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Fasting for 3 days during the suckling–weaning transient period in male rats induces metabolic abnormalities in the liver and is associated with impaired glucose tolerance in adulthood

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Abstract

Purpose

Recent studies suggest that nutritional status during developmental periods is associated with subsequent development of metabolic abnormalities. In this study, we examined whether malnutrition by fasting for 3 days during the suckling–weaning transient period induces subsequent development of metabolic abnormalities in rats.

Methods

Male Sprague–Dawley rats were fasted for 3 days during the suckling–weaning transient period. They are subsequently fed a high-fat, high-sucrose (HF) or low-fat, high-starch (LF) diet for 14 weeks from 17 weeks of age, and the liver and blood samples were collected for measuring mRNA and protein levels of metabolic genes and blood concentrations of glucose and insulin, respectively.

Results

Fasting for 3 days during the suckling–weaning transient period induced impaired glucose tolerance in rats fed the LF diet in adulthood. Liver triglycerides in rats fed the HF diet in adulthood increased to 140 % in rats fasted for 3 days during the suckling–weaning transient period compared with those non-fasted. Furthermore, liver expression of FBP1 and ACCα genes in adult rats fed the LF diet increased to 125 and 145 %, respectively, in rats fasted for 3 days during the suckling–weaning transient period compared to non-fasted rats. PEPCK1 protein expression levels in rats fed the LF diet were higher in rats fasted for 3 days during the suckling–weaning transient period than in non-fasted rats.

Conclusion

Fasting for 3 days in rats during the suckling–weaning transient period enhances metabolic abnormalities in animals fed a HF or LF diet in adulthood by confounding metabolism of lipid and sugar in the liver.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Young Scientists (22680054), a grant from the Mishima Kaiun Memorial Foundation and for Scientific Research (23300276) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan.

Conflict of interest

There are no conflicts of interest in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Nutritional Physiology, Graduate School of Nutritional and Environmental Sciences, University of Shizuoka, Shizuoka, 422-8526, Japan

    Misa Ikeda, Kazue Honma, Kazuki Mochizuki & Toshinao Goda

  2. Laboratory of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Department of Local Produce and Food Sciences, Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Yamanashi, Yamanashi, 400-8510, Japan

    Kazuki Mochizuki

Authors
  1. Misa Ikeda
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  2. Kazue Honma
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  4. Toshinao Goda
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Correspondence to Toshinao Goda.

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Ikeda, M., Honma, K., Mochizuki, K. et al. Fasting for 3 days during the suckling–weaning transient period in male rats induces metabolic abnormalities in the liver and is associated with impaired glucose tolerance in adulthood. Eur J Nutr 55, 1059–1067 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-015-0919-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-015-0919-9

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