MedTrace Logo

Fetal Programming of Immune Response and Body Fat by Maternal Obesity

NCT04249635 · Status: COMPLETED · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 247

Last updated 2020-06-24

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

According to the Chilean National Health Survey 2009-2010, 60% of woman in reproductive age are overweight or obese with detrimental consequences on women as well as offspring´s health at long term.

New efforts are required to clarify how increased maternal body fat and obesity previous and during pregnancy impinge an increased cardiometabolic and obesity risk in the progeny. Nowadays it is clear that obesity in adults constitute a chronic state of sub-clinical inflammation characterized by an increased infiltration of monocytes in the adipose tissue as well as an imbalance between increased pro- (M1) and decreased anti- (M2) inflammatory macrophage polarization. Increased inflammatory markers have been found in obese children as young as 3 years of age, but if these markers are present at birth is completely unknown.

Therefore, unveiling the mechanisms implicated in the capability of monocytes to differentiate into pro-inflammatory macrophages at birth would contribute to establish early markers of the potential risk to develop cardio-metabolic diseases. In this context, modulation of M1-M2 polarization seems to be crucial for the development of altered immune response, and this process would be tightly regulated by epigenetic mechanisms.

On the other hand, long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LCPUFAs) play a role as precursors of cellular membrane components and modifiers, and as precursors of a plethora of signaling molecules that participates in cardiovascular, metabolic and immune functions. Additionally, DHA regulates gene expression in monocytes and macrophages altering the M1/M2 polarization. The supplementation with DHA in a high risk population of pregestational obese mothers, with known low n-3 intake, would have an important impact on newborn and infant % body fat. An improvement in the n-6/n-3 LCPUFA ratio during pregnancy in humans could represent a primary prevention strategy to revert fetal and neonatal high body fat and a healthy immune system maturation.

The hypothesis of this proposal is that neonates born from obese mothers supplemented with DHA during pregnancy show a reduction in specific markers of high-risk of obesity. These markers would be evidenced as a lower percent of body fat at birth and at 4 months of age, as well as the reversion of functional and epigenetic changes in neonatal monocytes at birth, compared to neonates from obese mothers with low DHA intake.

Conditions

Interventions

DIETARY_SUPPLEMENT

DHA

Women received supplementation of Based on Schizochytrium oil, 100% DHA (DSM) from 14 weeks of pregnancy until delivery.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Paola Casanello, Ph.D. · Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile

Eligibility

Min Age
24 Hours
Max Age
4 Months
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2016-06-09
Primary Completion
2020-03-30
Completion
2020-06-01

Countries

  • Chile

Study Locations

More Related Trials

Entities

Diseases

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT04249635 on ClinicalTrials.gov