Early life high fructose impairs microglial phagocytosis and neurodevelopment.

ABSTRACT: Despite the success of fructose as a low-cost food additive, epidemiological evidence suggests that high fructose consumption during pregnancy or adolescence is associated with disrupted neurodevelopment^1-3. An essential step in appropriate mammalian neurodevelopment is the phagocytic elimination of newly formed neurons by microglia, the resident professional phagocyte of the central nervous system⁴. Whether high fructose consumption in early life affects microglial phagocytosis and whether this directly affects neurodevelopment remains unknown. Here we show that offspring born to female mice fed a high-fructose diet and neonates exposed to high fructose exhibit decreased phagocytic activity in vivo. Notably, deletion of the high-affinity fructose transporter GLUT5 (a

SUBMITTER: Wang Z 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7617807 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature