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ARS Home » Plains Area » Houston, Texas » Children's Nutrition Research Center » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #307857

Title: Long-term consequences of maternal and neonatal nutrition for pregnancy and postnatal outcomes

Author
item Burrin, Douglas - Doug
item STOLL, BARBARA - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)

Submitted to: Journal of Animal Science Supplement
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/11/2014
Publication Date: 7/20/2014
Citation: Burrin, D.G., Stoll, B. 2014. Long-term consequences of maternal and neonatal nutrition for pregnancy and postnatal outcomes [Abstract]. Journal of Animal Science Supplement. 92(E-Suppl.2):54.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: The nutritional environment during fetal and neonatal life is a key determinant affecting the risk for adult-onset diseases, such as diabetes and obesity. Studies show that preterm infants experience increased risk for glucose intolerance as adolescents and young adults. Preterm infants often receive parenteral nutrition for several days or weeks after birth as a lifesaving form of clinical support. Considerable evidence shows that the normal and dysfunctional secretion of gut hormones play a key role in metabolic health and diseases, including diabetes and obesity. We have used the model of parenterally fed neonatal pig to test whether the modality of nutritional support (enteral vs. parenteral) significantly impacts both the pattern of gut hormone secretion and metabolic function. We first showed (J. Nutr.140:2193) that chronic parenteral (PN) compared to enteral (EN) nutrition in neonatal pigs for 2 weeks leads to an adverse metabolic phenotype marked by increased glucose intolerance, insulin resistance, body fat deposition and reduced pancreatic beta-cell proliferation. We also showed (JPEN.36:538) that the pattern of enteral nutrition (intermittent vs. continuous) is a stronger determinant than modality of nutrition to optimize glucose utilization and insulin sensitivity. We also showed that the secretion of gut incretin hormones, glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) correlated closely with glucose utilization and insulin sensitivity. An important question is whether the adverse metabolic phenotype that results from that chronic PN during the first 2 weeks of neonatal life persists into late infancy and adolescence. We recently tested this in newborn pigs by feeding either PN or EN for 2 weeks followed by ad lib feeding of a high-fat (30%) and sucrose (20%) diet for 5 months. We measured body composition by dual-emission X-ray absorptiometry at 2 and 8 weeks, and 5 months, and performed an IVGTT at 5 months. Our results showed that PN during the neonatal period increased adiposity transiently into early infancy, but PN-induced glucose intolerance, adiposity, pancreatic beta cell number, and hepatic steatosis were not sustained into adolescence, even when challenged with an obesogenic diet. This presentation will highlight the link between enteral nutrition as a key trigger for gut hormone secretion and function, and how these hormone-signaling pathways may be relevant to domestic animal growth.