Maternal intermittent fasting in mice disrupts the intestinal barrier leading to metabolic disorder in adult offspring.

Maternal nutrition plays a critical role in energy metabolism of offspring. We aim to elucidate the effect of long-term intermittent fasting (IF) before pregnancy on health outcomes of offspring. Here we show long-term IF before pregnancy disrupts intestinal homeostasis of offspring with subsequent disorder of glucose and lipid metabolism. This occurs through the reduction in beneficial microbiota such as Lactobacillus_intestinalis. Our observations further support the concept that intestinal microbiota in offspring is vulnerable to maternal nutrition, and its homeostasis is critical for the integrity of intestinal barrier and metabolic homeostasis. Long-term intermediate fasting before pregnancy in mice disrupts intestinal homeostasis of offspring with subsequent glucose and lipid metabolism disorder, mediated by a reduction in beneficial microbiota such as Lactobacillus intestinalis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]