Impaired insulin secretion in perfused pancreases isolated from offspring of protein malnourished rats
M.P.G. BARNETT, A.R.J. PHILLIPS, P.M. HARRIS AND G.J.S. COOPER
Proceedings of the New Zealand Society of Animal Production 66: 77-82.
Insufficient maternal protein intake may contribute to changes in carbohydrate metabolism and subsequent diabetes mellitus in adult mammalian progeny. Here, female rats (a model of mammalian metabolism) were fed throughout pregnancy and lactation with otherwise-complete isocaloric diets sufficient (20% whey protein, control (C)) or insufficient (5% whey protein, low-protein (LP)) in protein. From weaning, all offspring ate diet C. Weight gain of LP mothers during gestation was less than C mothers (C: 117 g vs. LP: 78 g, SED = 9, P<0.001). There was no difference in offspring birth weight, total weight gain or food consumption. Total insulin secretion from perfused pancreases isolated from LP offspring was decreased (C: 162 pmol vs. LP: 64 pmol, SED = 28, P<0.001), while studies in skeletal muscle demonstrated no difference in insulin sensitivity between the two groups. We conclude that dietary protein insufficiency in female rats during pregnancy and lactation can evoke a persistent functional abnormality in the endocrine pancreas of the progeny independent of bodyweight. This result is compared to previously published data, and the relevance to animal production is discussed.
Keywords: NZSAPAB; protein; programming; insulin; endocrine pancreas; rat.
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