Effects of maternal feed intake restriction on the blood parameters, fatty acid profile and lipogenetic genes expression of perirenal fat in offspring kids

Fifty-three goats (45 ± 3 d of pregnancy, Xiangdong black goat) were selected and randomly assigned into two groups: the control group (fed 100% of nutrient requirements, n = 25) and the restriction group (fed 60% of the control group during d 45–100 of gestation, n = 28). All animals were penned individually, and this protocol lasted from d 45–100 of gestation. Blood and PAT were collected from the fetuses (at d 100 of gestation) and kids (at d 90 after birth). Maternal undernutrition (at d 45 to d 100) decreases heart and kidney weight of kid goats after birth. Maternal undernutrition decreased the content of leptin in the umbilical cord blood of fetuses. The expression of uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1) was decreased in fetal PAT of the restriction group, but fatty acid synthetase (FASN) was increased. Protein abundance of UCP1 and FASN was down-regulated in the fetal PAT from the restriction group. Furthermore, only the methylation level of the CpG site (from − 756 to − 757 bp) in the promoter region of FASN gene was increased for the fetal PAT from the restriction group. All data were analyzed using IBM SPSS statistical software (version 25). Data from the dams were analyzed using an independentsamples Studentrsquo;s t-test. The differences in growth performance and visceral organ mass were examined by a repeated mixed model with treatment, sex and litter size as the fixed factors and the birth weight of the kids as the covariate. The estimation method was the Restricted Maximum Likelihood (REML). The data on blood biochemistry and fatty acid profile were analyzed by a mixed model with treatment, sex and litter size as the fixed factors and the initial BW of the dams as the covariate. The results were expressed as means and standard error of the mean (SEM).