A suboptimal maternal diet combined with accelerated postnatal growth results in an altered aging profile in the thymus of male rats

What is it about?

We know that if individuals are exposed to conditions in the womb which are not optimal, these people can have an increased risk of developing disease in later life, especially those conditions associated with aging. This is known as 'Developmental Programming'. The global aging population is increasing rapidly and reductions in the efficiency of immune system contributes to the top 5 causes of death worldwide. Therefore we investigated if reduced nutrition in the womb, followed by over-nutrition after birth could affect the immune system of rats. We found that rat offspring that were malnourished in the womb, but then were then over-fed after birth, were born small and underwent accelerated growth after birth. These animals also demonstrated increased aging in the thymus (a major tissue involved in producing immune responses) in old age. The study therefore shows a potential mechanism in which certain 'programmed' individuals are more vulnerable to infection in old age than others.

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