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Maternal low-fat and high-fat diet decreases survival and alters cytokine signaling in neonatal mice with Staphylococcus epidermidis sepsis
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Maternal low-fat and high-fat diet decreases survival and alters cytokine signaling in neonatal mice with Staphylococcus epidermidis sepsis

Lauren Bodilly, Sarah Weiner and Jennifer Bermick
bioRxiv
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
08/01/2025
DOI: 10.1101/2025.07.30.667518
PMCID: PMC12324520
PMID: 40766470
url
https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.07.30.667518View
Preprint (Author's original) This preprint has not been evaluated by subject experts through peer review. Preprints may undergo extensive changes and/or become peer-reviewed journal articles. Open Access

Abstract

Objective Maternal malnutrition increases susceptibility to sepsis and mortality in neonates. The reason for this increased susceptibility remains unknown. We aimed to evaluate bacterial burden and serum cytokine levels in septic neonatal mice born to dams with malnutrition. Methods 6-week-old C57BL/6 dams were placed on a low-fat (LFD) (10% kcal from fat), control (CD) (18% kcal from fat), or high-fat (HFD) (60% kcal from fat) diet for 3 weeks prior to breeding. Sepsis was induced in P4-P6 offspring via intraperitoneal Staphylococcus epidermidis injection. Mice were monitored for survival. At 12h after sepsis, serum and peritoneal wash fluid were collected for bacterial count and serum cytokine levels. In the absence of infection, P4-P6 offspring had untargeted serum metabolomics performed. Results Septic offspring of dams fed LFD and HFD had significantly higher mortality than offspring of dams fed CD. There was no difference in serum or peritoneal wash bacterial loads. Maternal diet and Staphylococcus epidermidis sepsis caused changes in basal serum cytokine levels, with HFD causing decreased cytokine elevation during sepsis. Maternal LFD and HFD altered similar metabolomic pathways in offspring. Conclusion Maternal LFD and HFD decrease survival during neonatal sepsis and alter serum cytokines and the metabolome, supporting a role for maternal nutrition in neonatal immune function and infection susceptibility.

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