Prematurity Alters the Feeding-Induced Activation of Signaling Components Towards AKT in Skeletal Muscle of Neonatal Piglets

Objectives Postnatal growth faltering is a common complication of premature birth. Our recent study in a neonatal pig model of prematurity showed that preterm birth reduces weight gain and protein synthesis in skeletal muscle and this is associated with blunted insulin-induced activation of signaling components downstream of AKT. However, prematurity does not affect the activation of the IR/IRS-1/PI3K axis. In this study, we aimed to identify components in the AKT signaling pathway in skeletal muscle that underlie the differential response to insulin between preterm and term pigs.