Gestational High-Fat Diet Drives Premature Differentiation of Orexigenic Neurons and Reactivity of Astrocytes in the Fetal Rat Lateral Hypothalamus.

ABSTRACT: Background/Objectives: Gestational exposure to a high-fat diet (HFD) reprograms hypothalamic orexigenic circuits prenatally. However, whether astrocytes, critical modulators of this system, are also imprinted by HFD in the fetal brain remains unknown. We investigated the impact of HFD on the prenatal neuroglial architecture of the lateral hypothalamic area (LHA). Methods: Female Wistar rats were fed a control or a 60% fat diet for 12 weeks. Upon reaching obesity (Lee index ≥ 310), dams were mated. Fetuses were harvested via cesarean section at term, and their brains were processed for immunohistochemistry and morphometry to assess cell proliferation, orexin neuron density, and astrocytic reactivity in the LHA. Results: HFD significantly increased cell proliferation and

SUBMITTER: Galindo-Solano N 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12839396 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature