Impact of prenatal and postnatal nutritional manipulation on bone quality in adult Wistar rats offspring

Summary: Background and aims: We aimed to evaluate the impact of perinatal food manipulation on skeletal characteristics and insulin levels of Wistar rats at the age of 1 year. Methods: Sixty-seven first-time pregnant rats were randomized, to either normally fed (Control Diet, CD), food-restricted (FR), or fat-fed (FF), from the 12th gestational day, and gave birth on the 21st day of pregnancy. Pups born to FR-mothers were divided into: fetal growth restricted (FGR) and non-FGR, based on their birth weight. Maternal food manipulation continued through the lactation period. Following delivery, all neonates were cross-fostered until the 25th day postpartum; the offspring of normally-fed mothers were lactated by FR-, FF- or CD-fed mothers. A similar process was followed for the offspring of mothers FF- or FR-during pregnancy. On the 26th day postpartum, all pups were weaned to the diet of their foster mother until one year old. Bone density was assessed by peripheral quantitative computed tomography. Results: FF/FF rats had lower values of total bone density and total/subcortical area compared to CD/CD. FF/FR showed lower subcortical density compared to FF/FF group. FGR/CD showed lower values of all assessed skeletal parameters compared to those receiving CD throughout the experiment. Non-FGR/FF rats had higher values of all assessed skeletal parameters compared to those food restricted postnatally. FGR-pups that were fat-fed postnatally had higher insulin vs rats FF/FR. Similar insulin levels were identified in rats fat-fed postnatally, irrespective of prenatal food-restriction or high-fat diet. Conclusions: Perinatal food manipulation is associated with distinct skeletal acquisition and insulin levels’ profiles in Wistar rats at the first year of life.