Gestational Early-Time Restricted Feeding Results in Sex-Specific Glucose Intolerance in Adult Male Mice

Figure 1

Experimental protocol and timing. (a) Food availability and timing for dams during pregnancy. Food access began at ZT14 for early time-restricted feeding dams (eTRF, light gray, n = 8) and continued until ZT20, a total of 6 hours. Food was available 24 hours a day for ad libitum dams (AL, dark gray, n = 9). (b) Offspring experimental protocol. After birth, all dams had AL access to laboratory chow (NCD). Litters were reduced to 4 (2 males and 2 females when possible) on postnatal day (PND) 3.5. Offspring were weaned by a maternal-feeding regimen at PND 21 and maintained on AL NCD for 70 days. Weekly, body composition and food intake measurements were taken throughout the experiment. At 70 days of age, insulin tolerance tests (ITT: eTRF males = 9, eTRF females = 17, AL males = 18, and AL females = 19) and glucose tolerance tests (GTT: eTRF males = 4, eTRF females = 4, AL males = 7, and AL females = 6) were conducted before switching all animals to a 45% high-fat, high-sucrose diet (HFHS) with sucrose. Animals were on HFHS for 10 weeks before repeating ITT and GTT (eTRF males = 9, eTRF females = 18, AL males = 18, and AL females = 18) and an in vivo glucose-stimulated insulin secretion test (GSIS: eTRF males = 4, eTRF females = 4, AL males = 5, and AL females = 8). Animals were euthanized after these tests. Abbreviations: zeitgeber time (ZT); ZT0 = lights on; ZT12 = lights off.

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