Postnatal protein intake as a determinant of skeletal muscle structure and function in mice—a pilot study

Giakoumaki, I, Pollock, N, Aljuaid, T, Sannicandro, AJ, Alameddine, M, Myrtziou, I, Ozanne, SE, Kanakis, I and Vasilaki, A (2022) Postnatal protein intake as a determinant of skeletal muscle structure and function in mice—a pilot study. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 23 (15). ISSN 1661-6596

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Abstract

Sarcopenia is characterised by an age-related decrease in the number of muscle fibres and additional weakening of the remaining fibres, resulting in a reduction in muscle mass and function. Many studies associate poor maternal nutrition during gestation and/or lactation with altered skeletal muscle homeostasis in the offspring and the development of sarcopenia. The aim of this study was to determine whether the musculoskeletal physiology in offspring born to mouse dams fed a low-protein diet during pregnancy was altered and whether any physiological changes could be modulated by the nutritional protein content in early postnatal stages. Thy1-YFP female mice were fed <i>ad libitum</i> on either a normal (20%) or a low-protein (5%) diet. Newborn pups were cross-fostered to different lactating dams (maintained on a 20% or 5% diet) to generate three groups analysed at weaning (21 days): Normal-to-Normal (NN), Normal-to-Low (NL) and Low-to-Normal (LN). Further offspring were maintained <i>ad libitum</i> on the same diet as during lactation until 12 weeks of age, creating another three groups (NNN, NLL, LNN). Mice on a low protein diet postnatally (NL, NLL) exhibited a significant reduction in body and muscle weight persisting up to 12 weeks, unlike mice on a low protein diet only prenatally (LN, LNN). Muscle fibre size was reduced in mice from the NL but not LN group, showing recovery at 12 weeks of age. Muscle force was reduced in NLL mice, concomitant with changes in the NMJ site and changes in atrophy-related and myosin genes. In addition, μCT scans of mouse tibiae at 12 weeks of age revealed changes in bone mass and morphology, resulting in a higher bone mass in the NLL group than the control NNN group. Finally, changes in the expression of miR-133 in the muscle of NLL mice suggest a regulatory role for this microRNA in muscle development in response to postnatal diet changes. Overall, this data shows that a low maternal protein diet and early postnatal life low-protein intake in mice can impact skeletal muscle physiology and function in early life while postnatal low protein diet favours bone integrity in adulthood.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	maternal protein restriction; skeletal muscle; neuromuscular junction; offspring; microRNAs; Muscle, Skeletal; Animals; Humans; Mice; Diet, Protein-Restricted; Pilot Projects; Lactation; Pregnancy; Female; Maternal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Sarcopenia; maternal protein restriction; microRNAs; neuromuscular junction; offspring; skeletal muscle; Animals; Diet, Protein-Restricted; Female; Humans; Lactation; Maternal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Mice; Muscle, Skeletal; Pilot Projects; Pregnancy; Sarcopenia; 3101 Biochemistry and Cell Biology; 31 Biological Sciences; 3404 Medicinal and Biomolecular Chemistry; 34 Chemical Sciences; 3107 Microbiology; Pediatric Research Initiative; Sarcopenia; Breastfeeding, Lactation and Breast Milk; Aging; Nutrition; Women's Health; Prevention; 2.1 Biological and endogenous factors; 1.1 Normal biological development and functioning; Reproductive health and childbirth; Musculoskeletal; 2 Zero Hunger; Animals; Diet, Protein-Restricted; Female; Humans; Lactation; Maternal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Mice; Muscle, Skeletal; Pilot Projects; Pregnancy; Sarcopenia; 0399 Other Chemical Sciences; 0604 Genetics; 0699 Other Biological Sciences; Chemical Physics; 3101 Biochemistry and cell biology; 3107 Microbiology; 3404 Medicinal and biomolecular chemistry
Subjects:	R Medicine > RS Pharmacy and materia medica
Divisions:	Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences
Publisher:	MDPI AG
Date of acceptance:	27 July 2022
Date of first compliant Open Access:	9 October 2026
Date Deposited:	09 Oct 2026 15:06
Last Modified:	09 Oct 2026 15:06
DOI or ID number:	10.3390/ijms23158815
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/29645

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