S156 Posters

Results: Maternal HF diet with or without statins treatment

resulted in significant reduction in the femur and tibia length in

male offspringp < 0. Significant reductions in bone strength were

observed in offspring from HF+statin damsp < 0. Offspring from HF-

and C-fed dams and themselves fed HF diet showed significant

reductions in bone pliabilityp < 0. Offspring from HF dams with

or without statin showed reduced stress at fracture and increase

femoral bone marrow adiposityp < 0. & We also found reduced

trabecular thickness and increased bone area/volume ratiop < 0 in

HF-fed offspring from C or HF+statin dams.

Conclusions: These data show alteration of male offspring bone

structure related to both maternal and offspring dietary fat levels.

Given increasing adiposity in the developed world, such bone

alterations require further investigation.

P2-96 Alteration of fetal bone structure by a maternal

low protein diet

S.A. Lanham1 *, C. Roberts1, S.P. Bagby2, C. Cooper1,

R.O.C. Oreffo1. 1Bone and Joint Research Group, Developmental

Origins of Health and Disease, University of Southampton,

Southampton, SO16 6YD, UK, 2Division of Nephrology &

Hypertension, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland,

USA

E-mail: S.A.Lanham@soton.ac.uk

Introduction: Epidemiological studies suggest skeletal growth is

programmed during intrauterine and early postnatal life. We

hypothesize that age-related decrease in bone mass has, in part, a

fetal origin and investigated this using an ovine model of maternal

protein insufficiency.

Methods: Pregnant pigs fed on low (1% w/w) protein diet or control

protein diet (14% w/w) for the 3rd trimester. Fetal sample were

taken on day 113 of 115 day gestation. Femur and vertebra samples

were analysed using micro-CT.

Results: The restricted group offspring showed increased density

of the trabecular bone and apparent reduction in the proportion

of cartilage in the proximal femur, although no differences were

found in trabecular structure. No significant differences were found

in either the bone density or structure in the femoral head. Also,

no differences were found in the vertebral bone density, but the

vertebral trabeculae in the restricted diet group offspring were

spaced further apart indicated by increased trabecular spacing,

fewer trabeculae per mm and a reduced bone volume/total volume

ratio.

Conclusions: Offspring from mothers fed a restricted protein diet

during pregnancy displayed significant differences in bone structure

and density at various sites. These differences result in altered

bone characteristics indicative of accelerated bone formation.

These results indicate the need to understand the key role of the

nutritional environment in early development on programming of

skeletal development and consequences in both early and later life

for altered development.

P2-97 Birth weight, current body composition and grip

strength in an aboriginal birth cohort

G.R. Singh*, S.M. Sayers. Menzies School of Health Research,

School of Advanced Studies, Charles Darwin University, Australia

Low birth weight has been linked to lower lean body mass

and increased abdominal obesity in later life. Grip strength

(Dynamometer) is a measure of muscle strength and indirectly of

muscle mass.

Aims: To study grip strength and its relationship to size at birth and

current size.

Study design: Cross-sectional snapshot in a longitudinal study.

Subjects: 316 young adults between 16 20 years of age; wave 3 of

the cohort study.

Outcome measures: Grip strength (maximal value of 3 squeezes of

the dominant hand), birth weight (BW), current body size (weight,

height, BMI, waist circumference), fat percentage and fat free mass

(FFM) by Bioelectric Impedance Assessment (TBF-310GS, Tanita).

Results: The grip strength showed a significant positive association

with BW (2.7 [1.1, 4.3]; p = 0.001), FFM (0.7 [0.6, 0.7]; p� 0.001)

and BMI (1.9 [1.3, 2.5]; p� 0.001) and a negative relationship with

percentage of fat ( 0.09 [ 0.2, 0.0001]; p = 0.05). A 1 kg increase

in birth weight corresponded to 1.8 kg (0.27, 3.3; p = 0.21) increase

in FFM in females and a 3.1 kg (1.2, 4.9; p = 0.001) in males. The

association remained significant after adjusting for age, current BMI

and sex.

Conclusions: Low birth weight affects body composition resulting

in lower FFM and manifests as lower grip strength. This is in similar

to findings in previous studies. Grip strength is a good indicator of

overall muscle mass and an important predictor of future physical

function, cognitive function and age related diseases, and thus

may have practical implications in assessing and modifying future

quality of life.

P2-98 The influence of birth weight on FABP4 and muscle

triacylglyceride levels in skeletal muscle of neonatal

pigs

P.J. Williams1, J.C. Litten2, A.M. Corson3, L. Clarke3,

M.E. Symonds1 *, A. Mostyn1. 1Centre for Reproduction and

Early Life, Institute of Clinical Research, University Hospital,

Nottingham, NG7 2UH, UK, 2School of Agriculture, Policy &

Development, University of Reading, RG6 6AR, UK, 3Faculty of

Natural Sciences, Imperial College London, Wye, Kent, TN25 5AH,

UK

E-mail: paula.williams@nottingham.ac.uk

Birth weight has important consequences on skeletal muscle

development. The intracellular transport of fatty acids from the

plasma membrane is performed by members of the fatty acid-

binding protein (FABP) family. FABP’s may also regulate lipid

metabolism and numerous other cellular processes.

Aims: To examine if birth weight influences the expression of FABP4

in skeletal muscle (SM) at days 7 and 14 of postnatal life.

Study design: FABP4 expression was quantified by real-time

PCR. Results are expressed as mean values and standard errors

normalised to 18S. SM triacylglyceride (SM-TAG) was assessed using

a commercial assay following Folch extraction.

Subjects: Piglets from eleven litters were ranked according to

birth weight and three from each litter were assigned to small

(S; n = 11), normal (N; n = 11) or large (L; n = 11) groups. Animals

were humanely euthanased on day 7 (n = 15) or 14 (n = 18) of age

and SM sampled.

Outcome measures: Variation in markers of lipid metabolism with

birth weight.

Results: At day 14 FABP4 abundance was decreased in both

S (2.0[0.4]) and L (2.5[0.7]) compared to N pigs (9.2[1.3]);

P< 0.0001. Furthermore, in N pigs FABP4 expression at day 14 was

positively related with SM-TAG (P= 0.037). This correlation was not

displayed in either S or L pigs.

Conclusions: These results indicate altered lipid metabolism due

to dysregulation of FABP4 within the muscle of both offspring with

large and small birth weights. Further work is needed to examine if

these changes persist into adult life where they may be associated

with the onset of the metabolic syndrome.

P2-99 Intra-uterine growth retartion in piglets is

associated with an altered distribution of

leptin receptor expression within hypothalamic

structures

L. Attig1,2, O. Rampin1, P.M. Anton-Gay2, I. Gourdou1,

J. Djiane1, L. Abdennebi-Najar2 *. 1NOPA, UMR 1197, INRA, Univ

Paris-Sud, Jouy-en-Josas, 78350, France, 2Institut Polytechnique

Lasalle-Beauvais, 60026, France

In pig, intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR) resulted in low

birth weight and increased adiposity in adult life. It has been

demonstrated that leptin plays a crucial role in the development

of the hypothalamic circuitry involved in food intake regulation.