The investigation of relationship between oro-gustatory perception of dietary lipids and spontaneous fat preference with maternal nutrition status in offspring Sprague Dawley rats

Recent studies have shown that lingual fatty acid receptors CD36 and GPR120 play an important role in the perception of fat taste and the preference for fatty food consumption. However, the relationship between these receptors and maternal nutrition is not known. The aim of this study was to investigate the change in the expression levels of lingual CD36 and GPR120 proteins in rats exposed to different concentrations of fat containing diets during gestation-lactation and maturation periods and to determine the possible effect of exposure of different fat-containing diets to the regulation of these receptors. In our study, rats were fed with low-fat, standard-fat and high-fat diets during the first stage of the study (gestation and lactation) and in the second stage of study (maturation). Daily caloric intake and weekly weight measurements of the rats were followed during the study. Afterwards, the fat perceptions and oily taste preferences of the rats were measured by two-bottle preference tests, blood and tongue tissues were taken and the experiment was terminated. In order to demonstrate the effect of nutritional status on the appetite regulation, the plasma insulin and leptin levels were measured by ELISA and blood glucose and triglyceride levels were measured by a metabolic meter. Expression levels of CD36 and GPR120 receptors on the tongue were determined by immunofluorescence staining and western blot methods. mRNA levels of these proteins were determined by RT-PCR. Our study shows that maternal high fat diet exposure increases the higher fatty solution preference and decreases lingual CD36 and GPR120 expression levels. These findings allow us to identify the dysregulation of the oro-sensorial signalling pathways through the diet in the maternal process and will contribute to the development of new anti-obesity strategies, especially for childhood obesity. The thesis student was supported with 2228-B program within the scope of Tubitak-Bideb 2211 Domestic PhD Scholarship Program. In addition, this project was supported by TUBITAK (117S384).