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DEVELOPMENTAL PHYSIOLOGY AND PREGNANCY

Developmental programming of lipid metabolism and aortic vascular function in C57BL/6 mice: a novel study suggesting an involvement of LDL-receptor

¹Department of Biochemistry, and ²Division of BioMedical Sciences, Memorial University, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada

Submitted 18 November 2008 ; accepted in final form 28 January 2009

We have previously shown that a maternal high-fat diet, rich in saturated fatty acids (SFA), alters the lipid metabolism of their adult offspring. The present study was designed to investigate 1) whether alterations in hepatic LDL-receptor (LDL-r) expression may serve as a potential mechanism of developmental programming behind the altered lipid metabolism of the offspring, 2) whether altered lipid metabolism leads to aortic vascular dysfunction in the offspring, 3) whether deleterious effects of SFA exposure preweaning are influenced by postweaning diet, and 4) whether gender-specific programming effects are observed. Female C57Bl/6 mice were fed a high-SFA diet or regular chow during gestation and lactation while their pups, both male and female, received either SFA or a chow diet after weaning. Male offspring obtained from mothers fed an SFA diet and those who continued on chow postweaning had higher plasma triglycerides and total cholesterol, whereas female offspring had higher plasma total and LDL cholesterol levels, lower hepatic LDL-r mRNA expression, and reduced aortic contractile responses compared with the offspring that were fed chow throughout the study. A comparison of the postweaning diet revealed significantly lower hepatic LDL-r expression along with significantly higher plasma LDL-cholesterol concentration in the female offspring that were obtained from mothers fed an SFA diet and who continued on an SFA diet postweaning, compared with the female offspring that were obtained from mothers fed an SFA diet but who continued on chow postweaning. In conclusion, we report a novel observation of hepatic LDL-r-mediated programming of altered lipid metabolism, along with aortic vascular dysfunction, in the female offspring of mothers fed a high-SFA diet. Male offspring only exhibited dyslipidemia, suggesting gender-mediated programming. This study further highlighted the role of postweaning diets in overriding the effects of maternal programming.

fetal programming; plasma lipids; hepatic LDL-receptor; dietary fats; cardiovascular disease