Conjugated linoleic Acid supplementation during pregnancy and lactation reduces maternal high-fat-diet-induced programming of early-onset puberty and hyperlipidemia in female rat offspring.

A maternal high-fat (HF) diet during pregnancy and lactation can result in adverse metabolic and reproductive outcomes in female offspring independent of postnatal diet. Interventions during critical windows of developmental plasticity may prevent developmental programming in offspring. The effects of maternal supplementation with the anti-inflammatory lipid conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) on early-onset puberty, metabolic dysfunction, and estrous cycle dysfunction was assessed. Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to a purified control diet (CD; 10% kcal from fat), CD with CLA (CLA; 10% kcal from fat, 1% CLA), HF (45% kcal from fat) or HF with CLA (HFCLA; 45% kcal from fat, 1% CLA). Diets were fed ad libitum for 10 days prior to time mating and throughout gestation and lactation. Offspring plasma/tissues were taken at Day 24 (prepubertal) or Day 150 (adult). Puberty was assessed from Day 26 and estrous cycle from Day 128. Female offspring from HF mothers had lower birth weights but by Postnatal Day 24 had exhibited catch-up growth concomitant with increased fat mass, hyperleptinemia, and dyslipidemia. Maternal CLA supplementation reversed these effects. Early-onset puberty was only observed in HF offspring; this was reversed in HFCLA offspring. In adulthood, despite no evidence of glucose intolerance or altered insulin sensitivity, HF offspring displayed increased fat mass, dyslipidemia, disrupted estrous cyclicity. and hyperleptinemia; this was reversed by maternal CLA supplementation. Data presented in this study demonstrate the importance of diet in women of reproductive age and during pregnancy on reproductive and metabolic parameters in their offspring and that supplementation with CLA during critical windows of development may represent a therapeutic strategy in the prevention of early-life programming of metabolic and reproductive dysfunction.