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Title: Effect of placental restriction and neonatal exendin-4 treatment on postnatal growth, adult body composition, and in vivo glucose metabolism in the sheep.

Authors: Liu, Hong; Schultz, Christopher G; De Blasio, Miles J; Peura, Anita M; Heinemann, Gary K; Harryanto, Himawan; Hunter, Damien S; Wooldridge, Amy L; Kind, Karen L; Giles, Lynne C; Simmons, Rebecca A; Owens, Julie A; Gatford, Kathryn L

Published In Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab, (2015 Sep 15)

Abstract: Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) increases the risk of adult type 2 diabetes (T2D) and obesity. Neonatal exendin-4 treatment can prevent diabetes in the IUGR rat, but whether this will be effective in a species where the pancreas is more mature at birth is unknown. Therefore, we evaluated the effects of neonatal exendin-4 administration after experimental restriction of placental and fetal growth on growth and adult metabolic outcomes in sheep. Body composition, glucose tolerance, and insulin secretion and sensitivity were assessed in singleton-born adult sheep from control (CON; n = 6 females and 4 males) and placentally restricted pregnancies (PR; n = 13 females and 7 males) and in sheep from PR pregnancies that were treated with exendin-4 as neonates (daily sc injections of 1 nmol/kg exendin-4; PR + exendin-4; n = 11 females and 7 males). Placental restriction reduced birth weight (by 29%) and impaired glucose tolerance in the adult but did not affect adult adiposity, insulin secretion, or insulin sensitivity. Neonatal exendin-4 suppressed growth during treatment, followed by delayed catchup growth and unchanged adult adiposity. Neonatal exendin-4 partially restored glucose tolerance in PR progeny but did not affect insulin secretion or sensitivity. Although the effects on glucose tolerance are promising, the lack of effects on adult body composition, insulin secretion, and insulin sensitivity suggest that the neonatal period may be too late to fully reprogram the metabolic consequences of IUGR in species that are more mature at birth than rodents.

PubMed ID: 26219868 Exiting the NIEHS site

MeSH Terms: Adiposity/drug effects*; Animals; Animals, Newborn; Blood Glucose/drug effects*; Blood Glucose/metabolism; Body Composition/drug effects; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/metabolism*; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/prevention & control; Disease Models, Animal; Endometrium/surgery; Exenatide; Female; Fetal Growth Retardation/metabolism*; Hypoglycemic Agents/pharmacology*; Insulin Resistance*; Insulin Secretion; Insulin/metabolism*; Peptides/pharmacology*; Pregnancy; Random Allocation; Sheep; Venoms/pharmacology*

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