Role of fetal programming and epigenetic regulation on the development of endocrine and metabolic alterations: Effects of periconceptional maternal alcohol intake and a postnatal high-fat diet on obesity and liver disease in male and female rat offspring

Abstract

The effects of maternal alcohol consumption around the time of conception on offspring are largely unknown and difficult to determine in a human population. This study utilized a rodent model to examine if periconceptional alcohol (PC:EtOH) consumption, alone or in combination with a postnatal high-fat diet (HFD), resulted in obesity and liver dysfunction. Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a control or an ethanol-containing [12.5% (vol/vol) EtOH] liquid diet from 4 days before mating until 4 days of gestation (n = 12/group). A subset of offspring was fed a HFD between 3 and 8 mo of age. In males, PC:EtOH and HFD increased total body fat mass (PPC:EtOH < 0.05, PHFD < 0.0001); in females, only HFD ..