Maternal nutritional history modulates the hepatic IGF-IGFBP axis in adult male rat offspring

Abstract

Alterations in early life nutrition lead to an increased risk of obesity and metabolic syndrome in offspring. We have shown that both relative maternal under-nutrition (UN) and maternal obesity result in metabolic derangements in offspring, independent of the postnatal dietary environment. Since insulin-like growth factor binding protein 2 (IGFBP2) has been shown to be independently associated with obesity and diabetes risk, we examined the IGF-IGFBP axis in male rat offspring following either maternal UN or maternal obesity to explain possible common pathways in the development of metabolic disorders. Wistar rats were time-mated and fed either a control diet (CONT), 50 % of CONT (UN) or a h..