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This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 579/3/823    most recent jphysiol.2006.124610v2 jphysiol.2006.124610v1 Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Hultman, K. Articles by Jansson, T. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Hultman, K. Articles by Jansson, T. Related Collections Cardiovascular

¹ Institute of Neuroscience and Physiology, The Sahlgrenska Academy, Göteborg University, Sweden
² Department of OB/GYN, University of Cincinnati, USA

An adequate supply of taurine during fetal life is important for normal beta-cell development and insulin action. An altered availability of taurine may programme glucose metabolism in utero and result in type 2 diabetes in adult age. We examined whether maternal taurine supplementation in late pregnant rats affects postnatal growth, adult body composition, insulin sensitivity and endogenous insulin secretion in intrauterine growth restricted (IUGR) and normal offspring. Uterine artery ligation or sham operations were performed on gestational day (GD) 19. Taurine supplementation was given to half of the dams from GD 18 until term, resulting in four groups of offspring: sham (n = 22), sham/taurine (n = 22), IUGR (n = 22) and IUGR/taurine (n = 24). The offspring were studied at 12 weeks of age. In offspring with normal birth weight, fetal taurine supplementation markedly stimulated postnatal growth. In sham/taurine females, fat depots, plasma free fatty acid and leptin concentrations were increased, and insulin sensitivity was reduced. Insulin sensitivity was unaltered in IUGR and IUGR/taurine offspring. However, whereas IUGR offspring showed little catch-up growth, 50% of IUGR/taurine animals displayed complete catch-up at 12 weeks of age, and these animals had increased fat depots and reduced insulin sensitivity. In conclusion, taurine supplementation in late gestation resulted in accelerated postnatal growth, which was associated with adult obesity and insulin resistance in both IUGR and normal offspring. This effect was particularly evident in females. These data suggest that fetal taurine availability is an important determinant for postnatal growth, insulin sensitivity and fat accumulation.

(Received 10 November 2006; accepted after revision 4 January 2007; first published online 4 January 2007)
Corresponding author K. Hultman: Department of Clinical Genetics, SU/Sahlgrenska, S-413 45, Göteborg, Sweden. Email: karin.hultman{at}neuro.gu.se