Relationship of maternal high-fat diet to intestinal barrier integrity and disease in offspring

High-fat diet (HFD) has been demonstrated to negatively affect the exacerbation of chronic diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, gastrointestinal disease, cardiovascular disease, and central nervous system disease. Research has revealed that maternal HFD affects the intestinal barrier integrity of offspring in multiple ways. Offspring not only “inherit” the abnormal gut microbiota induced by maternal HFD, thus having long-term effects on offspring health, but also are profoundly affected by various factors, such as the placental environment, mode of birth, and breast milk nutrition. In this review, we summarize recent epidemiological studies, clinical studies and animal experiments, and we evaluate the threat of maternal HFD to offspring health. We discuss the associations between maternal HFD and the intestinal barrier of offspring in the context of maternal-infant influence pathways, the gut microbiota and associated metabolism, intestinal physical barriers, and intestinal immune barriers. Further, we interpret the available evidence and its limitations. We believe that medical professionals and society must respond to the harmful effects of HFD to improve outcomes in the future.