Maternal low-fat and high-fat diet decreases survival and alters cytokine signaling in neonatal mice with

Objective: Maternal malnutrition increases susceptibility to sepsis and mortality in neonates. The reason for this increased susceptibility remains unknown. We aimed to evaluate bacterial burden and serum cytokine levels in septic neonatal mice born to dams with malnutrition. Methods: 6-week-old C57BL/6 dams were placed on a low-fat (LFD) (10% kcal from fat), control (CD) (18% kcal from fat), or high-fat (HFD) (60% kcal from fat) diet for 3 weeks prior to breeding. Sepsis was induced in P4-P6 offspring via intraperitoneal Results: Septic offspring of dams fed LFD and HFD had significantly higher mortality than offspring of dams fed CD. There was no difference in serum or peritoneal wash bacterial loads. Maternal diet and Conclusion: Maternal LFD and HFD decrease survival during neonatal sepsis and alter serum cytokines and the metabolome, supporting a role for maternal nutrition in neonatal immune function and infection susceptibility.