Fig 1.
Dams were either fed a low-fat (LFD) or a high-fat diet (HFD) before and throughout pregnancy and lactation. After weaning, male offspring received LFD until an age of 15 wks. At an age of 15 wks, mice received HFD for 10 wks. Half of each group got access to a running wheel (RW) as voluntary exercise training. As a control (baseline) group (Con), mLFD offspring without RW access were fed LFD during the whole experiment. Body composition and treadmill exercise capacity were measured in wk 7, 15, and 25. A four-hour oral glucose tolerance test (oGTT) was performed in wk 22 and indirect calorimetry (IC) was performed in wk 24.
Fig 2.
Impact of maternal high-fat consumption on offspring body weight (A-B) and body fat gain (C). Dams were either fed a low-fat (LFD) or a high-fat diet (HFD) before and throughout pregnancy and lactation. Maternal low-fat diet (mLFD; white bars) or maternal high-fat diet (mHFD; black bars) offspring were fed a LFD after weaning throughout an age of 15 wks. Afterwards they received HFD for 10 wks. Half of each group had access to a running wheel (RW) for voluntary training. As a control (baseline) group (Con), mLFD offspring without RW were fed a LFD during the whole experiment (dotted line). (C) Shown is the gain of body fat from wk 7 to wk 15 and wk 7 to wk 25. Data are mean + SE; (A) n = 17-36; (B/C) wk 7: n = 21–28; wk 15/25: n = 10-15. Data were analyzed using two-way ANOVA (Bonferroni post hoc test) and unpaired t-test with Welch’s correction (A/C).
Table 1.
Offspring biometric data, energy metabolism and plasma parameters.
Fig 3.
Impact of maternal high-fat intake on the offspring’s liver parameters.
Maternal low-fat diet (mLFD) or maternal high-fat diet (mHFD) offspring were fed LFD after weaning throughout an age of 15 wks. Afterwards they received HFD for 10 wks. Half of each group had access to a running wheel (RW) for voluntary training. (A) offspring liver weight, (B/C) hepatic triglyceride concentration and its correlation with liver weight, (D/E) hepatic glycogen content and the respective correlation with liver weight. The dotted line in A/B/D indicates the level of the Con group (mLFD-RW LFD). Data are expressed as median with interquartile range (A/B) or mean +SE (D), (A) n = 10-15; (B) n = 6-12; (D) n = 4-11. Data were analyzed by Kruskal Wallis (Dunn´s test) or two-way ANOVA (Bonferroni post hoc test). (C/E) Spearman correlation analyses were performed with -RW animals.
Table 2.
Hepatic gene expression of enzymes involved in lipogenesis.
Fig 4.
Impact of maternal high-fat diet intake on offspring HFD-induced insulin resistance.
Maternal low-fat diet (mLFD) or maternal high-fat diet (mHFD) offspring were fed a LFD after weaning throughout an age of 15 wks. Afterwards they received a HFD for 10 wks. Half of each group had access to a running wheel (RW) for voluntary training. (A) glucose tolerance, (B) insulin sensitivity, (C) pancreas insulin content and (D) basal blood glucose concentration. The dotted line in C/D indicates the level of the Con group (mLFD-RW LFD). Data are mean ±SE (A) n = 8-15; (B) n = 10-15; (C) n = 5-6; (D) n = 6-12. Data were compared by two-way ANOVA (Bonferroni post hoc test). # indicates significant differences between the maternal diets (mLFD and mHFD), whereas * indicates significant RW effects (-RW vs. +RW).
Fig 5.
Impact of maternal high-fat feeding on offspring training efficiency and fiber type composition.
Maternal low-fat diet (mLFD) or maternal high-fat diet (mHFD) offspring were fed a LFD after weaning throughout an age of 15 wks. Afterwards they received a HFD for 10 wks. Half of each group had access to a running wheel (RW) for voluntary training. (A) endurance capacity at wk 7, (B) training efficiency and (C/D) gene expression of myosin heave chain (Mhc) isoforms in M. quadriceps (C) and M. soleus (D). For Mhc gene expression, the Con group (mLFD-RW LFD) was set to 1. Data are mean ±SE; (A) n = 43-53; (B/C) n = 11-15; (C/D) n = 5-8. Data were compared by two-way ANOVA (Bonferroni post hoc test); # indicates significant differences between the maternal diets (mLFD and mHFD), whereas * indicates significant RW effects (-RW vs. +RW).
Fig 6.
Effects of maternal high-fat consumption on offspring mitochondrial biogenesis in skeletal muscle.
Maternal low-fat diet (mLFD) or maternal high-fat diet (mHFD) offspring were fed a LFD after weaning throughout an age of 15 wks. Afterwards they received a HFD for 10 wks. Half of each group had access to a running wheel (RW) for voluntary training. (A) Relative (ddCt) gene expression of Pgc1α, (B) citrate synthase activity and (C) protein expression of OXPHOS in M. quadriceps. The dotted line in A/B indicates the level of the Con group (mLFD-RW LFD). OXPHOS protein expression was normalized to VDAC (C). Data are mean +SE; (A) n = 6-8; (B) n = 6-7; (C) n = 5-6. Data were analyzed by two-way ANOVA (Bonferroni post hoc test).