Maternal taurine supplementation in the late pregnant rat stimulates postnatal growth and induces obesity and insulin resistance in adult offspring

• An adequate supply of taurine during foetal life is important for normal beta-cell development and insulin action and an altered availability of taurine may program glucose metabolism in utero and result in type 2 diabetes in adult age. We examined whether maternal taurine supplementation in late pregnant rats affects postnatal growth, adult body composition, insulin sensitivity and endogenous insulin secretion in intra-uterine growth restricted (IUGR) and normal offspring. Uterine artery ligation or sham operations were performed on gestational day (GD) 19. Taurine supplementation was given to half of the dams from GD 18 until term resulting in four groups of offspring: sham (n= 22), sham/taurine (n= 22), IUGR (n= 22) and IUGR/taurine (n= 24). The offspring were studied at 12 wks of age. In offspring with normal birth weight, foetal taurine supplementation markedly stimulated postnatal growth. In sham/taurine females, fat depots, plasma free fatty acid and leptin concentrations were increased and insulin sensitivity was reduced. Insulin sensitivity was unaltered in IUGR and IUGR/taurine offspring. However, whereas IUGR offspring showed little catch-up growth, 50 % of IUGR/taurine animals displayed complete catch-up at 12 wks of age and these animals had increased fat depots and reduced insulin sensitivity. In conclusion, taurine supplementation in late gestation results in accelerated postnatal growth, which was associated with adult obesity and insulin resistance both in IUGR and normal offspring. This effect was particularly evident in females. These data suggest that foetal taurine availability is an important determinant for postnatal growth, insulin sensitivity and fat accumulation.

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