Maternal high-fructose intake during pregnancy and lactation induces metabolic syndrome in adult offspring

The Impact of Excessive Fructose Intake on Adipose Tissue and the Development of Childhood Obesity

Worldwide, childhood obesity cases continue to rise, and its prevalence is known to increase the risk of non-communicable diseases typically found in adults, such as cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Thus, comprehending its multiple causes to build healthier approaches and revert this scenario is urgent. Obesity development is strongly associated with high fructose intake since the excessive consumption of this highly lipogenic sugar leads to white fat accumulation and causes white adipose tissue (WAT) inflammation, oxidative stress, and dysregulated adipokine release. Unfortunately, the global consumption of fructose has increased dramatically in recent years, which is associated with the fact that fructose is not always evident to consumers, as it is commonly added as a sweetener in food and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB). Therefore, here, we discuss the impact of excessive fructose intake on adipose tissue biology, its contribution to childhood obesity, and current strategies for reducing high fructose and/or free sugar intake. To achieve such reductions, we conclude that it is important that the population has access to reliable information about food ingredients via food labels. Consumers also need scientific education to understand potential health risks to themselves and their children.

Impact of maternal fructose intake on liver stem/progenitor cells in offspring: Insights into developmental origins of health and disease

AIMS

The developmental origin of health and disease (DOHaD) theory postulates that poor nutrition during fetal life increases the risk of disease later in life. Excessive fructose intake has been associated with obesity, diabetes, and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, and maternal fructose intake during pregnancy has been shown to affect offspring health. In this study, we investigated the effects of high maternal fructose intake on the liver stem/progenitor cells of offspring.

MAIN METHOD

A fructose-based DOHaD model was established using Sprague-Dawley rats. Small hepatocytes (SHs), which play an important role in liver development and regeneration, were isolated from the offspring of dams that were fed a high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) diet. The gene expression and DNA methylation patterns were analyzed on postnatal day (PD) 21 and 60.

KEY FINDINGS

Maternal HFCS intake did not affect body weight or caloric intake, but differences in gene expression and DNA methylation patterns were observed in the SHs of offspring. Functional analysis revealed an association between metabolic processes and ion transport.

SIGNIFICANCE

These results suggest that maternal fructose intake affects DNA methylation and gene expression in the liver stem/progenitor cells of offspring. Furthermore, the prolonged retention of these changes in gene expression and DNA methylation in adulthood (PD 60) suggests that maternal fructose intake may exert lifelong effects. These findings provide insights into the DOHaD for liver-related disorders and highlight the importance of maternal nutrition for the health of the next generation.

Neonatal administration of fenofibrate had no developmental programming effect on the lipid profile and relative leucocyte telomere lengths of adolescent rats fed a high-fructose diet postnatally

Telomere length, a marker of ageing, is susceptible to developmental programming that may cause its accelerated attrition. Metabolic syndrome triggers telomere attrition. Fenofibrate, a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha agonist, is protective against telomere attrition. We investigated the impact of fenofibrate administered during suckling on the lipid profile and leucocyte telomere lengths of rats fed a high-fructose diet post-weaning. Suckling Sprague-Dawley pups (n = 119) were allocated to four groups and gavaged with either 10 mL·kg-1 body mass 0.5% dimethyl sulfoxide, 100 mg·kg-1 body mass fenofibrate, fructose (20%, w / v), or a combination of fenofibrate and fructose for 15 days. Upon weaning, each of the initial groups was split into two subgroups: one had plain water while the other had fructose solution (20%, w / v) to drink for 6 weeks. Blood was collected for DNA extraction and relative leucocyte telomere length determination by real-time PCR. Plasma triglycerides and cholesterol were also quantified. The treatments had no effect (p > 0.05) on body mass, cholesterol concentration, and relative leucocyte telomere lengths in both sexes. Post-weaning fructose increased triglyceride concentrations (p < 0.05) in female rats. Fenofibrate administered during suckling did not affect ageing nor did it prevent high fructose-induced hypertriglyceridaemia in female rats.

Nutrient regulation of development and cell fate decisions

Diet contributes to health at all stages of life, from embryonic development to old age. Nutrients, including vitamins, amino acids, lipids and sugars, have instructive roles in directing cell fate and function, maintaining stem cell populations, tissue homeostasis and alleviating the consequences of aging. This Review highlights recent findings that illuminate how common diets and specific nutrients impact cell fate decisions in healthy and disease contexts. We also draw attention to new models, technologies and resources that help to address outstanding questions in this emerging field and may lead to dietary approaches that promote healthy development and improve disease treatments.

Effects of maternal fructose intake on the offspring’s kidneys

Fructose overload is associated with cardiovascular and metabolic disorders. During pregnancy, these alterations may affect the maternal environment and predispose offspring to diseases. Aims: To evaluate the renal morphology and function of offspring of dams that received fructose overload during pregnancy and lactation. Methods: Female Wistar rats were divided into the control (C) and fructose (F) groups. C received food and water ad libitum, and F received food and d-fructose solution (20%) ad libitum. The d-fructose offer started 1 week before mating and continued during pregnancy and lactation. The progeny were designated as control (C) or fructose (F); after weaning, half of the F received water to drink (FW), and half received d-fructose (FF). Blood pressure (BP) and renal function were evaluated. The expression of sodium transporters (NHE3-exchanger, NKCC2 and NCC-cotransporters, and ENaC channels) and markers of renal dysfunction, including ED1 (macrophage), eNOS, 8OHdG (oxidative stress), renin, and ACE 1 and 2, were evaluated. CEUA-UNIFESP: 2757270117. The FF group presented with reduced glomerular filtration rate and urinary osmolarity, increased BP, proteinuria, glomerular hypertrophy, macrophage infiltration, and increased expression of transporters (NHE3, NCC, and ENaC), 8OHdG, renin, and ACE1. The FW group did not show increased BP and renal functional alterations; however, it presented glomerular hypertrophy, macrophage infiltration, and increased expression of the transporters (NHE3, NKCC2, NCC, and ENaC), renin, and ACE1. These data suggest that fructose overload during fetal development alters renal development, resulting in the increased expression of renin, ACE1, and sodium transporters, thus predisposing to hypertension and renal dysfunction.

Dietary fructose and high salt in young male Sprague Dawley rats induces salt-sensitive changes in renal function in later life

Dietary fructose and salt are associated with hypertension and renal disease. Dietary input during critical postnatal periods may impact pathophysiology in maturity. The highest consumption of fructose occurs during adolescence. We hypothesized that a diet high in fructose with or without high salt in young male Sprague Dawley rats will lead to salt-sensitive hypertension, albuminuria, and decreased renal function in maturity. Four groups were studied from age 5 weeks: 20% glucose + 0.4% salt (GCS-GCS) or 20% fructose + 4% salt throughout (FHS-FHS). Two groups received 20% fructose + 0.4% salt or 20% fructose + 4% salt for 3 weeks (Phase I) followed by 20% glucose + 0.4% salt (Phase II). In Phase III (age 13-15 weeks), these two groups were challenged with 20% glucose + 4% salt, (FCS-GHS) and (FHS-GHS), respectively. Each group fed fructose in Phase I exhibited significantly higher MAP than GCS-GCS in Phase III. Net sodium balance, unadjusted, or adjusted for caloric intake and urine flow rate, and cumulative sodium balance were positive in FHS during Phase I and were significantly higher in FCS-GHS, FHS-GHS, and FHS-FHS vs GCS-GCS during Phase III. All three groups fed fructose during Phase I displayed significantly elevated albuminuria. GFR was significantly lower in FHS-FHS vs GCS-GCS at maturity. Qualitative histology showed mesangial expansion and hypercellularity in FHS-FHS rats. Thus, fructose ingestion during a critical period in rats, analogous to human preadolescence and adolescence, results in salt-sensitive hypertension and albuminuria in maturity. Prolonged dietary fructose and salt ingestion lead to a decline in renal function with evidence suggestive of mesangial hypercellularity.

Maternal High-Fructose Intake Activates Myogenic Program in Fetal Brown Fat and Predisposes Offspring to Diet-Induced Metabolic Dysfunctions in Adulthood

Excess dietary fructose intake is a major public health concern due to its deleterious effect to cause various metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. However, little is known about the effects of high-fructose consumption during pregnancy on offspring metabolic health in adulthood. Here, we show that maternal consumption of 20% (w/v) fructose water during pregnancy does not alter the metabolic balance of offspring with a chow diet, but predisposes them to obesity, fatty liver, and insulin resistance when challenged by a high-fat diet. Mechanistically, diet-induced brown fat reprogramming and global energy expenditure in offspring of fructose-fed dams are impaired. RNA-seq analysis of the fetal brown fat tissue reveals that the myogenic pathway is predominantly upregulated in the fructose-treated group. Meanwhile, circulating fructose level is found to be significantly elevated in both fructose-fed dams and their fetuses. Importantly fructose gavage also acutely activates the myogenic program in mice brown fat. Together, our data suggest that maternal high-fructose intake impairs fetal brown fat development, resultantly attenuates diet-induced thermogenesis and causes metabolic disorders in adult offspring probably through inducing myogenic signature in brown fat at the fetal stage.

The Impact of Gut Microbiome on Maternal Fructose Intake-Induced Developmental Programming of Adult Disease

Excessive or insufficient maternal nutrition can influence fetal development and the susceptibility of offspring to adult disease. As eating a fructose-rich diet is becoming more common, the effects of maternal fructose intake on offspring health is of increasing relevance. The gut is required to process fructose, and a high-fructose diet can alter the gut microbiome, resulting in gut dysbiosis and metabolic disorders. Current evidence from animal models has revealed that maternal fructose consumption causes various components of metabolic syndrome in adult offspring, while little is known about how gut microbiome is implicated in fructose-induced developmental programming and the consequential risks for developing chronic disease in offspring. This review will first summarize the current evidence supporting the link between fructose and developmental programming of adult diseases. This will be followed by presenting how gut microbiota links to common mechanisms underlying fructose-induced developmental programming. We also provide an overview of the reprogramming effects of gut microbiota-targeted therapy on fructose-induced developmental programming and how this approach may prevent adult-onset disease. Using gut microbiota-targeted therapy to prevent maternal fructose diet-induced developmental programming, we have the potential to mitigate the global burden of fructose-related disorders.

Pathophysiological Mechanisms of Hypertension Development Induced by Fructose Consumption

During the past several decades, there has been a dramatic increase in fructose consumption worldwide in parallel with epidemics of metabolic diseases. Accumulating evidence has suggested that excessive fructose consumption...

Parental overnutrition by carbohydrates in developmental origins of metabolic syndrome

interplay of genomic component and the exposome. Parental diet has been shown to affect offspring metabolic health via multiple epigenetic mechanisms. Excess carbohydrate intake is one of the driving forces of the obesity and metabolic syndrome pandemics. This review summarizes the evidence for the effects of maternal carbohydrate (fructose, sucrose, glucose) overnutrition on the modulation of metabolic syndrome components in the offspring. Despite substantial discrepancies in experimental design, common effects of maternal carbohydrate overnutrition include increased body weight and hepatic lipid content of the "programmed" offspring. However, the administration of sucrose to several rat models leads to apparently favorable metabolic outcomes. Moreover, there is evidence for the role of genomic background in modulating the metabolic programming effect in the form of nutri-epigenomic interaction. Comprehensive, robust studies are needed to resolve the temporal, sex-specific, genetic, epigenetic and nutritional aspects of parental overnutrition in the intergenerational and transgenerational pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome.

Parental overnutrition by carbohydrates in developmental origins of metabolic syndrome

Metabolic syndrome is a prevalent disease resulting from an interplay of genomic component and the exposome. Parental diet has been shown to affect offspring metabolic health via multiple epigenetic mechanisms. Excess carbohydrate intake is one of the driving forces of the obesity and metabolic syndrome pandemics. This review summarizes the evidence for the effects of maternal carbohydrate (fructose, sucrose, glucose) overnutrition on the modulation of metabolic syndrome components in the offspring. Despite substantial discrepancies in experimental design, common effects of maternal carbohydrate overnutrition include increased body weight and hepatic lipid content of the "programmed" offspring. However, the administration of sucrose to several rat models leads to apparently favorable metabolic outcomes. Moreover, there is evidence for the role of genomic background in modulating the metabolic programming effect in the form of nutri-epigenomic interaction. Comprehensive, robust studies are needed to resolve the temporal, sex-specific, genetic, epigenetic and nutritional aspects of parental overnutrition in the intergenerational and transgenerational pathogenesis of metabolic syndrome.

Maternal fructose intake predisposes rat offspring to metabolic disorders via abnormal hepatic programming

Given that fructose consumption has increased by more than 10-fold in recent decades, it is possible that excess maternal fructose consumption causes harmful effects in the next generation. This study attempted to elucidate the mechanism of the harmful effects of excessive maternal fructose intake from the perspective of offspring liver function. Female rats during gestation and lactation were fed water containing fructose, and their offspring were fed normal water. We attempted to elucidate the mechanism of fructose-induced transgenerational toxicity by conducting a longitudinal study focusing on hepatic programming prior to disease onset. Impaired Insulin resistance and decreased high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels were observed at 160 days of age. However, metabolic disorders were not observed in 60-day-old offspring. Microarray analysis of 60-day-old offspring livers showed the reduction of hepatic insulin-like growth factor-1 (Igf1) mRNA expression. This reduction continued until the rats were aged 160 days and attenuated Igf1 signaling. Hepatic microRNA-29 (miR-29a) and miR-130a, which target Igf1 mRNA, were also found to be upregulated. Interestingly, these miRNAs were upregulated in the absence of metabolic disorder. In this study, we found that maternal fructose intake resulted in dysregulated expression of Igf1 and its target miRNAs in the offspring liver, and that these offspring were more likely to develop metabolic disorders. Abnormal hepatic programming induced by an imbalanced maternal nutritional environment is maintained throughout life, implying that it may contribute to metabolic disorders.

Maternal Fructose Diet-Induced Developmental Programming

Developmental programming of chronic diseases by perinatal exposures/events is the basic tenet of the developmental origins hypothesis of adult disease (DOHaD). With consumption of fructose becoming more common in the diet, the effect of fructose exposure during pregnancy and lactation is of increasing relevance. Human studies have identified a clear effect of fructose consumption on maternal health, but little is known of the direct or indirect effects on offspring. Animal models have been utilized to evaluate this concept and an association between maternal fructose and offspring chronic disease, including hypertension and metabolic syndrome. This review will address the mechanisms of developmental programming by maternal fructose and potential options for intervention.

Ovariectomy, but not orchiectomy, exacerbates metabolic syndrome after maternal high-fructose intake in adult offspring

High fructose diet is associated with the global metabolic syndrome (MtS) pandemic. MtS develops in early life, depending on prenatal and postnatal nutritional status. We hypothesized that ovariectomy increases the chances of developing MtS in adult offspring following high fructose intake by the mother. Pregnant C57BL/6J mouse dams drank water with or without 20% fructose during pregnancy and lactation. After weaning, the pups were fed regular chow. The offspring were evaluated until they were 7 months of age after the mice in each group, both sexes, were gonadectomized at 4 weeks of age. The offspring (both sexes) of the dams who had high fructose intake developed MtS. In the offspring of dams who drank tap water, orchiectomy increased the body weight gain and body fat accumulation, while ovariectomy increased the body fat accumulation as compared to the sham controls. In the offspring of dams with high fructose intake, orchiectomy decreased the body weight gain, body fat accumulation, visceral adiposity, and glucose intolerance, while ovariectomy exacerbated all of them as compared to the sham operations. These data indicate that ovariectomy encourages the development of MtS in adult offspring after maternal high fructose intake, while orchiectomy prevents the development of MtS. The sex difference indicates that male and female sex hormones play contradictory roles in the development of MtS.