Maternal high-fat diet and its multigenerational impact on hypertension and metabolic alterations in Wistar rat offspring.

This study investigates the impact of maternal high-fat diet (HFD) on the development of hypertension and associated metabolic changes in offspring across multiple generations of Wistar rats. Pregnant female rats were assigned to either a normal standard diet or a HFD during gestation. We assessed body weight, heart weight, systolic blood pressure (SBP), catechol-O-methyl transferase (COMT), and vanillyl mandelic acid (VMA) in first, second, and third-generation offspring. Our findings revealed that HFD offspring exhibited significantly elevated SBP compared to controls in all generations, with the most pronounced increase in F1. In addition, plasma EP, NE, and urinary VMA were markedly increased in F1, attenuated in F2, and remained elevated though less pronounced in F3. Also, the cardiac COMT expression was downregulated in all HFD offspring, most strongly in F1. Furthermore, the body weights were significantly higher in F1 compared to controls, whereas differences were minimal in F2 and F3. Moreover, dyslipidemia (elevated TC, TG, LDL; reduced HDL) was observed in F1 and partially persisted in F2 and F3. Finally, histopathological analysis revealed cardiac hypertrophy, cytoplasmic vacuolation, and pyknotic nuclei in F1, with milder alterations in F2 and F3. These results suggest that maternal HFD during pregnancy might affect the offspring cardiovascular health, potentially mediated by alterations in catecholamine dynamics. The study underscores the importance of maternal nutrition in the context of fetal programming and its implications for the prevention of hypertension and related metabolic disorders in future generations.