Fetal Sex Modulates Developmental Response to Maternal Malnutrition

PLoS One. 2015 Nov 6;10(11):e0142158. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0142158. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

The incidence of obesity and metabolic diseases is dramatically high in rapidly developing countries. Causes have been related to intrinsic ethnic features with development of a thrifty genotype for adapting to food scarcity, prenatal programming by undernutrition, and postnatal exposure to obesogenic lifestyle. Observational studies in humans and experimental studies in animal models evidence that the adaptive responses of the offspring may be modulated by their sex. In the contemporary context of world globalization, the new question arising is the existence and extent of sex-related differences in developmental and metabolic traits in case of mixed-race. Hence, in the current study, using a swine model, we compared male and female fetuses that were crossbred from mothers with thrifty genotype and fathers without thrifty genotype. Female conceptuses evidence stronger protective strategies for their adequate growth and postnatal survival. In brief, both male and female fetuses developed a brain-sparing effect but female fetuses were still able to maintain the development of other viscerae than the brain (mainly liver, intestine and kidneys) at the expense of carcass development. Furthermore, these morphometric differences were reinforced by differences in nutrient availability (glucose and cholesterol) favoring female fetuses with severe developmental predicament. These findings set the basis for further studies aiming to increase the knowledge on the interaction between genetic and environmental factors in the determination of adult phenotype.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adiposity
  • Animals
  • Body Weight
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Female
  • Fetal Development / physiology*
  • Fetus / metabolism
  • Male
  • Malnutrition / complications*
  • Malnutrition / pathology
  • Malnutrition / physiopathology*
  • Maternal-Fetal Exchange / physiology
  • Pregnancy
  • Pregnancy Complications / pathology
  • Pregnancy Complications / physiopathology*
  • Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / etiology
  • Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / physiopathology
  • Sex Characteristics*
  • Sus scrofa

Grants and funding

The experimental work was supported by funds from the Ministry of Science and Innovation (project AGL2010-21991-C03-03) and the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (project AGL2013-48121-C3-2-R to AGB), co-funded by FEDER. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.