Adverse Metabolic Phenotypes in Parenterally Fed Neonatal Pigs Do Not Persist into Adolescence

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Background: Nutrition during fetal and neonatal life is an important determinant for the risk of adult-onset diseases, especially type 2 diabetes and obesity. Objectives: We aimed to determine whether total parenteral nutrition (TPN) compared with enteral formula feeding [enteral nutrition (EN)] in term piglets during the first 2 wk after birth would increase the long-term (5-mo) development of metabolic syndrome phenotypes with adverse glucose homeostasis, fatty liver disease, and obesity. Methods: Neonatal female pigs were administered TPN (n = 12) or fed enterally with a liquid enteral milk-replacer formula (EN, n = 12) for 14 d. After transitioning TPN pigs to enteral feeding of liquid formula (days 15–26), both groups were adapted to a solid high-fat diet (30% of the total diet) and sucrose (20% of the total diet) diet (days 27–33), which was fed until the end of the study (140 d). Body composition was measured by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry at 14, 45, and 140 d. Serum biochemistry and glucose-insulin values (after a fasting intravenous glucose tolerance test) were obtained at 140 d. Liver and muscle were analyzed for insulin receptor signaling and triglycerides. Results: Body weight was similar, but percent fat was higher, whereas percent lean and bone mineral density were lower in TPN than in EN pigs (P < 0.01) at 45 d of age but not at 140 d. At 140 d, there were no differences in serum markers of liver injury or lipidemia. Intravenous glucose tolerance test at 140 d showed a lower (P < 0.05) AUC for both glucose and insulin in TPN than in EN pigs, but the ratio of AUCs of insulin and glucose was not different between groups. Conclusions: Administration of TPN during the neonatal period increased adipose deposition that transiently persisted in early adolescence when challenged with a high-fat diet but was not sustained or manifested as glucose intolerance.

Original languageEnglish
JournalJournal of Nutrition
Volume154
Issue number2
Pages (from-to)638-647
Number of pages10
ISSN0022-3166
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024

    Research areas

  • insulin resistance, neonatal programming, obesity, pig, total parenteral nutrition

ID: 390191877