Presenter: Mai’ana Feuerborn
Faculty Mentor: Carrie McCurdy, Byron Hetrick
Presentation Type: Poster 61
Primary Research Area: Science
Major: Human Physiology
Funding Source: University of Oregon Undergraduate Mini-grant, $1,000
Maternal obesity and excessive gestational weight are linked to increased risk of obesity in offspring, suggesting that in utero exposure programs an organism’s metabolism for life. Studies in mice have shown exposure to a high calorie environment in utero causes more weight gain in offspring fed a high fat diet (HFD). Circadian rhythms create an internal temporal clock that coordinates behavior and metabolism to daily cycles. Disruption of circadian cycles leads to increased weight gain, suggesting that metabolic dysregulation observed in offspring of obese mothers may be due to altered circadian cycles. We hypothesized that offspring exposed to a high fat environment in utero will be more sensitive to postnatal HFD, with dampened circadian cycles, than mice exposed to a lean maternal environment in utero. To study the effect of diet on fetal programming, mice were subjected to either a HFD or control diet during gestation. Post weaning, the offspring were fed a HFD or control diet. Insulin controlled tissues were then collected at different times of the day. We propose to measure the effect of maternal diet on offspring by measuring the expression levels of key circadian genes by quantitative PCR. Understanding the role of fetal programming in metabolic regulation of metabolism will better help us understand and combat obesity in western society, and potentially understand the diseases increasing incidence.