PROLACTIN-Deficiency in Adult Offspring of Diabetic Mothers

Maternal diabetes induces fetal alterations, resulting in lasting consequences for the glucose tolerance of the offspring over several generations. In our experimental rat model, circulating prolactin, oestradiol, progesterone and corticosterone levels, known to influence insulin secretion and action, are determined in plasma of female adult offspring of mildly and severely diabetic mothers. Prolactin and progesterone levels are equally low in both groups as compared to controls, stressing the involvement of the CNS in the transgeneration effect; oestradiol and corticosterone levels are normal. No correlation is found between these hormonal alterations and the known differences in glucose tolerance.     

父代糖尿病对子代糖代谢的长期影响

探讨父代糖尿病对子代老年期糖代谢的潜在影响。健康雄性SD大鼠经腹腔注射链脲佐菌素(35 mg/kg)建立雄性大鼠糖尿病模型,并与健康SD雌鼠交配所得子代为处理组(STZ-O组);健康雄鼠与健康雌鼠交配所得子代为正常对照组(CON-O组)。两组动物出生后记录出生体重,标准饲料喂养至18月龄,测定随机血糖含量、血清胰岛素含量;进行葡萄糖耐量试验(glucose tolerance test,GTT)、胰岛素耐量试验(insulin tolerance test,ITT)检测胰岛素抵抗情况;丙酮酸耐量试验(pyruvic acid tolerance test,PTT)检测肝脏糖异生情况;经糖原染色观察肝脏糖原沉积情况;以Real-time PCR检测肝脏组织糖异生途径关键酶磷酸烯醇式丙酮酸羧激酶(PEPCK)、葡萄糖-6-磷酸酶(G-6-P)、果糖-1,6-磷酸酶(FBP)mRNA表达水平。结果表明:父代糖尿病可导致子代在老年期出现胰岛素抵抗,同时伴有肝脏糖异生作用增强。其具体作用机制仍有待进一步研究。     

The Effect of Weaning Weight on Offspring Fitness in Wild House Mice (Mus musculus domesticus): A Preliminary Study

Sex allocation theory is frequently applied to mammalian reproductive traits although the basic assumptions are rarely assessed. In particular, it has been proposed that the finding of negative correlations between sex ratio (percentage males) and litter size in a variety of mammals could ultimately be seen as an adaptation according to the Trivers-Willard hypothesis. Thereby it is supposed 1) that individual young of small litters are weaned at heavier weight than young of larger litters, 2) that this litter-size effect on individual weights persists into adulthood, and 3) that such small weight advantages increase male fitness more strongly than female fitness. In this study, during each of 4 trials, I introduced 4 male and 4 female mice from 8 different litters of wild-caught breeding pairs to a semi-natural enclosure and followed up the social and reproductive events for about 10 weeks. It appeared that small weight differences attributable to litter size variation had a significant positive effect on male fitness, but not on female fitness. As the sample size was small and the social development did vary considerably between trials, this result deserves further clarification.     

Genetic and Maternal Effects on Offspring Mortality in Mice

Trade-offs occur when two traits have opposing fitness effects such that positive selection on one trait is constrained by the negative fitness consequences of the other trait. To understand why trade-off may arise we need to study the genetic and non-genetic factors that influence associated traits because these may respond differently to selective pressure. Research into trade-offs has largely focused on the genetic basis of associated traits, yet both maternal effects and epigenetic effects have recently been shown to affect life history traits that play a role in trade-offs. In this study, we analyze genetic, epigenetic and life-history predictors of one of the most important trade-offs, that between offspring number and offspring mortality. Using a large-scale 3-generational intercross between two divergent mouse lines C57BL/6J and DBA/2J, we show that litter size differences between these lines, although significant, are surprisingly not the most important predictors of mortality. Offspring genotype, maternal effects and their interactions are the most influential factors determining mortality. We found significant paternal effects suggesting an important influence of paternal care or potentially the role of imprinted genes. Perhaps contrary to expectations our results further show that the trade-off between offspring number and mortality is not just a simple function of the two factors yielding, on average, an ‘optimal’ litter size at weaning. Indeed if one focused on litter size and mortality alone, the slope of relationship is the same for the two lines, yet they differ in the number of young at weaning. Our study reveals that a perceived trade-off between two traits is governed by a more complex set of interactions between genetic and non-genetic effects.     

Effect of Postpartum Exercise on Mothers and their Offspring: A Review of the Literature

Epidemiological studies suggest that childbearing may contribute to the development of obesity. In the past 12 years, several cross‐sectional and randomized trials have addressed the effect of postpartum exercise on weight loss and/or energy balance in mostly lactating women. These studies suggest that moderate exercise without specific calorie restriction does not promote greater weight or fat loss. This may be because exercise may promote greater energy intake and/or reduced energy expenditure from nonexercise physical activity (thus preventing negative energy balance), but further research is needed. Regular exercise, however, is likely to have other important health benefits after childbirth. A few published studies suggest that postpartum exercise improves aerobic fitness, high‐density lipoprotein‐cholesterol levels, and insulin sensitivity. Exercise may also enhance psychological well‐being, but controlled clinical studies are needed. Although two published studies have addressed whether exercise training attenuates lactation‐induced bone loss, better controlled studies are needed to determine whether postpartum weight‐bearing exercise can improve bone mineral density in lactating and nonlactating women alike. In lactating women, several studies have collectively determined that neither acute nor regular exercise has adverse effects on a mother's ability to successfully breast‐feed. It needs to be determined whether a woman's participation in regular exercise after childbirth will improve her ability to mother or instill lifetime habits of regular physical activity in either herself or her offspring. Overall, published studies have established the importance of regular exercise during the postpartum period. More research, however, is needed in this important area.     

Gender Differences in Associations of Eating Pathology between Mothers and Their Adolescent Offspring

Objective: To study the association of eating pathology between mothers and their adolescent offspring in a population sample. Research Methods and Procedures: The participants were 481 women (mean age, 47 ± SD 5 years; BMI, 25 ± 4 kg/m²) and their 481 adolescent children 16 to 17 years old (BMI, 21 ± 3 kg/m²) of the Stockholm Weight Development Study. Assessment methods were the Three‐Factor Eating Questionnaire Revised 18 and the Eating Disorder Inventory 2. Results: A higher body weight was most related to cognitive restraint for adolescents and to emotional eating for adult women. A mother‐daughter link could be identified for eating pathology, with the strongest link found for emotional eating. No mother‐son link could be identified. Age subgroup analyses revealed a stronger mother‐daughter link for body attitudes in younger mothers and for cognitive restraint in older mothers. Discussion: Gender differences revealed that eating pathology was shared by mothers and daughters but not by mothers and sons. A psychological strategy such as eating as a response to negative emotions was most interrelated between mothers and daughters. Younger mothers shared more attitudes toward the body with their daughters, whereas older mothers shared more restrictive eating behaviors with their daughters. The mother‐daughter links found may be due to gender‐specific genetic and psychological family transmission and gender‐specific environmental influences. The sons’ eating behaviors seem to be more independent and would be formed by other factors than for the girls.     

Differential Responses of Orexigenic Neuropeptides to Fasting in Offspring of Obese Mothers

Maternal obesity due to long‐term high‐fat diet (HFD) consumption leads to faster growth in offspring during suckling, and increased adiposity at 20 days of age. Decreased expression of the orexigenic neuropeptide Y (NPY) and increased anorexigenic proopiomelanocortin (POMC) mRNA expression were observed in the fed state. However, hunger is the major drive to eat and hypothalamic appetite regulators change in response to meals. Therefore, it is important to compare both satiated and fasting states. Female Sprague–Dawley rats (8 weeks old) were fed a cafeteria‐style HFD (15.33 kJ/g) or chow for 5 weeks before mating, with the same diet continuing throughout gestation and lactation. At postnatal day 20, male pups were killed either after overnight fasting or in the fed state. Pups from obese dams were hyperphagic during both pre‐ and postweaning periods. Pups from obese dams had higher hypothalamic mRNA expression of POMC and NPY Y1 receptor, but lower hypothalamic melanocortin‐4 receptor (MC4R) and its downstream target single‐minded gene 1 (Sim1), in the fed state. Overnight fasting reduced circulating glucose, insulin, and leptin and increased hypothalamic NPY Y1 receptor mRNA in pups from both lean and obese dams. Hypothalamic NPY and agouti‐related protein (AgRP) were only increased by fasting in pups from obese dams; reductions in MC4R and Sim1 were only seen in pups from lean dams. At weaning, the suppressed orexigenic signals in offspring from obese dams were normalized after overnight fasting, although anorexigenic signaling appeared impaired in these animals. This may contribute to their hyperphagia and faster growth.     

Risk for Asthma in Offspring of Asthmatic Mothers versus Fathers: A Meta-Analysis

Background

Many human epidemiologic studies demonstrate that maternal asthma confers greater risk of asthma to offspring than does paternal disease. However, a handful have shown the opposite. Given this disparity, a meta-analysis is necessary to determine the veracity and magnitude of the “maternal effect.”

Methodology/Principal Findings

We screened the medical literature from 1966 to 2009 and performed a meta-analysis to compare the effect of maternal asthma vs. paternal asthma on offspring asthma susceptibility. Aggregating data from 33 studies, the odds ratio for asthma in children of asthmatic mothers compared with non-asthmatic mothers was significantly increased at 3.04 (95% confidence interval: 2.59–3.56). The corresponding odds ratio for asthma in children of asthmatic fathers was increased at 2.44 (2.14–2.79). When comparing the odds ratios, maternal asthma conferred greater risk of disease than did paternal asthma (3.04 vs. 2.44, p = 0.037). When analyzing the studies in which asthma was diagnosed by a physician the odds ratios were attenuated and no significant differences were observed (2.85 vs. 2.48, N = 18, p = 0.37). Similarly, no significant differences were observed between maternal and paternal odds ratios when analyzing the studies in which the patient population was 5 years or older (3.15 vs. 2.60, p = 0.14). However, in all cases the trend remained the same, that maternal asthma was a greater risk factor for asthma than paternal.

Conclusions/Significance

The results show that maternal asthma increases offspring disease risk to a greater extent than paternal disease.     

Nano-SiO_2对子代雌性小鼠动情周期的影响

目的:探讨纳米二氧化硅(Nano-Si O2)对子代雌性小鼠动情周期的影响。方法:选择8周龄的ICR孕鼠6只,随机平均分为两组,一组在E5.5~E11.5时隔天注射纳米二氧化硅,另外一组注射PBS,每组取子代雌性小鼠各3只,待其自然生长到7周龄时,每日采用巴氏染色法检查其动情周期。结果:与注射PBS的子代雌性小鼠相比,注射Nano-Si O2的子代雌性小鼠的动情周期的总时间无明显差异(P0.05),动情前期的时间明显缩短,动情后期的时间明显延长(P0.05),动情期虽然缩短,但差异不显著(P0.05)。结论:孕期暴露于Nano-Si O2未导致子代雌性小鼠动情周期的紊乱,但对其生殖功能可能有一定的影响。     

Effects of Taurine Supplementation on Hepatic Markers of Inflammation and Lipid Metabolism in Mothers and Offspring in the Setting of Maternal Obesity

Maternal obesity is associated with obesity and metabolic disorders in offspring. However, intervention strategies to reverse or ameliorate the effects of maternal obesity on offspring health are limited. Following maternal undernutrition, taurine supplementation can improve outcomes in offspring, possibly via effects on glucose homeostasis and insulin secretion. The effects of taurine in mediating inflammatory processes as a protective mechanism has not been investigated. Further, the efficacy of taurine supplementation in the setting of maternal obesity is not known. Using a model of maternal obesity, we examined the effects of maternal taurine supplementation on outcomes related to inflammation and lipid metabolism in mothers and neonates. Time-mated Wistar rats were randomised to either: 1) control : control diet during pregnancy and lactation (CON); 2) CON supplemented with 1.5% taurine in drinking water (CT); 3) maternal obesogenic diet (high fat, high fructose) during pregnancy and lactation (MO); or 4) MO supplemented with taurine (MOT). Maternal and neonatal weights, plasma cytokines and hepatic gene expression were analysed. A MO diet resulted in maternal hyperinsulinemia and hyperleptinemia and increased plasma glucose, glutamate and TNF-α concentrations. Taurine normalised maternal plasma TNF-α and glutamate concentrations in MOT animals. Both MO and MOT mothers displayed evidence of fatty liver accompanied by alterations in key markers of hepatic lipid metabolism. MO neonates displayed a pro-inflammatory hepatic profile which was partially rescued in MOT offspring. Conversely, a pro-inflammatory phenotype was observed in MOT mothers suggesting a possible maternal trade-off to protect the neonate. Despite protective effects of taurine in MOT offspring, neonatal mortality was increased in CT neonates, indicating possible adverse effects of taurine in the setting of normal pregnancy. These data suggest that maternal taurine supplementation may ameliorate the adverse effects observed in offspring following a maternal obesogenic diet but these effects are dependent upon prior maternal nutritional background.     

Regulation of Puberty and Its Consequences on Population Dynamics of Mice

Changes in generation time can have a major impact on populationdynamics in small, rapidly breeding rodents. The onset of pubertyin female house mice (Mus musculus domesticus) can vary fromthe age of 4 wk to 8 wk as a function of male acceleratory orfemale inhibitory urinary pheromones in laboratory experiments.In field studies, puberty inhibition has been demonstrated tovary directly with natural and experimental increases in populationdensity. A model is developed suggesting that the sexual maturationof juvenile females residing in a dense population is inhibitedby a pheromone produced by crowded females.The signal amongfemales in a dense population seems to be mediated by the vomeronasalorgan.     

榕树高度专性共生体系内影响传粉蜂子代繁殖的因素

为探讨影响传粉蜂子代数量及性比的因素,以广州地区分布的粗叶榕(Ficus hirta Vahl)及其传粉小蜂爪哇榕小蜂(Valasia javana Mayr)为材料,采用自然收蜂与控制放蜂试验进行研究。结果表明,果内的榕小蜂群落随季节更替发生显著变化,非传粉蜂的介入、季节差异使雌蜂间的干扰强度不同,导致传粉蜂子代数量发生变化,其中雌蜂间的干扰会使传粉蜂性比显著升高,而非传粉蜂的介入对传粉蜂性比的影响不大,传粉蜂仍能正常地进行繁殖。另外,传粉蜂在雌花期雄花序内的产卵和存活时间一般较短,约为15 h;传粉蜂子代在干、湿季的雄花序内的发育时间差异显著,干季时间长,湿季时间短。这表明传粉榕小蜂进化出了适应广州地区季节变化的繁殖策略。     

Social Experience During Development and Female Offspring Aggression in Peromyscus Mice

Cross‐fostering between the highly aggressive, biparental California mouse (Peromyscus californicus) and the less aggressive, less parental white‐footed mouse (P. leucopus) influences female offspring attack latency in California mice, but not in white‐footed mice. Adult female California mice raised by white‐footed mice expressed longer attack latencies in a neutral‐arena test but not in a resident‐intruder test. One social cue that may be used by offspring to develop environmentally appropriate levels of aggression is the type of parental care during development. In California mice, a composite score of maternal behavior was positively associated with neutral‐arena aggression as indicated by decreased attack latency. In both species, paternal nest‐building was positively associated with neutral‐arena aggression and higher maternal retrieval behavior predicted higher offspring resident‐intruder aggression as indicated by decreased attack latency. Together, these results indicate that parental behavior has the potential to shape the development of attack latency in female offspring.     

Consumption of Distinct Dietary Lipids during Early Pregnancy Differentially Modulates the Expression of microRNAs in Mothers and Offspring

Diet during pregnancy and lactation influences the offspring’s health in the long-term. Indeed, human epidemiological studies and animal experiments suggest that different type of fatty acids consumption during pregnancy affect offspring development and susceptibility to metabolic disorders. Epigenetic changes are thought to be elicited by dietary factors during critical timing of development. microRNAs (miRNAs) are versatile regulators of gene expression. Thus, we aimed to determine the influence of different fatty acids on miRNA expression in offspring when given during early pregnancy. We fed pregnant either soybean (SO), olive (OO), fish (FO), linseed (LO), or palm-oil (PO) diets from conception to day 12 of gestation; and standard diet thereafter. miRNA expression was assessed in liver an adipose tissue of pregnant rats and their virgin counterparts. While liver concentrations of fatty acids in pregnant or virgin rats replicated those of the diets consumed during early pregnancy, their pups’ liver tissue marginally reflected those of the respective experimental feeds. By contrast, the liver fatty acid profile of adult offsprings was similar, regardless of the diet fed during gestation. Different parental miRNAs were modulated by the different type of fatty acid: in adult offspring, miR-215, miR-10b, miR-26, miR-377-3p, miR-21, and miR-192 among others, were differentially modulated by the different fatty acids fed during early pregnancy. Overall, our results show that maternal consumption of different types of fatty acids during early pregnancy influences miRNA expression in both maternal and offspring tissues, which may epigenetically explain the long-term phenotypic changes of the offspring.     

Effect of Exposure to High Isoflavone-Containing Diets on Prenatal and Postnatal Offspring Mice

Isoflavone (IF), a type of phytoestrogen, has multiple beneficial effects, but too much phytoestrogen can have adverse effects on offspring. To examine whether chronic exposure to high IF has adverse effects on reproductive development, mice offspring were exposed to IF through dietary administration to dams during pregnancy and lactation and to the offspring directly after weaning until sacrifice. In male offspring, there was no difference between the IF group and controls; however, in female offspring in the IF group, remarkably earlier puberty and induction of multioocyte follicles on postnatal day (PND) 21 were observed. Gene expression levels of estrogen receptor β decreased in the ovary and vagina on PND 21. These results suggest that chronic exposure to higher than normal levels of IF induces alterations in the reproductive development of female mice through an estrogenic effect.     

昆明种稀毛鼠与正常鼠生长繁殖的比较

目的探讨昆明（KM）种稀毛鼠与正常鼠的生长繁殖是否有差异。方法对KM种稀毛鼠与正常鼠1～8胎进行平均胎间隔、受胎率、产仔数、初生体重、仔鼠离乳成活率等繁殖力指标及1～12周龄平均体重增长等生长指标作对比实验,将实验结果进行统计学处理。结果从第5胎起稀毛鼠的受胎率、平均胎间隔、仔鼠离乳成活率三项繁殖指标均低于正常鼠。但两者的产仔数、仔鼠初生体重及育成鼠周平均增重却无明显差异。结论平均胎间隔、平均受胎率、仔鼠离乳成活率是影响稀毛鼠正常生产的关键。     

Increased Anxiety in Offspring Reared by Circadian Clock Mutant Mice

The maternal care that offspring receive from their mothers early in life influences the offspring’s development of emotional behavior in adulthood. Here we found that offspring reared by circadian clock-impaired mice show elevated anxiety-related behavior. Clock mutant mice harboring a mutation in Clock, a key component of the molecular circadian clock, display altered daily patterns of nursing behavior that is fragmented during the light period, instead of long bouts of nursing behavior in wild-type mice. Adult wild-type offspring fostered by Clock mutant mice exhibit increased anxiety-related behavior. This is coupled with reduced levels of brain serotonin at postnatal day 14, whose homeostasis during the early postnatal period is critical for normal emotional behavior in adulthood. Together, disruption of the circadian clock in mothers has an adverse impact on establishing normal anxiety levels in offspring, which may increase their risk of developing anxiety disorders.     

Mitochondrial DNA Deletion in Offspring of Female Mice Exposed to X-Rays

Biophysics - Abstract—The effects of X-ray exposure on the mitochondrial genome were studied in the offspring of female mice exposed in the preconception period at doses of 0.5 and 2 Gy....     

Exposure to Strong Static Magnetic Fields Induces Hypoactivity in Weaning Mice

We studied the effects of a prolongued exposure to a strong (1.0 Tesla) static and uniform magnetic field upon the open field behaviour and body weight of weaning mice. We observed a marked reduction in the exploratory activity of mice exposed to the field relative to that of control animals kept in similar surroundings, and handled in the same way as the exposed mice. One week of continuous exposure to a 1.0 T field significantly reduces peripheral square entries (p<0.01) as well as rearings (p<0.05), but has no effect on body weight. Our findings agree with the suggestion that a strong magnetic field may act as stressing agent.