Gestational exercise protects adult male offspring from high-fat diet-induced hepatic steatosis

Ryan D. Sheldon, A. Nicole Blaize, Justin A. Fletcher, Kevin J. Pearson, Shawn S. Donkin, Sean C. Newcomer, R. Scott Rector

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

47 Scopus citations

Abstract

Background & Aims Mounting evidence indicates that maternal exercise confers protection to adult offspring against various diseases. Here we hypothesized that maternal exercise during gestation would reduce high-fat diet (HFD)-induced hepatic steatosis in adult rat offspring. Methods Following conception, pregnant dams were divided into either voluntary wheel running exercise (GE) or wheel-locked sedentary (GS) groups throughout gestation (days 4-21). Post-weaning, offspring received either normal chow diet (CD; 10% fat, 70% carbohydrate, 20% protein) or HFD (45% fat, 35% carbohydrate, and 20% protein) until sacrificed at 4- or 8-months of age. Results GE did not affect offspring birth weight or litter size. HFD feeding in offspring increased weight gain, body fat percentage, and glucose tolerance test area under the curve (GTT-AUC). Male offspring from GE dams had reduced body fat percentage across all ages (p <0.05). In addition, 8-month male offspring from GE dams were protected against HFD-induced hepatic steatosis, which was associated with increased markers of hepatic mitochondrial biogenesis (PGC-1α and TFAM), autophagic potential (ATG12:ATG5 conjugation) and hepatic triacylglycerol secretion (MTTP). Conclusions The current study provides the first evidence that gestational exercise can reduce susceptibility to HFD-induced hepatic steatosis in adult male offspring.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)171-178
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Hepatology
Volume64
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2016

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was supported by a University of Missouri Molecular Life Sciences pre-doctoral fellowship ( RDS ), VHA-CDA2 1 IK2 BX001299 (RSR), and the NIH R01 DK090460 (KJP).

Funding Information:
This work was supported by a University of Missouri Molecular Life Sciences pre-doctoral fellowship (RDS), VHA-CDA2 1 IK2 BX001299 (RSR), and the NIH R01 DK090460 (KJP). The authors who have taken part in this study declared no conflict of interest with respect to this manuscript. The authors would like to thank Grace Meers, Kayla Kanosky, Laura Taylor, and Tasnim Haq at the University of Missouri for their assistance with data collection. This work was supported with resources and the use of facilities at the Harry S Truman Memorial Veterans Hospital in Columbia, MO. Dr. R. Scott Rector is the guarantor of this work and, as such, had full access to all the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 European Association for the Study of the Liver.

Keywords

  • Fetal origins
  • NAFLD
  • Rat

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Hepatology

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