Prenatal melatonin reprograms liver injury in male pups caused by maternal exposure to a high-fat diet and microplastics.
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
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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 |
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.