Effects of Maternal High-fat Diet on Serum Lipid Concentration and Expression of Peroxisomal Proliferator-activated Receptors in the Early Life of Rat Off spring

Peroxisomal proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) play an important role in the regulation of lipid metabolism. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a maternal high-fat (HF) diet on serum lipid concentration and PPAR gene expression in liver and adipose tissue in the early life of the rat off spring. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were fed either an HF or control (CON) diet 6 weeks before mating and throughout gestation and lactation. Blood and tissue samplings of male off spring were carried out at birth or weaning. Birth weights were similar and serum triglyceride (TG) and nonesterified fatty acid (NEFA) levels showed no significant difference between HF and CON newborns, despite greatly increased hepatic PPAR alpha mRNA expression in the HF newborns (p < 0.05). Both HF newborns and weanlings revealed significantly decreased hepatic PPAR gamma expression compared with controls (p < 0.0001). Hepatic PPAR alpha expression in the HF weanlings was reduced markedly compared with CON weanlings (p < 0.0001) and showed a negative correlation with serum TG levels (r = -0.743, p < 0.05). However, epididymal expression of PPAR. in the HF weanlings was upregulated significantly compared with controls (p < 0.05) and demonstrated a positive correlation with epididymal fat mass (r = 0.733, p < 0.05). These were accompanied by obesity as well as a rise in serum TG by 79% (p < 0.05) and NEFA concentration by 36% (p < 0.05) in these HF weanlings. Our findings suggest that maternal HF diet leads to alterations in PPAR gene expression in the weanling off spring, which is associated with the disturbed lipid homeostasis.