Postnatal feeding with high-fat combined with high-glucose diet induces precocious puberty in Sprague‒Dawley rat pups

• Published in: Biochemical and biophysical research communications Vol. 693; p. 149199
• Main Authors: Huang, Xiao-Yan, Chen, Ji-Xiong, Ren, Yi, Luo, Hai-Ling, Xiang, Wei, He, Xiao-Jie, Li, Ting-Yu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 22.01.2024
• Subjects: adiponectin; animal models; blood serum; cell cycle; diet; economic development; estradiol; females; gonadotropin-releasing hormone; leptin; luteinizing hormone; obesity; overnutrition; puberty; rats; uterus; Obesity; High-glucose diet; GnRH; High-fat diet; Precocious puberty
• ISSN: 0006-291X; 1090-2104; 1090-2104
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bbrc.2023.149199

With economic development and overnutrition, including high-fat diets (HFD) and high-glucose diets (HGD), the incidence of obesity in children is increasing, and thus, the incidence of precocious puberty is increasing. Therefore, it is of great importance to construct a suitable animal model of overnutrition-induced precocious puberty for further in-depth study. Here, we fed a HFD, HGD, or HFD combined with a HGD to pups after P-21 weaning, while weaned pups fed a normal diet served as the control group. The results showed that HFD combined with a HGD increased the body weight (BW) of weaned rat pups. In addition, a HFD, HGD, and HFD combined with a HGD lowered the age at which vaginal opening occurred and accelerated the vaginal cell cycle. Furthermore, a HFD combined with a HGD increased the weight of the uterus and ovaries of weaned rat pups. Additionally, a HFD combined with a HGD promoted the development of reproductive organs in weaned female rat pups. Ultimately, a HFD combined with a HGD was found to elevate the serum levels of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH), luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), leptin, adiponectin, and oestradiol (E2) and increase hypothalamic GnRH, Kiss-1, and GPR54 expression levels in weaned female rat pups. The current study found that overnutrition, such as that through a HFD combined with HGD, could induce precocious puberty in weaned female rat pups. In addition, a rat model of overnutrition-induced precocious puberty was established.