Search

Abstract: Objective: Trans fatty acids (TFAs) are derived from vegetable oil hydrogenation and can be found in most manufactured food products. Our main objective was to evaluate the effects of TFA consumption by lactating dams on cardiac glucose metabolism of adult offspring by analyzing glucose transporter-4 in the left ventricle. To investigate the energy homeostasis, insulin sensitivity and hepatic glycogen content were also measured. Methods: Lactating Wistar rats were divided into a control group or a TFA group. The control group received a diet containing soybean oil, and the TFA group received a diet containing partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (total trans concentration of about 10.58 mg/g, 11.75%, of total fat) throughout the lactation period. At weaning, pups from both groups received a standard chow until 60 d of age, at which time the quantity of glucose transporter-4 in the left ventricle and hepatic glycogen were measured. Moreover, insulin sensitivity was analyzed by assessing the insulin/glucose ratio and the homeostatic model assessment index. Results: TFA consumption by the pups during lactation led to a significant decrease in the cardiac content of glucose transporter-4 (P < 0.05) and in the hepatic content of glycogen (P < 0.05). Moreover, we observed impaired insulin sensitivity in the TFA group (insulin/glucose ratio and homeostatic model assessment index, P < 0.05) in adulthood. Conclusion: Our data suggest that the consumption of hydrogenated fat, rich in TFAs, by the mothers during the lactation period caused cardiac insulin resistance in the adult progeny, thus reinforcing the hypothesis that early adaptations may cause deleterious consequences later in life. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The study investigated the effects of early life overfeeding on metabolic alterations, heart morphology and left ventricular insulin signaling pathway, mainly the glucose transporters GLUT1, GLUT4 and pAKT/AKT ratio. Wistar rats were overfed using the litter size reduction method. The pups were studies at age of 10 and 21 days. We measured heart GLUT1, GLUT4, AKT and pAKT. Animal weight and length, total body lipid, glycogen content, and the plasma levels of insulin, glucose, total cholesterol and triglycerides were measured. Cardiac hypertrophy was evaluated by heart weight/tibia length ratio. Our results showed that overfed animals were overweight, displayed high total body lipids, insulin, glucose, cholesterol and triglycerides plasma levels, and left ventricular hypertrophy with increasing of pAKT/AKT ratio. Moreover, the heart of overfed animals displayed a precocious translocation of GLUT4 and decreased content of GLUT1. In conclusion, we suggest that overfeeding during lactation might induce metabolic and cardiac alterations early in life, leading to the development of cardiac hypertrophy due anticipated insulin dependence created by earlier GLUT4 heart appearance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]