Exposição intrauterina a dieta hiperlipídica, com diferentes teores de lipídios, e suas repercussões gastrintestinais e metabólicas: um modelo de programação fetal em ratos Wistar

Abstract

Background: Faced with our lifestyle often exposed to an excessively high fat diet, questions began to arise whether such a diet during pregnancy could also impact the health of the developing fetus, increasing the risk of metabolic diseases as an adult. Aims: to investigate the possible gastrointestinal and metabolic repercussions in the offspring exposed to the maternal hyperlipidic diet, with different lipid levels. Methods: Pregnant rats were divided into groups: C (control group: mothers submitted to a normolipid diet - 3.5% of lipids), E1 (experimental group 1: mothers submitted to diet with 28% of lipids) and E2 (experimental group 2: mothers on a 40% lipid diet). During the gestational period, maternal parameters such as feed intake and fluid intake, as well as body weight variation were evaluated. Functional tests as well as gastrointestinal morphometry were performed in the 30-day-old pups, while metabolic analyzes (blood pressure determination, serum lipid determination, renal function tests and body adiposity assessment using the Lee index and dry adipose tissue weight) were performed on the 120 day old pups. Results: In group E1 we found the following changes: higher caloric and lipid intake by pregnant rats; lower body weight, despite higher adiposity at 120 days, and a lower Glomerular Filtration Rate (GFR) was also found in the animals of that age; while in the 30-day-old offspring, a lower relative weight of the stomach, lower ulcer rate (UR), thicker stomach wall and mucosa, and a smaller thickness of the jejunal mucosa were observed, despite the larger area presented by this segment of the small intestine and smaller thickness of the rectal wall. In the animals of the E2-40% group, lower intakes of diet, carbohydrates and proteins were found, accompanied by an increase in lipid intake by the mothers; lower body weight, despite higher adiposity in offspring at 120 days of age; lower body weight, as well as reduced weight and stomach area, as well as lower UI and gross weight, but higher relative weight of the small intestine, lower thickness of the ileal mucosa, reflecting the total thickness of this segment, as well as a lower thickness of the mucosa and layer colonic and cecal muscles, giving a lower total wall thickness of these intestinal segments in offspring at 30 days of age. Conclusion: The high-fat diet maternal was able to promote important metabolic and gastrointestinal changes in offspring at 30 and 120 days of age.