The Metabolically Obese, Normal-Weight Phenotype in Young Rats Is Associated with Cognitive Impairment and Partially Preventable with Leptin Intake during Lactation.

ABSTRACT: The intake of high-fat diets (HFDs) and obesity are linked to cognitive impairment. Here, we aimed to investigate whether an early metabolically obese, normal-weight (MONW) phenotype, induced with an HFD in young rats, also leads to cognitive dysfunction and to evaluate the potential cognitive benefits of neonatal intake of leptin. To achieve this, Wistar rats orally received physiological doses of leptin or its vehicle during lactation, followed by 11 weeks of pair-feeding with an HFD or control diet post-weaning. Working memory was assessed using a T-maze, and gene expression in the hippocampus and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) was assessed with real-time RT-qPCR to identify cognition biomarkers. Young MONW-like rats showed hippocampal gene expression changes and decreased w

SUBMITTER: Cifre M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10778589 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature