Location: Children's Nutrition Research Center
Project Number: 3092-10700-067-000-D
Project Type: In-House Appropriated
Start Date: Mar 4, 2024
End Date: Mar 3, 2029
Objective:
The most demanding and vulnerable point for nutrition in the life cycle is pregnancy. Additionally, lactation is also a physiological state that requires a profound increase in energy demand to meet the nutritional requirements of the mother and the offspring. To address these critical points of nutritional importance researchers will conduct the following objectives: 1) determine the role of estrogen receptor alpha (ERalpha) in the hypothalamic control of lactation-mediated alterations of thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue and metabolic adaptions; 2) determine the acute impact of lactation on the maternal hepatic and intestine metabolome and liver-gut signaling axis; 3) determine the long-term metabolic effect of lactation on susceptibility to metabolic syndrome; 4) determine whether supplementary feeding of malnourished pregnant women with added docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and choline prolongs gestation and improves offspring cognition; and 5) determine effects of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and choline supplementation on cord blood and placental indicators of DHA status and trafficking.
Approach:
A multi-discipline approach will be undertaken to address these nutritional concerns. We will use genetically modified mouse models to determine the impact of central and peripherally regulated metabolism in dams at various stages of lactation. These studies will identify novel neuroendocrine mechanisms that impact maternal feeding behaviors and energy utilization, cholesterol metabolism and glucose homeostasis, and long-term metabolic adaptation that are essential for lactation. Additionally, we will conduct a randomized, investigator-blinded, controlled clinical trial to determine whether supplementary feeding of malnourished pregnant women with added docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), and choline (maternal ready-to-use supplementary food +, M-RUSF+) prolongs gestation compared with M-RUSF without added DHA, EPA, and choline (M-RUSF).
