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The multi‐coloured guinea pig is a novel animal model to study the effects of intrauterine growth restriction on bone and body composition
Author(s) -
Burr Laura Lynn,
Weiler Hope
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.21.5.a124-a
Subject(s) - offspring , medicine , fetus , in utero , bone mineral , intrauterine growth restriction , calorie , calorie restriction , physiology , bone density , lean body mass , endocrinology , pregnancy , body weight , biology , osteoporosis , genetics
Compromised intrauterine nutrition predisposes a fetus to obesity and low bone mass in later life. Design of health interventions to attenuate these sequelea requires the use of animal models of fetal programming. Restricting calorie or protein intake in pregnant rats is most widely used to induce fetal programming. However, the health characteristics of offspring are variable and inconsistently mirror observations in humans. Thus, the objective of this study was to restrict protein intake in pregnant guinea pigs (N=40) to 50% of requirements and observe the effects on body composition and bone, since guinea pigs mineralize bone in utero. Dual energy x‐ray absorptiometry scans were conducted on d 3 and 21 of life and one‐way ANOVA (P<0.05) was used to determine differences between groups. At birth, body weight and length of protein‐restricted (PR) pups in comparison to controls was 30% lower and lean body mass was reduced by 20%. Femoral, tibia, and lumbar spine bone mineral content (BMC) and density (BMD) were 15–30% lower in PR pups than controls. Moreover, whole body BMC and BMD were significantly compromised in PR offspring and this persisted at d 21 of life. Thus, the intrauterine PR guinea pig displays health traits very alike the human small for gestational age neonate. Further investigation is needed to determine whether associated health parameters, such as blood glucose control, are also abnormal. NSERC funded.