Exposure to a Highly Caloric Palatable Diet During Pregestational and Gestational Periods Affects Hypothalamic and Hippocampal Endocannabinoid Levels at Birth and Induces Adiposity and Anxiety-Like Behaviors in Male Rat Offspring.

Ramírez-López, María TeresaVázquez, MariamBindila, LauraLomazzo, ErmelindaHofmann, ClementineBlanco, Rosario NoemíAlén, FranciscoAntón, MaríaDecara, JuanOuro, DanielOrio, LauraSuarez, JuanLutz, BeatRodríguez de Fonseca, FernandoGómez de Heras, Raquel2016-11-082016-11-082016-01-06Ramírez-López MT, Vázquez M, Bindila L, Lomazzo E, Hofmann C, Blanco RN, et al. Exposure to a Highly Caloric Palatable Diet During Pregestational and Gestational Periods Affects Hypothalamic and Hippocampal Endocannabinoid Levels at Birth and Induces Adiposity and Anxiety-Like Behaviors in Male Rat Offspring. Front Behav Neurosci. 2016; 9:339http://hdl.handle.net/10668/2502Journal Article;Exposure to unbalanced diets during pre-gestational and gestational periods may result in long-term alterations in metabolism and behavior. The contribution of the endocannabinoid system to these long-term adaptive responses is unknown. In the present study, we investigated the impact of female rat exposure to a hypercaloric-hypoproteic palatable diet during pre-gestational, gestational and lactational periods on the development of male offspring. In addition, the hypothalamic and hippocampal endocannabinoid contents at birth and the behavioral performance in adulthood were investigated. Exposure to a palatable diet resulted in low weight offspring who exhibited low hypothalamic contents of arachidonic acid and the two major endocannabinoids (anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycerol) at birth. Palmitoylethanolamide, but not oleoylethanolamide, also decreased. Additionally, pups from palatable diet-fed dams displayed lower levels of anandamide and palmitoylethanolamide in the hippocampus. The low-weight male offspring, born from palatable diet exposed mothers, gained less weight during lactation and although they recovered weight during the post-weaning period, they developed abdominal adiposity in adulthood. These animals exhibited anxiety-like behavior in the elevated plus-maze and open field test and a low preference for a chocolate diet in a food preference test, indicating that maternal exposure to a hypercaloric diet induces long-term behavioral alterations in male offspring. These results suggest that maternal diet alterations in the function of the endogenous cannabinoid system can mediate the observed phenotype of the offspring, since both hypothalamic and hippocampal endocannabinoids regulate feeding, metabolic adaptions to caloric diets, learning, memory, and emotions.enMaternal dietEndocannabinoidsAdipogenesisAnxietyDevelopmentHypothalamusHippocampusAdiposidadAnsiedadÁcido araquidónicoCacaoCannabinoidesDietaEmocionesEndocannabinoidesEtanolaminasPreferencias alimentariasGlicéridosHipocampoLactanciaMasculinoExposición maternaMadresÁcidos oléicosÁcidos palmíticosFenotipoAlcamidas poliinsaturadasRatasDesteteMedical Subject Headings::Analytical, Diagnostic and Therapeutic Techniques and Equipment::Diagnosis::Diagnostic Techniques and Procedures::Physical Examination::Body Constitution::Body Weights and Measures::Body Fat Distribution::AdiposityMedical Subject Headings::Psychiatry and Psychology::Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms::Emotions::AnxietyMedical Subject Headings::Chemicals and Drugs::Lipids::Fatty Acids::Fatty Acids, Unsaturated::Arachidonic AcidsMedical Subject Headings::Organisms::Eukaryota::Plants::Viridiplantae::Streptophyta::Embryophyta::Angiosperms::Sterculiaceae::CacaoMedical Subject Headings::Chemicals and Drugs::Organic Chemicals::Hydrocarbons::Terpenes::CannabinoidsMedical Subject Headings::Phenomena and Processes::Physiological Phenomena::Nutritional Physiological Phenomena::DietMedical Subject Headings::Psychiatry and Psychology::Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms::EmotionsMedical Subject Headings::Chemicals and Drugs::Chemical Actions and Uses::Pharmacologic Actions::Physiological Effects of Drugs::Hormones, Hormone Substitutes, and Hormone Antagonists::Hormones::EndocannabinoidsMedical Subject Headings::Chemicals and Drugs::Organic Chemicals::Amines::Amino Alcohols::EthanolaminesMedical Subject Headings::Psychiatry and Psychology::Behavior and Behavior Mechanisms::Behavior::Feeding Behavior::Food PreferencesMedical Subject Headings::Chemicals and Drugs::Lipids::GlyceridesMedical Subject Headings::Anatomy::Nervous System::Central Nervous System::Brain::Limbic System::HippocampusMedical Subject Headings::Phenomena and Processes::Reproductive and Urinary Physiological Phenomena::Reproductive Physiological Phenomena::Postpartum Period::LactationMedical Subject Headings::Check Tags::MaleMedical Subject Headings::Health Care::Environment and Public Health::Public Health::Environmental Pollution::Environmental Exposure::Maternal ExposureMedical Subject Headings::Named Groups::Persons::Parents::MothersMedical Subject Headings::Chemicals and Drugs::Lipids::Fatty Acids::Fatty Acids, Unsaturated::Fatty Acids, Monounsaturated::Oleic AcidsMedical Subject Headings::Chemicals and Drugs::Lipids::Fatty Acids::Palmitic AcidsMedical Subject Headings::Phenomena and Processes::Genetic Phenomena::PhenotypeMedical Subject Headings::Chemicals and Drugs::Organic Chemicals::Hydrocarbons::Hydrocarbons, Acyclic::Alkenes::Polyunsaturated AlkamidesMedical Subject Headings::Organisms::Eukaryota::Animals::Chordata::Vertebrates::Mammals::Rodentia::Muridae::Murinae::RatsMedical Subject Headings::Phenomena and Processes::Physiological Phenomena::Physiological Processes::Nutrition Processes::WeaningExposure to a Highly Caloric Palatable Diet During Pregestational and Gestational Periods Affects Hypothalamic and Hippocampal Endocannabinoid Levels at Birth and Induces Adiposity and Anxiety-Like Behaviors in Male Rat Offspring.research article26778987open access10.3389/fnbeh.2015.003391662-5153PMC4701936