Adequate diet is essential for female reproductive health (1). Importantly, poor maternal diet, such as low protein during pregnancy, impairs follicle development and reduces oocyte number in foetuses (2-4). However, the impact of maternal diet during lactation on ovarian follicle development in offspring is unknown. To begin to address this knowledge gap, donor pregnant mice (8-12-week-old) were fed a control diet from embryonic day 15 (E15) until pups were birthed at full term. Pregnant foster mothers (8-12-week-old) were fed one of ten diets from E15 to alter maternal milk composition (milk production starts 4 days before birth). Each diet varied in fat, carbohydrate and protein ratios, while maintaining source of each macronutrient. To isolate the impact of maternal diet on offspring to the lactational window, pups from donor mothers were cross-fostered from birth until post-natal day (PN) 21, when ovaries were collected and follicles counted (n=6-8 females/diet, from different mothers). The number of primordial, primary secondary and antral follicles was similar between control and all diets. However, there was significantly more antral follicle atresia in offspring from mothers on a high-carbohydrate low-protein diet (HCLPD) compared to offspring from mothers on the control diet (control: 41.63±11.85, HCLPD: 60.56±7.14; mean±SEM; t-test, p=0.012). While this project is ongoing, these preliminary results indicate that a high-carbohydrate low-protein maternal diet during lactation may compromise the survival of large hormone-producing follicles in offspring. Once we have a complete data set, the geometric framework of nutrition will be used to analyse the effect of different macronutrient compositions (5). Overall, these data provide the first insights into how maternal nursing nutrition impacts on ovarian function in offspring.
References: