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Zaman K, Mun HC, Solon-Biet SM, Senior AM, Raubenheimer D, Simpson SJ, Conigrave AD. Mice Regulate Dietary Amino Acid Balance and Energy Intake by Selecting between Complementary Protein Sources. J Nutr 2024; 154:1766-1780. [PMID: 38583524 DOI: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2024.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/18/2023] [Revised: 03/05/2024] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 04/09/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND A balanced intake of protein and constituent amino acids (AAs) requires adjustments to total food intake (protein leverage [PL]) and food selection to balance deficits and excesses (complementary feeding). We provided mice with choices of casein and whey, 2 protein sources that are complementary in AA balance, across a range of protein concentrations (P%) of digestible energy (DE). OBJECTIVES We aimed to determine if: 1) PL operates similarly for casein and whey; 2) one protein source is preferred at control P%; 3) the preference changes as P% falls; and 4) AA intakes under control and low P% levels identify AAs that drive changes in protein selection. METHODS Food intake and plasma fibroblast growth factor-21 (FGF21) concentrations were measured in mice at various P% (P7.5%-P33%). For direct comparisons, defined diets were used in which the protein source was either casein or whey. In food choice studies, mice had access to foods in which both casein and whey were provided at the same P% level at the same time. RESULTS PL operated at different P% thresholds in casein (13%)- and whey (10%)-based diets, and the magnitude of PL was greater for casein. Although mice preferred casein under control conditions (P23%), a pronounced preference shift to whey occurred as P% fell to P13% and P10%. At low P%, increases in food intake were accompanied by increases in plasma FGF21, a protein hunger signal. Among AAs deficient in casein and enriched in whey, the intake of Cys was the most invariant as P% changed between P23% and P10%, appearing to drive the switch in protein preference. CONCLUSIONS Mice selected between complementary protein sources, casein and whey, achieving stable total energy intake and regulated intake of AAs as P% varied. Supplementation of low P% casein diets with one whey-enriched AA, Cys, suppressed plasma FGF21 and total food intake.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kamrul Zaman
- Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life & Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Hee-Chang Mun
- Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life & Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Samantha M Solon-Biet
- Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life & Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Alistair M Senior
- Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life & Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - David Raubenheimer
- Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life & Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Stephen J Simpson
- Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life & Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Arthur D Conigrave
- Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life & Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
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Freire T, Clark X, Pulpitel T, Bell-Anderson K, Ribeiro R, Raubenheimer D, Crean AJ, Simpson SJ, Solon-Biet SM. Maternal macronutrient intake effects on offspring macronutrient targets and metabolism. Obesity (Silver Spring) 2024; 32:743-755. [PMID: 38328970 DOI: 10.1002/oby.23995] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2023] [Revised: 12/04/2023] [Accepted: 12/21/2023] [Indexed: 02/09/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Exposure in utero to maternal diet can program offspring health and susceptibility to disease. Using C57BL6/JArc mice, we investigated how maternal dietary protein to carbohydrate balance influences male and female offspring appetite and metabolic health. METHODS Dams were placed on either a low-protein (LP) or high-protein (HP) diet. Male and female offspring were placed on a food choice experiment post weaning and were then constrained to either a standard diet or Western diet. Food intake, body weight, and composition were measured, and various metabolic tests were performed at different timepoints. RESULTS Offspring from mothers fed HP diets selected a higher protein intake and had increased body weight in early life relative to offspring from LP diet-fed dams. As predicted by protein leverage theory, higher protein intake targets led to increased food intake when offspring were placed on no-choice diets, resulting in greater body weight and fat mass. The combination of an HP maternal diet and a Western diet further exacerbated this obesity phenotype and led to long-term consequences for body composition and metabolism. CONCLUSIONS This work could help explain the association between elevated protein intake in humans during early life and increased risk of obesity in childhood and later life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Therese Freire
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
- School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Ximonie Clark
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Tamara Pulpitel
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Kim Bell-Anderson
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Rosilene Ribeiro
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
| | - David Raubenheimer
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Angela J Crean
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Stephen J Simpson
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Samantha M Solon-Biet
- Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia
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Baek DC, Kang JY, Lee JS, Lee EJ, Son CG. Linking alterations in estrogen receptor expression to memory deficits and depressive behavior in an ovariectomy mouse model. Sci Rep 2024; 14:6854. [PMID: 38514828 PMCID: PMC10958029 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-57611-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2023] [Accepted: 03/20/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024] Open
Abstract
The high risk of neurological disorders in postmenopausal women is an emerging medical issue. Based on the hypothesis of altered estrogen receptors (ERα and β) after the decline of estrogen production, we investigated the changes in ERs expressions across brain regions and depressive/amnesic behaviors. C57BL/6J female mice were ovariectomized (OVX) to establish a menopausal condition. Along with behavior tests (anxiety, depression, and memory), the expression of ERs, microglial activity, and neuronal activity was measured in six brain regions (hippocampus, prefrontal cortex, striatum, raphe nucleus, amygdala, and hypothalamus) from 4 to 12 weeks after OVX. Mice exhibited anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors, as well as memory impairment. These behavioral alterations have been linked to a suppression in the expression of ERβ. The decreased ERβ expression coincided with microglial-derived neuroinflammation, as indicated by notable activations of Ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1 and Interleukin-1beta. Additionally, the activity of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), particularly in the hippocampus, decreased in a time-dependent manner from 4 to 12 weeks post-OVX. Our study provides evidence shedding light on the susceptibility to memory impairment and depression in women after menopause. This susceptibility is associated with the suppression of ERβ and alteration of ERα in six brain regions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dong-Cheol Baek
- Institute of Bioscience & Integrative Medicine, Daejeon Korean Hospital of Daejeon University, Daedukdae-ro 176 bun-gil 75, Daejeon, 35235, Republic of Korea
| | - Ji-Yun Kang
- Institute of Bioscience & Integrative Medicine, Daejeon Korean Hospital of Daejeon University, Daedukdae-ro 176 bun-gil 75, Daejeon, 35235, Republic of Korea
| | - Jin-Seok Lee
- Institute of Bioscience & Integrative Medicine, Daejeon Korean Hospital of Daejeon University, Daedukdae-ro 176 bun-gil 75, Daejeon, 35235, Republic of Korea
| | - Eun-Jung Lee
- Department of Korean Rehabilitation Medicine, Daejeon Korean Hospital of Daejeon University, Daedukdae-ro 176 bun-gil 75, Daejeon, 35235, Republic of Korea
| | - Chang-Gue Son
- Institute of Bioscience & Integrative Medicine, Daejeon Korean Hospital of Daejeon University, Daedukdae-ro 176 bun-gil 75, Daejeon, 35235, Republic of Korea.
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Raubenheimer D, Simpson SJ. Protein appetite as an integrator in the obesity system: the protein leverage hypothesis. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2023; 378:20220212. [PMID: 37661737 PMCID: PMC10475875 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2022.0212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2023] [Accepted: 06/21/2023] [Indexed: 09/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite the large volume and extensive range of obesity research, there is substantial disagreement on the causes and effective preventative strategies. We suggest the field will benefit from greater emphasis on integrative approaches that examine how various potential contributors interact, rather than regarding them as competing explanations. We demonstrate the application of nutritional geometry, a multi-nutrient integrative framework developed in the ecological sciences, to obesity research. Such studies have shown that humans, like many other species, regulate protein intake more strongly than other dietary components, and consequently if dietary protein is diluted there is a compensatory increase in food intake-a process called protein leverage. The protein leverage hypothesis (PLH) proposes that the dilution of protein in modern food supplies by fat and carbohydrate-rich highly processed foods has resulted in increased energy intake through protein leverage. We present evidence for the PLH from a variety of sources (mechanistic, experimental and observational), and show that this mechanism is compatible with many other findings and theories in obesity research. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Causes of obesity: theories, conjectures and evidence (Part II)'.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Raubenheimer
- Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
| | - Stephen J. Simpson
- Charles Perkins Centre and School of Life and Environmental Sciences, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia
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