH scores (indicating better dietary quality) were associated with lower risk of depressive and anxiety symptoms, aggressive behavior symptoms, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms within the borderline/clinical ranges: odds ratio [OR] 0.97, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.95-0.99; OR 0.97, 95% CI, 0.94-0.99; OR 0.97, 95% CI, 0.95-0.98, per one-unit DASH score increase, respectively. For depression and anxiety, aggressive behavior, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder symptoms, a one-unit increase in E-DII scores (a more proinflammatory diet) was associated with a 7% increased risk of all three analyzed emotional and behavioral symptoms: OR 1.07, 95% CI, 1.03-1.11; OR 1.07, 95% CI, 1.02-1.13; OR 1.07, 95% CI, 1.01-1.13, respectively.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that a maternal low-quality and proinflammatory diet may increase the risk of emotional and behavioral symptoms in children.

The Nrf2 pathway in psychiatric disorders: pathophysiological role and potential targeting

Introduction: All psychiatric disorders exhibit excitotoxicity, mitochondrial dysfunction, inflammation, oxidative stress, and neural damage as their common characteristic. The endogenous nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) signaling pathway is implicated in the defense mechanism against oxidative stress and has a significant role in psychiatric disorders.Areas covered: We explore the role of Nrf2 pathway and its modulators in psychiatric disorders. The literature was searched utilizing various databases such as Embase, Medline, Web of Science, Pub-Med, and Google Scholar from 2010 to 2020. The search included research articles, clinical reports, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses.Expert opinion: Environmental factors and genetic predisposition can be a trigger for the development of psychiatric disorders. Nrf2 downregulates certain inflammatory pathways and upregulates various antioxidant enzymes to maintain a balance. However, its intricate balance with NF-Kβ (Nuclear factor kappa light chain enhancer of activated B cells) and its crosstalk with the transcription factor Nrf2 is critical in severe oxidative stress. Several Nrf2 modulators are now in clinical trials and can help reduce oxidative stress and neuroinflammation. There are immense potential opportunities for these modulators to become a novel therapeutic option.

Exposure to maternal high-fat diet induces extensive changes in the brain of adult offspring

Maternal environmental exposures, such as high-fat diets, diabetes and obesity, can induce long-term effects in offspring. These effects include increased risk of neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), depression and anxiety. The mechanisms underlying these late-life neurologic effects are unknown. In this article, we measured changes in the offspring brain and determined which brain regions are sensitive to maternal metabolic milieu and therefore may mediate NDD risk. We showed that mice exposed to a maternal high-fat diet display extensive brain changes in adulthood despite being switched to a low-fat diet at weaning. Brain regions impacted by early-life diet include the extended amygdalar system, which plays an important role in reward-seeking behaviour. Genes preferentially expressed in these regions have functions related to feeding behaviour, while also being implicated in human NDDs, such as autism. Our data demonstrated that exposure to maternal high-fat diet in early-life leads to brain alterations that persist into adulthood, even after dietary modifications.

Maternal Melatonin Deficiency Leads to Endocrine Pathologies in Children in Early Ontogenesis

The review summarizes the results of experimental and clinical studies aimed at elucidating the causes and pathophysiological mechanisms of the development of endocrine pathology in children. The modern data on the role of epigenetic influences in the early ontogenesis of unfavorable factors that violate the patterns of the formation of regulatory mechanisms during periods of critical development of fetal organs and systems and contribute to the delayed development of pathological conditions are considered. The mechanisms of the participation of melatonin in the regulation of metabolic processes and the key role of maternal melatonin in the formation of the circadian system of regulation in the fetus and in the protection of the genetic program of its morphofunctional development during pregnancy complications are presented. Melatonin, by controlling DNA methylation and histone modification, prevents changes in gene expression that are directly related to the programming of endocrine pathology in offspring. Deficiency and absence of the circadian rhythm of maternal melatonin underlies violations of the genetic program for the development of hormonal and metabolic regulatory mechanisms of the functional systems of the child, which determines the programming and implementation of endocrine pathology in early ontogenesis, contributing to its development in later life. The significance of this factor in the pathophysiological mechanisms of endocrine disorders determines a new approach to risk assessment and timely prevention of offspring diseases even at the stage of family planning.

Depression, obesity and their comorbidity during pregnancy: effects on the offspring's mental and physical health

Depression and obesity represent two of the most common complications during pregnancy and are associated with severe health risks for both the mother and the child. Although several studies have analysed the individual effects of depression or obesity on the mothers and their children, the effects associated with the co-occurrence of both disorders have so far been poorly investigated. The relationship between depression and obesity is very complex and it is still unclear whether maternal depression leads to obesity or vice versa. It is well known that the intrauterine environment plays an important role in mediating the effects of both depression and obesity in the mother on the fetal programming, increasing the child's risk to develop negative outcomes.

From Maternal Diet to Neurodevelopmental Disorders: A Story of Neuroinflammation

Providing the appropriate quantity and quality of food needed for both the mother's well-being and the healthy development of the offspring is crucial during pregnancy. However, the macro- and micronutrient intake also impacts the body's regulatory supersystems of the mother, such as the immune, endocrine, and nervous systems, which ultimately influence the overall development of the offspring. Of particular importance is the association between unhealthy maternal diet and neurodevelopmental disorders in the offspring. Epidemiological studies have linked neurodevelopmental disorders like autism spectrum disorders, attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder, and schizophrenia, to maternal immune activation (MIA) during gestation. While the deleterious consequences of diet-induced MIA on offspring neurodevelopment are increasingly revealed, neuroinflammation is emerging as a key underlying mechanism. In this review, we compile the evidence available on how the mother and offspring are both impacted by maternal dietary imbalance. We specifically explore the various inflammatory and anti-inflammatory effects of dietary components and discuss how changes in inflammatory status can prime the offspring brain development toward neurodevelopmental disorders. Lastly, we discuss research evidence on the mechanisms that sustain the relationship between maternal dietary imbalance and offspring brain development, involving altered neuroinflammatory status in the offspring, as well as genetic to cellular programming notably of microglia, and the evidence that the gut microbiome may act as a key mediator.

Dietary fatty acids modulate cortisol concentrations and social dominance during social confrontations in adolescent male guinea pigs

The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)-axis and related glucocorticoid concentrations regulate physiology and behavior, which can be modulated by nutritional conditions, particularly by the dietary fatty acid composition. Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) have been shown to promote hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)-axis functions, whereas saturated fatty acids (SFAs) in general produce adverse effects and even increase baseline glucocorticoid concentrations. Glucocorticoids (e.g. cortisol) were further documented to modulate the establishment of dominance relationships, while the involvement of dietary fatty acids remains understudied. This study focused on different effects of PUFAs and SFAs on cortisol concentrations and social dominance in male guinea pigs. Three groups of animals were maintained on diets high in PUFAs (10 % w/w walnut oil), SFAs (10 % w/w coconut fat), or on an untreated control diet starting already prenatally. During adolescence, at an age of 60, 90, and 120 days, each individual's saliva cortisol concentrations and hierarchy index (calculated by initiated and received agonistic behavior) were measured during basal group housing conditions and stressful social confrontations with unfamiliar individuals of the other groups. SFA males showed highest baseline cortisol concentrations, lowest cortisol responses to social confrontations, and became subdominant. PUFA and control males showed significant cortisol responses. However, while control males became dominant during social confrontations, the hierarchy index in PUFA males decreased with age. Individual hierarchy indices during consecutive social confrontations revealed a high consistency. The findings presented here indicate that dietary fatty acids differently affect HPA-axis functions and social dominance but the underlying mechanisms remain to be determined.