Fig. 1.

Maternal low-protein (LP) diet on the last week of pregnancy and phenotype of newborn offspring. A: pregnant C57BL/6 mice were exposed to diets [control (Ctrl, 23% protein) or LP during the last week of gestation (LP12.5, isocaloric and 9% protein)] during the last week of pregnancy. After delivery, LP12.5 and Ctrl dams and offspring were introduced to Ctrl diet. B: maternal body weight during the adaptation period [days (D) 0–30], during pregnancy [embryonic day (e) 05–16.5], and after pregnancy [postnatal day (P) 1–15]. C: litter size on P21 between LP12.5 and Ctrl dams. D–F: newborn body weight (D), blood glucose (E), body length (F) of LP12.5 and Ctrl offspring. G–J: newborn circulating insulin levels (G), β-cell area (H), average number of cells per islet (I), and β-cell proliferation, as measured through Ki-67 staining (J), were assessed in LP12.5 and Ctrl offspring. n = 4 Dams were used for maternal body weight assessment (B) and litter size (C). n = 16–27 Offspring were used for D–J and from n = 4 litter. Analyzed by Student’s t test, 2 tailed and unpaired, *P < 0.05 versus Ctrl.