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Prenatal melatonin reprograms liver injury in male pups caused by maternal exposure to a high-fat diet and microplastics.

Apoptosis : an international journal on programmed cell death
April 11, 2025
Yu-Jen Chen et al. (4 authors)
Journal ArticleAnimal Study
Study Details

Study Goal

The researchers aimed to determine whether prenatal melatonin could protect against liver injury in male rat pups caused by maternal exposure to a high-fat diet and microplastics.

Results Summary

Melatonin treatment significantly reduced liver lipid accumulation, apoptosis, inflammation, and oxidative stress while improving antioxidant enzyme activity and lipid metabolism in the pups. The findings suggest melatonin's hepatoprotective effects through anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, and lipid-regulating properties.

Population

Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats and their male offspring (evaluated on postnatal day 7).

Effective Dosage

Not specified

Duration

Prenatal administration (duration not specified)

Interactions

None mentioned

Extracted Claims (13)
InterventionDirectionEndpointPopulationDosageImpactClaim #
prenatal exposure to a high-fat diet (HFD)
increase
liver fat accumulation
offspring
-
impacted
#1
prenatal exposure to microplastics
increase
liver fat accumulation
offspring
-
impacted
#2
maternal exposure to a HFD and microplastics
increase
liver injury
male pups
-
resulted in
#3
HFD-microplastics group (HFD-Mi)
increase
liver lipid accumulation
pups
-
exhibited increased
#4
HFD-microplastics group (HFD-Mi)
increase
apoptosis
pups
-
exhibited elevated
#5
HFD-microplastics group (HFD-Mi)
increase
inflammation
pups
-
higher
#6
HFD-microplastics group (HFD-Mi)
increase
oxidative stress
pups
-
elevated
#7
melatonin treatment (HFD-Mi + M)
decrease
lipid accumulation
-
-
significantly reduced
#8
melatonin treatment (HFD-Mi + M)
decrease
apoptosis
-
-
significantly reduced
#9
melatonin treatment (HFD-Mi + M)
decrease
inflammation
-
-
significantly reduced
#10
melatonin treatment (HFD-Mi + M)
increase
antioxidant enzyme glutathione peroxidase activity
-
-
enhancing
#11
melatonin treatment (HFD-Mi + M)
increase
lipid metabolism
-
-
improving
#12
prenatal melatonin
decrease
liver injury caused by maternal HFD and microplastics
-
-
mitigates
#13
Abstract

Prenatal exposure to a high-fat diet (HFD) or microplastics can impact liver fat accumulation in offspring. This study investigates the protective effects of prenatal melatonin on liver injury in male pups resulting from maternal exposure to a HFD and microplastics. Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were fed either an HFD or a normal chow diet, with some groups exposed to microplastics alone or in combination with melatonin. Male pups were evaluated on postnatal day 7. Results indicated that pups in the HFD-microplastics group (HFD-Mi) exhibited increased liver lipid accumulation (observed in histological staining), apoptosis (elevated cleaved caspase 3, phospho-AKT, and TUNEL staining), inflammation (higher IL- 6 and TNF-α), and oxidative stress (elevated malondialdehyde). Conversely, melatonin treatment (HFD-Mi + M) significantly reduced these effects, including lipid accumulation, apoptosis, and inflammation, while enhancing antioxidant enzyme glutathione peroxidase activity and improving lipid metabolism (reduced SREBP- 1 expression). These findings suggest that prenatal melatonin mitigates liver injury caused by maternal HFD and microplastics through its anti-inflammatory, antioxidative, and lipid-regulating properties, underscoring its potential hepatoprotective role.

Study Links
Quality Scores
SafetyNot Assessed
Efficacy85/10
Quality75/10
Research Impact Scores
APT Score0.05
Weight Score1.25
Normalized Score0.69
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