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Animal Models

Gut microbiota mediates the alleviative effect of polar lipids-enriched milk fat globule membrane on obesity-induced glucose metabolism disorders in peripheral tissues in rat dams

International Journal of Obesity volume 46, pages 793–801 (2022)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Background

Obesity during pregnancy and lactation not only increases the incidence of metabolic disorders and gestational diabetes in mothers, but also programs adiposity and related metabolic diseases in offspring. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of milk polar lipids on gut microbiota and glucose metabolism in high-fat diet (HFD)-fed rat dams.

Methods

Sprague Dawley (SD) female rats were fed a HFD for 8 weeks to induce obesity, followed by HFD with or without oral administration of polar lipids-enriched milk fat globule membrane (MFGM-PL) at 400 mg/kg BW during pregnancy and lactation. At the end of lactation, fresh fecal samples of dams were collected, the gut microbiota was assessed, and the insulin-signaling protein expression in peripheral tissues (adipose tissue, liver and skeletal muscle) were measured.

Results

MFGM-PL supplementation attenuated body weight gain, ameliorated serum lipid profiles and improved insulin sensitivity in obese dams at the end of lactation. 16 S rDNA sequencing revealed that MFGM-PL increased the community richness and diversity of gut microbiota. The composition of gut microbiota was also changed after MFGM-PL supplementation as shown by an increase in the ratio of Bacteroidetes/Firmicutes and the relative abundance of Akkermansia, as well as a decrease in the relative abundance of Ruminococcaceae. The functional prediction of microbial communities by PICRUSt analysis showed that there were 7 KEGG pathways related to carbohydrate metabolism changed after MFGM-PL supplementation to HFD dams, including glycolysis/gluconeogenesis and insulin signaling pathway. Furthermore, MFGM-PL improved insulin signaling in the peripheral tissues including liver, adipose tissue and skeletal muscle.

Conclusions

MFGM-PL supplementation during pregnancy and lactation improves the glucose metabolism disorders in HFD-induced obese dams, which may be linked to the regulation of gut microbiota induced by MFGM-PL.

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Fig. 1: Effects of MFGM-PL supplementation during pregnancy and lactation on glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity in HFD-fed rat dams.
Fig. 2: MFGM-PL supplementation during pregnancy and lactation improved the diversity of gut microbiota in HFD-fed rat dams.
Fig. 3: MFGM-PL supplementation during pregnancy and lactation modulated the composition of gut microbiota in HFD-fed rat dams.
Fig. 4: Comparison of microbial function prediction.
Fig. 5: Effects of MFGM-PL supplementation during pregnancy and lactation on insulin signaling in liver, adipose tissue and skeletal muscle of HFD-fed rat dams.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 31871806), and the Beijing Dairy Industry Innovation Team (BAIC06-2021).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Beijing Advanced Innovation Center for Food Nutrition and Human Health, Key Laboratory of Precision Nutrition and Food Quality, Key Laboratory of Functional Dairy, Ministry of Education, College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China

    Tiange Li, Qichen Yuan, Han Gong & Xueying Mao

  2. Department of Animal Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA, USA

    Min Du

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  1. Tiange Li
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TGL and XYM designed the study; TGL, QCY and HG conducted the experiments and statistical analyses; TGL and XYM wrote the manuscript; MD and XYM reviewed and edited the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Xueying Mao.

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Li, T., Yuan, Q., Gong, H. et al. Gut microbiota mediates the alleviative effect of polar lipids-enriched milk fat globule membrane on obesity-induced glucose metabolism disorders in peripheral tissues in rat dams. Int J Obes 46, 793–801 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-021-01029-4

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