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      • Record: found
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      Novel Indirect Calorimetry Technology to Analyze Metabolism in Individual Neonatal Rodent Pups

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          Abstract

          Background

          The ability to characterize the development of metabolic function in neonatal rodents has been limited due to technological constraints. Low respiratory volumes and flows at rest pose unique problems, making it difficult to reliably measure O 2 consumption, CO 2 production, respiratory quotient ( RQ), and energy expenditure ( EE). Our aim was to develop and validate a commercial-grade indirect calorimetry system capable of characterizing the metabolic phenotype of individual neonatal rodents.

          Methodology/Principal Findings

          To address this research need, we developed a novel, highly sensitive open-circuit indirect calorimetry system capable of analyzing respiratory gas exchange in a single neonatal rodent pup. Additionally, we derived an equation from known metabolic relationships to estimate inlet flow rates, improving the efficiency of data collection. To validate the neonatal rodent indirect calorimetry system and evaluate the applicability of the derived equation for predicting appropriate flow rates, we conducted a series of experiments evaluating the impact of sex, litter size, time of day (during the light phase), and ambient temperature on neonatal rat metabolic parameters. Data revealed that the only metabolic parameter influenced by litter size is a neonatal rat's RQ, with rat pups reared in a small litter (5 pups) having lower RQ's than rat pups reared in either medium (8 pups) or large (11 pups) litters. Furthermore, data showed that ambient temperature affected all metabolic parameters measured, with colder temperatures being associated with higher CO 2 production, higher O 2 consumption, and higher energy expenditure.

          Conclusion/Significance

          The results of this study demonstrate that the modified Panlab Oxylet system reliably assesses early postnatal metabolism in individual neonatal rodents. This system will be of paramount importance to further our understanding of processes associated with the developmental origins of adult metabolic disease.

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          Huddling by rat pups: group behavioral mechanisms of temperature regulation and energy conservation.

          Jeffrey R. Alberts (1978)
          Body heat loss was attenuated and oxygen consumption was reduced by huddling in litters of developing rats. Rat pups derive physiological benefits from huddling similar to those enjoyed by adult mammals; these findings contrast with previous characterization of the altricial rat as poikilothermic. Huddling insulates by lessening the explosed body surface area of the participants, thus retarding heat loss and enhancing the efficiency of thermogenesis. These physical mechanisms of the clump are actively regulated by the pups. A novel quantitative measure of huddle size revealed a form of group regulatory behavior in rat pups whereby the surface expanded and contracted with increases and decreases in ambient temperature. The individual basis of this group regulatory activity was investigated by marking individual pups and observing them in huddles by means of time-lapse videography. It was found that individual animals circulate throught the huddle, frequently exchanging locations in the group. By studying the huddle positions of an anesthetized pup and a marked control sibling, dynamics of the pup flow were clarified. Ordinarily, the direction of movement was actively downward, into the pile; immobile pups "floated" on the surface. When the nest temperature was raised to thermoneutral, the direction of pup flow reversed and an immobile animal sank to the depths of the huddle. Through individual competitive adjustments the huddle behaves as a self-regulating unit which provides warmth and insulation to all its active members.
          Article 0 comments Cited 41 times – based on 0 reviews     Review now
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            Intake and use of milk nutrients by rat pups suckled in small, medium, or large litters.

            Marta L. Fiorotto, P Reeds, J. L. Rodriguez … (1991)
            We investigated the extent to which the altered weight gain of rat pups suckled in litters of varying sizes (4, 10, and 16 pups/litter) is attributable to differences in milk nutrient intake. Milk intake was estimated from the rate of dilution over 2 days of a dose of 3H2O administered at 4, 8, and 14 days of age after correction for the water and milk carbon deposited in body tissues over the measurement period. Protein and energy intakes were estimated from the volume of milk consumed by individual pups and the composition of milk from each dam. Significant effects of litter size on milk fat and protein concentration were observed. Weight gain was highly correlated with energy intake in pups suckled in litters of 4 and 10 but not 16. These findings were attributed to a higher energy expenditure of pups less than 10 days old suckled in litters of 16; specifically these pups had higher maintenance energy needs than pups suckled in litters of 4 and 10 and a higher energy cost of tissue synthesis. The latter was ascribed to an ability of immature pups to maximize the efficiency of protein utilization, thereby blunting the deleterious effects of a reduced nutrient intake on protein deposition.
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              Responses to maternal separation: mechanisms and mediators.

              C M Kuhn, S M Schanberg (2015)
              Clinical studies indicate the predominance of psychosocial factors (nurturing environment) in the genesis of the Maternal Deprivation Syndrome. Consequences of disrupting mother-infant interactions range from marked suppression of certain neuroendocrine and physiological systems after short periods of maternal deprivation to retardation of growth and behavioral development after chronic periods. We have shown that maternal separation initiates a complex adaptive biobehavioral response in preweaning rat pups that includes (1) a decrease in the synthesis of ornithine decarboxylase, an obligatory enzyme for normal cell growth and development, (2) a reduction in DNA synthesis, an index of cell multiplication, (3) abnormal patterns of neuroendocrine secretion, and (4) a suppression of cell responses to growth hormone, prolactin and insulin, three major trophic hormones. This unique pattern of adaptation to maternal separation is not related to food or temperature changes but results from a lack of a specific type of tactile stimulation of the pup by the mother. Recently, we have shown that in the absence of "nurturing touch" the brain initiates the suppression of ornithine decarboxylase gene transcription by interfering with the cell's ability to transduce the activating signal induced by the growth promoting hormones. Studies indicate that central endorphinergic pathways may mediate this action. This is accomplished by the downregulation of specific Immediate Early Genes (c-myc and max) that normally promote the synthesis of this critical growth-regulatory enzyme. These studies of short-term maternal separation not only demonstrated that maternal care is a critical regulator of pup physiology and biobehavioral development but that there are marked similarities between this animal model of maternal separation and the delay in growth and development observed in children with the deprivation syndrome or in touch-deprived premature human neonates. Our identification of a specific type of nurturing touch as a neonatal growth requirement led us to test supplemental tactile stimulation in isolated very-premature human babies. The result of our intervention with massage was dramatic. Infants not only showed marked gains in weight and behavioral development, but also a significant enhancement in sympatho-adrenal maturation. We suggest that animal models of maternal deprivation can be used to understand the integrative processing of appropriate sensory input, CNS function and end-organ physiology required to maintain normal development.
              Article 0 comments Cited 27 times – based on 0 reviews     Review now
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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                : Role: Editor
                Journal
                Journal ID (nlm-ta): PLoS One
                Journal ID (publisher-id): plos
                Journal ID (pmc): plosone
                Title: PLoS ONE
                Publisher: Public Library of Science (San Francisco, USA )
                ISSN (Electronic): 1932-6203
                Publication date Collection: 2009
                Publication date (Electronic): 27 August 2009
                Volume: 4
                Issue: 8
                Electronic Location Identifier: e6790
                Affiliations
                [1 ]Center for Premature Infant Health and Development, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
                [2 ]Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, School of Dentistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
                [3 ]Department of Endocrinology, Beijing Hospital, Beijing, China
                [4 ]Panlab, S.L./Harvard Apparatus, Barcelona, Spain
                [5 ]Stoelting, Inc., Chicago, Illinois, United States of America
                [6 ]Departments of Cell and Neurobiology, and Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, United States of America
                Universidad Europea de Madrid, Spain
                Author notes

                Conceived and designed the experiments: JFD LG MACM ABE TDL JETJ. Performed the experiments: JFD TD. Analyzed the data: JFD LG MACM TD. Contributed reagents/materials/analysis tools: JFD MACM ABE TDL JETJ. Wrote the paper: JFD MACM ABE TD TDL JETJ.

                Article
                Publisher ID: 09-PONE-RA-10273R1
                DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0006790
                PMC ID: 2728844
                PubMed ID: 19710924
                SO-VID: ed20bb0d-d374-45c0-aaf6-1fbc79d57145
                Copyright © Dominguez et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
                History
                Date received : 11 May 2009
                Date accepted : 14 July 2009
                Page count
                Pages: 9
                Categories
                Subject: Research Article
                Subject: Physiology/Endocrinology
                Subject: Physiology/Integrative Physiology
                Subject: Physiology/Respiratory Physiology

                ScienceOpen disciplines: Uncategorized
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                ScienceOpen disciplines: Uncategorized

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