Chronic consumption of high fat diet in mice: effects on body weight, reproductive physiology and impact on offspring

FERNÁNDEZ F; GASPAROTTO A; MAZZONI F; LUQUE EM; MARTINI AC; CARLINI VP; VINCENTI LM

Córdoba

Jornada; XVI Jornada de Investigación Científica de la Facultad de Ciencias Médicas; 2015

Secretaría de Ciencia y Tecnología, UNC

Excess of body weight presents associated diseases that can be transmitted to offspring by maternal or paternal route. Objective: to investigate effects of chronic consumption of high fat diet on body weight and reproductive physiology of adult mice and their descendants. Albino Swiss males and females mice were fed (10 weeks) with control (C-3.9% fat, 18% protein, 42% carbohydrates) or high fat diet (HF-24% fat, 24% protein, 41% carbohydrates) and then mated with untreated animals. It was evaluated: body weight (BW) during treatment in adults and in their offspring from birth to adulthood; in parents and male offspring: sperm functional activity (concentration, motility, bending forms, vitality, hypoosmotic swelling test, acrosome reaction); in all descendants: beginning of puberty (vaginal opening / testicular descent). Repeated measures ANOVA was used, considering statistically significant values of p<0,05. For parents, the BW was significantly increased in HF females from day 29 of treatment vs C (p<0.05, n=9 in each group); in males, there was no significant difference (n=6 in each group). In male (n=25) and females (n=14) offspring of HF fathers, BW increased significantly from day 49 of life to adulthood, compared to C offspring (n=19 males; n=21 females) (p<0.05). In HF mothers offspring, the BW of females (n=6) and males (n=7) was significantly higher vs C (n=8 in each sex), between days 15 and 29 of life and on reaching adulthood (p<0.05). Sperm functional activity was not significantly altered in any group; a tendency to decrease in sperm concentration in offspring of HF mothers was observed. The onset of puberty in female offspring of HF mothers was significantly advanced on day 29 of life (100% vs 50% in C; p<0.05). Conclusions: a) the chronic consumption of high fat diet in adult mice exerts greater effect on females BW than in males; b) the descendants of HF individuals (although they consumed C diet) have higher body weight than those of control parents; c) only the beginning of puberty in females whose mothers consumed HF diet came forward, without changes in other reproductive parameters analyzed.