Endocrine Abstracts

The incidence of maternal obese and/or gestational diabetic (GDM) pregnancy are increasing globally, with ~10-20% of mothers classified as obese and/or GDM within the U.K. Both obese and GDM pregnancy are associated with increased risk of cardiometabolic disease, with mothers and their children at greater risk of developing later-life Type 2 diabetes, obesity and/or cardiovascular disease. Higher adiposity in pregnancy leads to increased inflammation, which may be countered by antioxidant defence genes regulated by the transcription factor Nrf2. Dietary activators of Nrf2 such as sulforaphane (SFN), an isothiocyanate derived from cruciferous vegetables such as broccoli, may therefore be used as anti-obesogenic cardiovascular protectants. In this study we examined the effect of SFN on maternal adiposity. C57BL/6 WT and Nrf2 deficient dams were fed a highly palatable obesogenic diet 6 weeks prior to pregnancy, then received with vehicle (corn oil) or SFN throughout pregnancy and the postpartum period. Inguinal and parametrial fat pads were weighed at termination, tissued fixed with 5µm sections stained with H&E to measure adipocyte area. SFN treatment reduced maternal inguinal and to a lesser extent parametrial adipose depots in WT dams. Nrf2 deficient dams treated with SFN showed no change in adipose fat pad mass. Preliminary data showed parametrial adipocyte area was reduced by SFN treatment in WT not Nrf2 deficient dams, however Nrf2 deficiency by itself resulted in a reduced adipocyte size. In summary, SFN has anti-adipogenic properties and appears to mediate its effects through Nrf2, however Nrf2 deficiency by itself alters adipose morphology.