Abstract
Maternal intake of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA; 20:5 n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (22:6 n-3) has been associated with reduced adiposity in children, suggesting the possibility to program adipose development through dietary fatty acids before birth. This study determined if enriching the maternal diet in fish oil, the primary source of EPA and DHA, affected adipose development in offspring. Broiler chickens were used because they are obesity-prone, and because fatty acids provided to the embryo can be manipulated through the hen diet. Hens were fed diets supplemented (2.8% wt:wt) with corn oil (CO; n-6) or fish oil (FO; n-3) for 28 d. Chicks from both maternal diet groups were fed the same diet after hatch. Maternal FO consumption enriched chick adipose tissue in EPA and DHA and reduced adiposity by promoting more, but smaller, adipocytes. This adipocyte profile was paralleled by upregulated expression of the adipogenic regulator PPARG and its co-activator PPARGC1B, and reduced expression of LPL. Proteomics identified 95 differentially abundant proteins between FO and CO adipose tissue, including components of glucose metabolism, lipid droplet trafficking, and cytoskeletal organization. These results demonstrate that the maternal dietary fatty acid profile programs offspring adipose development.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 13129 |
| Journal | Scientific Reports |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 1 2017 |
Funding
This work was supported by funding to B.H.V. from the Center of Excellence in Livestock Diseases and Human Health, University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, and by AgResearch, University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture. The authors would like to acknowledge the W.M. Keck Metabolomics Research Laboratory, Iowa State University, for the fatty acid analyses and to thank Dr. Michael O. Smith and Dr. Jay Whelan for their input into the project.