Regulation of fetal liver transcription by maternal nutritional stress

Pregnancy is a time of extreme metabolic demand that requires coordinated adaptations between mother and fetus. To determine the contributions of maternal and fetal metabolism to metabolic plasticity during gestation, mice with a liver-specific Carnitine Palmitoyltransferase-2 knockout mice (Cpt2-/-), or Pparα KO mice were subjected to late-gestation nutrient stress, a 24hr fast from E16.5 to E17.5. The fetal response to maternal fasting was dominated by maternal lipid metabolism as the loss of maternal hepatic fatty acid oxidation or Pparα signaling accelerated fetal liver transcriptional programing. These data show that maternal nutritional environment is a major driver of perinatal metabolic programing and plasticity. Examination of wild-type and Ppara KO E17.5 fetal liver following a 24hr fast in WT, Cpt2-/-, and Ppara KO dams, with 4 biological replicates each.