Faculty Collaboration Database

Insulin sensitivity, leptin, adiponectin, resistin, and testosterone in adult male and female rats after maternal-neonatal separation and environmental stress. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 2018 Jan 01;314(1):R12-R21

Date

09/08/2017

Pubmed ID

28877872

DOI

10.1152/ajpregu.00271.2017

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-85043586994 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   21 Citations

Abstract

Care of premature infants often requires parental and caregiver separation, particularly during hypoxic and hypothermic episodes. We have established a neonatal rat model of human prematurity involving maternal-neonatal separation and hypoxia with spontaneous hypothermia prevented by external heat. Adults previously exposed to these neonatal stressors show a sex difference in the insulin and glucose response to arginine stimulation suggesting a state of insulin resistance. The current study used this cohort of adult rats to evaluate insulin resistance [homeostatic model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR)], plasma adipokines (reflecting insulin resistance states), and testosterone. The major findings were that daily maternal-neonatal separation led to an increase in body weight and HOMA-IR in adult male and female rats and increased plasma leptin in adult male rats only; neither prior neonatal hypoxia (without or with body temperature control) nor neonatal hypothermia altered subsequent adult HOMA-IR or plasma adiponectin. Adult male-female differences in plasma leptin were lost with prior exposure to neonatal hypoxia or hypothermia; male-female differences in resistin were lost in the adults that were exposed to hypoxia and spontaneous hypothermia as neonates. Exposure of neonates to daily hypoxia without spontaneous hypothermia led to a decrease in plasma testosterone in adult male rats. We conclude that neonatal stressors result in subsequent adult sex-dependent increases in insulin resistance and adipokines and that our rat model of prematurity with hypoxia without hypothermia alters adult testosterone dynamics.

Author List

Raff H, Hoeynck B, Jablonski M, Leonovicz C, Phillips JM, Gehrand AL

Author

Hershel Raff PhD Professor in the Academic Affairs department at Medical College of Wisconsin

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Adiponectin
Animals
Animals, Newborn
Anxiety, Separation
Biomarkers
Blood Glucose
Female
Hypothermia
Hypoxia
Insulin
Insulin Resistance
Leptin
Male
Maternal Deprivation
Rats, Sprague-Dawley
Resistin
Sex Factors
Testosterone