Early exposure to distinct sources of lipids affects differently the development and hepatic inflammatory profiles of 21-day-old rat offspring

INTRODUCTION: Maternal diet composition of fatty acids during pregnancy and lactation seems to modify the fetal programming, epigenetic pattern and offspring phenotype. AIM: Herein, we investigated the effects of maternal consumption of normal-fat diets with distinct lipid sources during pregnancy and lactation on the somatic development and proinflammatory status of 21-day-old rat offspring. MATERIALS AND METHODS: On the first day of pregnancy, female Wistar rats were divided into four groups as follows: soybean oil (M-SO), lard (M-L), hydrogenated vegetable fat (M-HVF) and fish oil (M-FO). Diets were maintained during pregnancy and lactation. Male offspring constituted the SO, L, HVF and FO groups. Pups were weighed and measured weekly. Lipopolysaccharide serum concentration was determined. Tumor necrosis factor alpha, interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-10 in the liver were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Liver gene expressions were determined by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Protein expressions in the liver were analyzed by Western blotting. RESULTS: We observed an increase in body weight and adiposity in L and HVF groups. Moreover, HVF group showed an increase in the toll-like receptor 4 mRNA levels, IL10Rα and phosphorylated form of IκB kinase (IKK; p-IKKα+β) protein expression. The FO group presented a decrease in body weight, relative weight of retroperitoneal adipose tissue, ADIPOR2 gene expression, lipopolysaccharide and p-IKKα+β and phosphorylated form of nuclear transcription factor kappa B (NFκB) p50 (p-NFκB p50) protein expression. CONCLUSION: Summarily, whereas maternal intake of normal-fat diets based on L and HVF appear to affect the somatic development negatively, only early exposure to HVF impairs the pups’ proinflammatory status. In contrast, maternal diets based on FO during pregnancy and lactation have been more beneficial to the adiposity and toll-like receptor 4 signaling pathway of the 21-day-old rat offspring, particularly when compared to L or HVF diets.