Kimuraet al.,Science 367 , eaaw8429 (2020) 28 February 2020 8of12
Fig. 6. Propionate supplemen-
tation of pregnant mothers
results in offspring resistance
to obesity.(A) Experimental
scheme (left). Body weight
changes during HFD trial
(middle) (n= 11 to 13 animals
from four litters per group).
Tissue weight (right) (n=11to
13 tissues from four litters per
group). (B) Plasma glucose,
TGs, NEFAs, and total choles-
terol levels (n= 8 to 13 plasma
samples from four litters per
group). (C) Body temperature
(left) (n= 6 or 8 animals from
four litters per group) and heart
rate (right) (n= 6 or 9 animals
from four litters per group).
(D) TH expression in E18.5 whole
heart (n= 8 tissues of embryos
from three litters per group)
and representative Western
blots. (E)GcgmRNA expression
and GLP-1 protein levels in the
colon (E18.5) (left) (n= 8 tissues
of embryos from three litters
per group). Expression ofIns2
mRNA and insulin protein levels
in the pancreas (E18.5) (right)
(n= 8 tissues of embryos from
three litters per group).
(F) Plasma insulin (left) (n=
8 plasma samples of mothers
andn= 8 plasma samples
of embryos from eight litters per
group) and plasma glucose
(right) (n= 8 plasma samples
of mothers andn= 8 plasma
samples of embryos from eight
litters per group) levels in
mothers and embryos (E18.5).
Male mice were analyzed at
16 weeks of age [(A) to (C)].
Student’sttest [(A) to (F)];
*P< 0.01 and P<0.05.
Data are presented as means ±
SEM. LFi, offspring derived
from ICR LFi mothers; propio-
nate, offspring derived from
ICR propionate-supplemented
mothers [(A) to (C)].
20
Pancreatic insulin
(ng/mg tissues)
15
5
0
10
**
Relative mRNA expression
(Ins2
/18S
)1.5
1
0.5
0
2 *
Relative mRNA expression LFiPropionate LFiPropionate
(Gcg
/18S )
1.5
1
0.5
0
2 *
0
1
2
3
5
Colonic total GLP-1(pmol /mg tissues)
**
4
LFiPropionate LFiPropionate
D
B
C
LFiPropionate
0
36
38
40
Body temperature (
C) *
LFiPropionate
0
600
720
840
Heart rate (beats/min)
**
A
E
F
0
40
20
80
60
Body weight (g)
4 8 12 16
Weeks of age
LFi
Propionate
*
* **
LFiPropionate
0
100
200
300
Plasma glucose (mg/dL)
**
LFiPropionate
0
20
40
80
TGs (mg/dL)
*
60
LFiPropionate
0
0.1
0.2
0.4
NEFAs (mEq /L)
*
0.3
LFiPropionate
0
100
200
500
Total cholesterol (mg/dL)
**
300
400
Relative protein expression
(TH/
-actin)1.5
1
0.5
0
2.5 **
2
TH
- actin
LFiPropionate
epi peri sub liver
0
2
4
6
8
Tissue weight (g)
WAT
* ** **
LFi
Propionate
0
0.5
1.5
2
Mo E18.5
*
Insulin (ng/mL)
1
0
50
150
200
Mo E18.5
*
Plasma glucose (mg/dL)
100
Pregnancy
Conventional Mother
Conventional Foster MotherConventional Foster Mother
After weaning,
High-fat diet feeding
After weaning,
High-fat diet feeding
Conventional Mother
+5% propionatediets
Low-fiber diet SCFAs diet
RESEARCH | RESEARCH ARTICLE