Table 2.
Maternal low protein diets and its effect on offspring adiposity.
| Study | Species | Maternal diet | Diet duration | Offspring diet | Offspring sex | Offspring age | Adipose structure | Adipose molecular | Whole body changes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kim et al. [78] | Mice | Low protein (10%) Vs normal protein (20%) | –GD14–Weaning | HFD (45% fat) | Male | 22 weeks | ↑ Epididymal fat ↓ Perineal fat | Altered gene profile with adipokine and inflammatory pathways affected | ↓Birth weight ↑Insulin sensitivity |
| Guan et al. [75] | Rats | Low protein (8%) Vs normal protein (20%) | GD0 Weaning | Chow | Male | 130 days old | ↑ Visceral adiposity | Altered expression of 650 genes in visceral adipose tissue:↑Carbohydrate, lipid, and protein metabolism, adipocyte differentiation, angiogenesis, and extracellular matrix remodeling pathways | ↓Birth weight |
| Zhang et al. [76] | Rats | Low protein (8%) Vs normal protein (20%) | GD0–Weaning | Normal protein | Males | 130 days old | ↑ Rate of preadipocyte Proliferation | NA | ↑ Visceral adiposity |
| Berends et al. [80] | Rats | Low protein (10%) Vs normal protein (20%) | Confirmation of pregnancy–Weaning | Cross fostered to normal protein mothers then chow | Male | 22 days and 3 months old | ↑ Adipocyte size | ↓ AKT-2, IRS-1, p110β | |
| Bellinger et al. [84] | Rats | Low protein (9%) Vs normal protein (18%) | GD0–GD7 | Chow | Males and females | 9 months and 18 months | ↔ | NA | ↔ |
| GD8–GD 14 | At 18 months ↑ Abdominal fat ↓ Subcutaneous fat | NA | Hypophagia (males only) | ||||||
| GD15–GD22 | ↑ Central fat (females only) | NA | Hypophagia (females only) | ||||||
| GD0–GD 22 | At 9 months ↓ Gonadal fat (males only) At 18 Months ↑ Abdominal fat ↓ Subcutaneous fat ↑Central fat (females only) | NA | Hypophagia (females only) | ||||||
| Claycombe et al. [83] | Rats | Normal protein (20%) | –GD21–Weaning | Normal fat (10% fat) Vs high fat (45% fat) | Male | 12 weeks | ↔ | ↔ | ↔ |
| Low protein (8%) | Normal fat (10% fat) Vs high fat (45% fat) | ↑ Small adipocytes | ↑ Igf2 | ↓ Insulin sensitivity | |||||
| Xie et al. [82] | Rats | Normal protein (20%) | GD2–Weaning | Normal energy diet (3.84 Kcal/g) Vs high energy diet (4.73 Kcal/g) | Not specified | 12 weeks | ↔ | ↑ IL-6 | ↔ |
| Low protein (8%) | Normal energy diet (3.84 Kcal/g) | ↓ Fat mass | ↑ IL-6 | ||||||
| High energy diet (4.73 Kcal/g) | ↓ Fat mass ↓ CD68 + CD206 + cells in adipose | ↑ IL-6 | |||||||
| Dumortier et al. [79] | Rats | Normal protein (20%) | 0–Weaning | Chow Vs HFD (42% fat) | Male | 8 weeks and 40 weeks | ↔ | ↔ | ↔ |
| Low protein (8%) | Chow | ↑ UCP1 in BAT (at 8 weeks) | |||||||
| HFD (42% fat) | ↑ Interscapular BAT (at 8 weeks) | ↑ UCP1 expression in BAT | At 40 weeks: ↑ Insulin resistant hyperglycemic ↑ Weight | ||||||
| Pinheiro et al. [77] | Rats | Low protein (5%) Vs normal protein (19%) | Birth–Weaning | Chow diet from weaning for F1 and F2 | F2 offspring both male and female | 6 months of age | ↔ | NA | Hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinaemia,↑ Insulin resistance |
| Low protein (5%) Vs normal protein (19%) | GD0–Birth | ↑ Fat mass (both F1 and F2 males) | NA | Hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinaemia, ↑ Insulin resistance, ↑ Birth weight | |||||
| Low protein (5%) Vs normal protein (19%) for entirety | GD 0–Weaning | ↑ Fat mass (F1 and F2 males) | NA | ||||||
| Tarry-Adkins et al. [72] | Rats | Low protein (8%) Vs normal protein (20%) | Duration of F1 generation | Chow after weaning at 21 days | Female | F2 at 3 months and 6 months | ↑ Para-ovarian fat pad weight ↑ Adipocyte size with age | ↑ PKC-ζ protein expression ↑ IL-1β protein and mRNA ↓ pAKTser473 Protein expression | |
| Pan et al. [71] | Pig (Landrace × Yorkshire crossbred sows) | Low protein (8%) vs standard protein (15–18%) | GD7–Weaning | Na | Male | 4 weeks | ↑ PPAR-γ mRNA, glucocorticoid receptor, ATGL, and HSL mRNA ↑ ATG7 and LC3 protein and mRNA ↓ Acetyl-CoA carboxylase and fatty acid synthase mRNA and protein↓ Triglycerides | ↓ Birth weight | |
| DuPriest et al. [74] | Pig (Yucatan microswine sows) | Normal protein (14%) | GD 80–Week 2 of lactation | Ad Lib Vs calorie restricted (75% Kcal) | Male and female | 12 weeks | ↔ Adipocyte size or adiposity | ↔ | ↔ |
| Low protein (1%) | Ad Lib | ↔ Adipocyte size or adiposity | ↓ Adiponectin mRNA | ↑ Fat deposition rate | |||||
| Calorie restricted (75% Kcal) | ↔ Adipocyte size or adiposity | ↓↓ Adiponectin mRNA ↓↓ TNF-α mRNA | ↔ | ||||||
| Nielsen et al. [73] | Sheep | Normal protein | GD 105–Term | Conventional hay diet Vs high fat high carbohydrate diet | Male and female | 6 months and 2 years | ↔ | NA | ↔ |
| Low protein (50% of the protein amount to NP) | Conventional hay diet | ↓ Deposition of subcutaneous fat | NA | ↓ Birth weight ↑ Appetite for fat | |||||
| High fat high carbohydrate diet | ↓ Deposition of subcutaneous fat ↑ Visceral fat (females only) | NA | ↓ Birth weight ↑ Appetite for fat | ||||||
| Micke et al. [81] | Cow | High protein (220–50% of recommended daily intake) | GD0–GD180 | Normal energy diet | Male and female | 680 days of age | ↑ IGF1 mRNA (in females) ↑ LEP mRNA (in males) | ↑ Birth weight | |
| High protein then low protein | GD 0–GD 93 then GD 94–GD 180 | ↑ IGF1 mRNA (in females) ↑ LEP mRNA (in males) ↑ IGF2 mRNA | |||||||
| Low protein then hight protein | GD 0–GD 180 then GD 94–GD180 | ↑ Birth weight | |||||||
| Low protein (60–75% of reccomended daily intake) | GD 0–GD 180 | ↑ IGF2 mRNA |
Ad Lib ad libitum feeding, BAT brown adipose tissue, GD gestational day, HFD high fat diet, NA not applicable, SAT subcutaneous adipose tissue, VAT visceral adipose tissue, Vs versus, WAT white adipose tissue.