Table 6.
Excess glucocorticoids during gestation and its effect on offspring adiposity.
| Study | Species | Maternal manipulation | Duration | Offspring diet | Offspring sex | Offspring age | Adipose structure | Adipose molecular | Whole body changes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chen et al. [125] | Mouse | Dexamethasone (0.1 mg/kg body weight) Vs control (PBS) | GD14–GD20 | Chow diet | Male | 4 Months | ↓ BAT ↑ Lipids in gonadal and inguinal fat ↑ Sizes of lipid droplets in BAT ↓ Mitochondrial number in BAT | ↓ UCP1 in BAT ↓ pIRS-1 (T612) and pAKT (S473) ↑DNA methylation in Pparγc1a promoter | ↓ Insulin sensitivity |
| Sugden et al. [160] | Rat | 100 or 200 mg/kg dexamethasone maternal body weight per day Vs control | GD15–GD21 | Chow diet | Male and female | 12 weeks and 1 year | NA | NA | Hyperleptinaemia |
| Zulkafli et al. [121] | Rats | 0.5 μg/mL of dexamethasone Vs control | GD13–Term | Chow diet | Male | ↑ Epididymal fat | ↑ Adiposity | ||
| HFD (45% fat) | ↑ Epididymal fat | ↑ Adiposity | |||||||
| High fat high omega-3 | ↑ Epididymal fat | ↑ Adiposity | |||||||
| Mark et al. [124] | Rats | Dexamethasone (0.75 μg/mL in drinking water) Vs control | GD13–Term | Cross fostered to chow diet mother | Male and female | 6 months | ↔ | ↑ Il6, Il1β, Tnfα, GR, and Pparα | ↑ Serum fatty acid levels |
| Cross fostered to mother with diet high in omega 3 | Male and female | 6 months | ↓ Adipose size | ↑ GR and Pparaα | |||||
| Wyrwoll et al. [161] | Rats | Dexamethasone (0.75 μg/mL in drinking water) Vs control | GD13–Term | Cross fostered to chow diet mother | Male and female | 6 months | NA | ↑ ACE in retroperineal fat | |
| Cross fostered to mother with diet high in omega 3 | Male and female | 6 months | NA | ↔ | |||||
| Dahlgren et al. [122] | Rats | Dexamethasone (intramuscularly 100 mg/kg) VS control | Chow diet | Male and female | 11 weeks | ↑ Retroperitoneal fat depot mass ↑ Parametrial fat depot mass in females | ↔ Body weight | ||
| Long et al. [119] | Sheep | Dexamethasone (4 injections of 2 mg intramuscularly, 12 h apart) Vs control (saline) | GD 103 onwards | Ad libitum | female | F2 at 13 months | ↑ Adiposity | NA | ↑ Feeding impaired insulin secretion |
| Blasio et al. [120] | Sheep | Dexamethasone (0.48 mg/h) Vs control saline (0.19 mL/h) | Intravenous infusion for 48 h from GD 26–GD 28 | NA | Male | 4 years | ↑ Adiposity | NA | First-phase hyperinsulinemia |
| Cortisol (5 mg/h) Vs Control saline (0.19 mL/h) | ↑ Adiposity | NA | Second-phase hyperinsulinemia | ||||||
| Bispham et al. [64] | Sheep | 16 mg dexamethasone Vs control | GD138 | NA | Male and female | 6 h post birth | ↑ Abundance of the 54 and 48 kDa isoforms of PRLR in BAT | ||
| Weiler et al. [123] | Pigs | Dexamethasone (administered in milk) Vs control | Day 5–Day 20 of suckling | Males | 21 days old | ↑ Fat mass | ↓ Weight ↓ Bone mass |
Ad Lib ad libitum feeding, BAT brown adipose tissue, GD gestational day, HFD high-fat diet, NA not applicable, PBS phosphate buffered saline, SAT subcutaneous adipose tissue, VAT visceral adipose tissue, Vs versus, WAT, white adipose tissue.