Obesity, not a high fat, high sucrose diet alone, induced glucose intolerance and cardiac dysfunction during pregnancy and postpartum

Cardiac dysfunction in sucrose-fed rats is associated with alterations of phospholamban phosphorylation and TNF-α levels

INTRODUCTION

High sucrose intake is linked to cardiovascular disease, a major global cause of mortality worldwide. Calcium mishandling and inflammation play crucial roles in cardiac disease pathophysiology.

OBJECTIVE

Evaluate if sucrose-induced obesity is related to deterioration of myocardial function due to alterations in the calcium-handling proteins in association with proinflammatory cytokines.

METHODS

Wistar rats were divided into control and sucrose groups. Over eight weeks, Sucrose group received 30% sucrose water. Cardiac function was determined in vivo using echocardiography and in vitro using papillary muscle assay. Western blotting was used to detect calcium handling protein; ELISA assay was used to assess TNF-α and IL-6 levels.

RESULTS

Sucrose led to cardiac dysfunction. RYR2, SERCA2, NCX, pPBL Ser16 and L-type calcium channels were unchanged. However, pPBL-Thr17, and TNF-α levels were elevated in the S group.

CONCLUSION

Sucrose induced cardiac dysfunction and decreased myocardial contractility in association with altered pPBL-Thr17 and elevated cardiac pro-inflammatory TNF-α.

Maternal obesity and the impact of associated early-life inflammation on long-term health of offspring

The prevalence of obesity is increasingly common in the United States, with ~25% of women of reproductive age being overweight or obese. Metaflammation, a chronic low grade inflammatory state caused by altered metabolism, is often present in pregnancies complicated by obesity. As a result, the fetuses of mothers who are obese are exposed to an in-utero environment that has altered nutrients and cytokines. Notably, both human and preclinical studies have shown that children born to mothers with obesity have higher risks of developing chronic illnesses affecting various organ systems. In this review, the authors sought to present the role of cytokines and inflammation during healthy pregnancy and determine how maternal obesity changes the inflammatory landscape of the mother, leading to fetal reprogramming. Next, the negative long-term impact on offspring’s health in numerous disease contexts, including offspring’s risk of developing neuropsychiatric disorders (autism, attention deficit and hyperactive disorder), metabolic diseases (obesity, type 2 diabetes), atopy, and malignancies will be discussed along with the potential of altered immune/inflammatory status in offspring as a contributor of these diseases. Finally, the authors will list critical knowledge gaps in the field of developmental programming of health and diseases in the context of offspring of mothers with obesity, particularly the understudied role of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells.

Switching to a Standard Chow Diet at Weaning Improves the Effects of Maternal and Postnatal High-Fat and High-Sucrose Diet on Cardiometabolic Health in Adult Male Mouse Offspring

Cardiac mitochondrial dysfunction contributes to obesity-associated heart disease. Maternal and postnatal diet plays an important role in cardiac function, yet the impacts of a mismatch between prenatal and postweaning diet on cardiometabolic function are not well understood. We tested the hypothesis that switching to a standard chow diet after weaning would attenuate systemic metabolic disorders and cardiac and mitochondrial dysfunction associated with maternal and postnatal high-fat/high-sucrose (HFHS) diet in mice. Six-month-old male CD1 offspring from dams fed a HFHS diet and weaned to the same HFHS diet (HH) or switched to a standard chow diet (HC) were compared to offspring from dams fed a low-fat/low-sucrose diet and maintained on the same diet (LL). HC did not decrease body weight (BW) but normalized glucose tolerance, plasma cholesterol, LDL, and insulin levels compared to the HH. Systolic function indicated by the percent fractional shortening was not altered by diet. In freshly isolated cardiac mitochondria, maximal oxidative phosphorylation-linked respiratory capacity and coupling efficiency were significantly higher in the HC in the presence of fatty acid substrate compared to LL and HH, with modification of genes associated with metabolism and mitochondrial function. Switching to a standard chow diet at weaning can attenuate the deleterious effects of long-term HFHS in adult male mouse offspring.