Maternal Fat‐rich Diet Alters Vasodilatation Response in Adult Offspring

We have tested the idea that maternal over‐nutrition during pregnancy alters vasodilator signaling pathways in the adult offspring. Female mice were fed either a high fat (HF, 45%) or chow (C) diet for 6 weeks pre‐conception, throughout pregnancy and suckling. After weaning, male offspring were fed the same diet as their dams or switched to the alternative diet to give four dietary groups (CC, HFC, CHF and HFHF), studied at 15 weeks of age. Relaxation to ACh applied topically to cremaster arterioles was attenuated in the CHF and HFC offspring compared to CC. L‐NAME and indomethacin reduced the relaxation in CC offspring by 29% and CHF by 74%, while the HFC and HFHF were unaffected. The specific inhibitors of the SK(Ca) and IK(Ca) channels, apamin and TRAM‐34, abolished the response in the HFC and HFHF groups as well as the residual responses in the CC and CHF groups. These data suggest that the developmental environment results in a shift in ACh‐mediated relaxation from a NO pathway to one that requires opening of Ca‐activated K channels.Supported by the BHF