A maternal diet rich in fish oil may improve cardiac Akt-related signaling in the offspring of diabetic mother rats.

Abstract Objective Newborns of diabetic mothers have abnormal circulatory organs, so in this study, we explore insulin signaling in the newborn rat heart. Methods Pregnant rats were divided into streptozotocin-induced diabetic groups (DM) and control groups (CM). Rats were fed lard (21% fat), fish oil (21% fat), or a control diet (7% fat). To examine changes in insulin signaling in the hearts of infants of diabetic mothers (IDM) in relation to diet, we isolated the hearts from the IDM and control infants and determined the phosphorylation levels of Akt308, Akt473, p38, c-jun-NH2-terminal protein kinase (JNK), and extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase (ERK), and the expression levels of phosphoinositide-dependent protein kainase1 (PDK1) and mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). Results The mean blood glucose levels in the DM group and their infants were significantly higher than those in the CM group ( P P Thr 308 ( P Ser 473 and the expression levels of PDK1 and mTOR were lower in infants of diabetic mothers (IDM) than in control infants. The phosphorylation level of Akt Ser 473 and the expression level of mTOR increased in IDM fed the fish oil diet compared with those fed the lard diet ( P Conclusion A maternal diet rich in fish oil improves cardiac Akt-related signaling in the offspring of diabetic rats.