Grain versus AIN: Common rodent diets differentially affect health outcomes in adult C57BL/6j mice.

Semi-synthetic and grain-based diets are common rodent diets for biomedical research. Both diet types are considered nutritionally adequate to support breeding, growth, and long life, yet there are fundamental differences between them that may affect metabolic processes. We have characterized the effects of diet type on breeding outcomes, metabolic phenotype, and microbiota profile in adult mice.

Beyond ingredients: Supramolecular structure of lipid droplets in infant formula affects metabolic and brain function in mouse models.

Human milk beneficially affects infant growth and brain development. The supramolecular structure of lipid globules in human milk i.e.

Macrosomia and large for gestational age in Asia: One size does not fit all.

Macrosomia, usually defined as infant birth weight of ≥4000 g, does not consider gestational age, sex, or country/region-specific differences in mean birth weight and maternal body weight. This issue is particularly relevant for Asia, where 60% of the world's population lives, due to variations in maternal size and birth weights across populations. Large for gestational age (LGA), defined as birth weight > 90th centile, is a more sensitive measure as it considers gestational age and sex, though it is dependent on the choice of growth charts.

Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Is Associated with Age-Specific Alterations in Markers of Adiposity in Offspring: A Narrative Review.

Maternal hyperglycemia alters an offspring's metabolic health outcomes, as demonstrated by the increased risk for obesity, impaired glucose handling and diabetes from early childhood onwards. Infant growth patterns are associated with childhood adiposity and metabolic health outcomes and, as such, can be used as potential markers to detect suboptimal metabolic development at an early age. Hence, we aimed to assess whether gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) has an impact on offspring growth trajectories.

Targeting the gut microbiota to influence brain development and function in early life.

In the first 2-3 years of life, the gut microbiota of infants quickly becomes diverse and rich. Disruptions in the evolving gut microbiota during this critical developmental period can impact brain development. Communication between the microbiota, gut and brain is driven by hormonal and neural regulation, as well as immune and metabolic pathways, however, our understanding of how the parallel developments that may underlie this communication are limited.

Prevalence, cause and diagnosis of lactose intolerance in children aged 1-5 years: a systematic review of 1995-2015 literature.

Background And Objectives: To assess the prevalence, etiology, diagnosis of primary and secondary lactose intolerance (LI), including age of onset, among children 1-5 years of age. Suspected/perceived lactose intolerance can lead to dietary restrictions which may increase risk of future health issues.

Methods And Study Design: MEDLINE, CAB Abstract, and Embase were searched for articles published from January 1995-June 2015 related to lactose intolerance in young children.

The Cross-Sectional Association of Energy Intake and Dietary Energy Density with Body Composition of Children in Southwest China.

Objective: We examined whether dietary energy intake (EI) and dietary energy density (ED) were cross-sectionally associated with body composition of children living in Southwest China.

Design And Methods: Multivariate regression analyses were performed on three day, 24 h dietary recall data and information on potential confounders from 1207 participants aged 8-14 years. EI was calculated from all foods and drinks and ED was classified into five categories.

Additive effects of maternal iron deficiency and prenatal immune activation on adult behaviors in rat offspring.

Both iron deficiency (ID) and infection are common during pregnancy and studies have described altered brain development in offspring as a result of these individual maternal exposures. Given their high global incidence, these two insults may occur simultaneously during pregnancy. We recently described a rat model which pairs dietary ID during pregnancy and prenatal immune activation.

Do prenatal immune activation and maternal iron deficiency interact to affect neurodevelopment and early behavior in rat offspring?

Infection and iron deficiency are common during pregnancy and studies have described altered brain development in the offspring as a result of these individual maternal exposures. Both exposures have been identified as risk factors for schizophrenia yet they have never been modeled simultaneously. We developed a rat model of prenatal immune activation on a background of maternal iron deficiency to determine whether these factors interact to affect neurodevelopment and early behavior in offspring.

Prenatal and postnatal animal models of immune activation: relevance to a range of neurodevelopmental disorders.

Epidemiological evidence has established links between immune activation during the prenatal or early postnatal period and increased risk of developing a range of neurodevelopment disorders in later life. Animal models have been used to great effect to explore the ramifications of immune activation during gestation and neonatal life. A range of behavioral, neurochemical, molecular, and structural outcome measures associated with schizophrenia, autism, cerebral palsy, and epilepsy have been assessed in models of prenatal and postnatal immune activation.

Comparison of direct and Doppler arterial blood pressure measurements in rabbits during isoflurane anaesthesia.

Objective: To measure the level of agreement between Doppler measured (DOP) arterial blood pressure (ABP) in the forelimb and directly measured (DIR) auricular systolic ABP (SAP) and mean ABP (MAP) in isoflurane-anaesthetized rabbits.

Study Design: Prospective clinical study.

Animals: Data were analysed from 17 of 24 healthy rabbits, weighing 1.

A stereological comparison of GAD67 and reelin expression in the hippocampal stratum oriens of offspring from two mouse models of maternal inflammation during pregnancy.

Epidemiological evidence suggests that maternal infection during pregnancy may be a risk factor for schizophrenia and autism. Altered expression of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD67) and reelin in the hippocampus has been reported in post-mortem studies of people with schizophrenia or autism. We used two mouse models of maternal inflammation, featuring either the viral RNA mimic, poly (I:C), or the bacterial endotoxin, lipopolysaccharide (LPS), to compare effects of maternal inflammation on GAD67 and reelin expression in the hippocampal stratum oriens of juvenile mice.

Prenatal exposure to bacterial endotoxin reduces the number of GAD67- and reelin-immunoreactive neurons in the hippocampus of rat offspring.

Epidemiological studies implicate prenatal infection as a risk factor for the development of schizophrenia and autism. Subjects with schizophrenia and autism are reported to exhibit reduced levels of glutamic acid decarboxylase 67 (GAD67), a marker for GABA neurons, in various brain regions. Reduced levels of reelin, a secretory glycoprotein present in a subpopulation of GABA neurons, have also been found in these disorders.

Developmental vitamin D3 deficiency induces alterations in immune organ morphology and function in adult offspring.

Vitamin D3 deficiency and insufficiency are common in women of child-bearing age. This may be cause for concern because vitamin D3 is a well known regulator of immune function and epidemiological evidence has suggested that immune disorders, including autoimmune diseases, could have developmental origins. However, it is not known whether a developmental deficiency in vitamin D3 could lead to persistent changes in the immune system in adult offspring.

Autophagy generates retrogradely transported organelles: a hypothesis.

Nerve cells require trophic signals transmitted from the nerve terminal via the axon in order to survive and develop normally. As the axon may be more than a meter long, specialised mechanisms are needed to transmit these signals. This involves the retrograde axonal transport of signalling endosomes containing nerve growth factor (NGF) and other synaptically derived molecules.