Fig. 6.

Correction of maternal obesity-induced gut dysbiosis by co-housing normalizes HCC risk

(A) Offspring of obese and lean mothers were either housed separately (ND_Sep and HFD_Sep) or co-housed (ND_CoH and HFD_CoH) after weaning. (B) Weight after weaning for the first 12 weeks of life. (C) Expression of pro-fibrotic markers in liver tissue at 40 weeks. Liver tumor mass was assessed by micro-CT at 32 and 36 weeks of age. (D) Tumor number and (E) total tumor volume at 36 weeks of age. (F) Dosing of alpha-fetoprotein in the sera at 36 weeks of age. (G) Number of new tumors normalized by week. (H) Correlation of tumor number or TLR4 expression with the microbiota composition. Data presented as median ± IQR (B, C, D, E, F, G), one dot represents one animal, level of significance of p = 0.05, p >0.05 n.s., p <0.05∗, p<0.01∗∗. Statistical analysis was performed by Wilcoxon–Mann–Whitney test (B-G) and pearson’s correlation coefficient (H). ND_Sep: Female offspring born to lean mothers housed separately n = 24, HFD_Sep: Female offspring born to obese mothers housed separately n = 24, ND_CoH female offspring born to lean mothers co-housed with offspring of obese mothers n = 24, HFD_CoH female offspring born to obese mothers co-housed with offspring of lean mothers n = 29, correlation plots (H) n = 10 per group. HCC, hepatocellular carcinoma; HFD, high-fat diet; ND, normal diet.