Maternal Weight Intervention in the Perinatal Period Improves Liver Health in the Offspring of Mothers with Obesity

Abstract

Early-life exposure to maternal obesity predisposes offspring to metabolic-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD). This study aimed to determine if peripartum weight loss, either through dietary intervention or pharmacological intervention, improved adverse liver health outcomes in the offspring of mothers with obesity. C57Bl/6 dams were fed a chow diet or a high-fat diet (HFD) for 8 weeks. HFD-fed mice either continued HFD, transitioned to a chow diet, or were administered liraglutide for 4 weeks. Pregnancy was induced following a one-week washout of liraglutide during which all animals remained on their respective diets. A proportion of HFD-fed mice transitioned to a chow diet during pregnancy. All offspring were weaned to the HFD. Offspring anthropometric, metabolic, and hepatic outcomes were assessed at postnatal week 12. The offspring of mothers with obesity had phenotypic changes consistent with MAFLD. The offspring of mothers that had weight loss with perinatal dietary intervention had reduced insulin resistance (p < 0.001) and hepatic expression of markers of inflammation (p < 0.001), oxidative stress (p < 0.05), and fibrosis (p < 0.05). A similar phenotype was observed in the offspring of mothers with pre-pregnancy weight loss via liraglutide despite ongoing consumption of the HFD during pregnancy. All methods and timing of maternal weight intervention were effective at ameliorating adverse liver effects in the offspring.