Abstract
Growth rate and fatty acid (FA) metabolism were evaluated in the first 3½ days of life in rats as a function of degree of intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) and of postnatal nutrition. IUGR (mild, BW≤1 SD and severe, BW≤2 SD) was produced by uterine artery ligation on 18th day of gestation, and controls were sham operated. Food intake was manipulated by varying the litter size per dam; n=16 for underfeeding, n=10 for normal feeding and n=4 for overfeeding. The growth rate in the control pups was reduced by underfeeding while overfeeding and normal feeding resulted in the same rate. The mild IUGR responded the same way as in control. In severe IUGR group, the growth rate was similar regardless of the feeding protocol. The fatty acid content in carcass was reduced as a result of either prenatal or postnatal undernutrition in spite of a higher fatty acid synthesis rate (FASR) (tritiated water technique). In liver and lung, there was no difference in FASR between controls and IUGR and feeding did not influence the rate; the fat content was lower in under fed control and in IUGR rats. In the brain, FASR of normal fed IUGR was markedly higher and the rate almost doubled in underfed IUGR. This was accompanied by significantly less FA contents in both normal fed and under fed IUGR group. We conclude that postnatal undernutrition retards postnatal growth of normal and mildly affected IUGR rats, but no additional growth retardation was observed in the severely affected IUGR pups. The changes in fatty acid metabolism in various organs studied were consistent with the alterations in growth.
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Cha, CJ., Oh, W. 246 GROWTH AND FATTY ACID METABOLISM IN EXPERIMENTAL INTRAUTERINE GROWTH RETARDATION: EFFECTS OF POSTNATAL NUTRITION. Pediatr Res 19, 151 (1985). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198504000-00276
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-198504000-00276