Antioxidant management to protect male offspring from the progression of MASLD programmed by maternal obesity in mice

Background: Maternal obesity is a significant risk factor for liver dysfunction and metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) in offspring, with oxidative stress playing a critical role in developmental programming. Understanding oxidative stress-mediated metabolic reprogramming during intrauterine overnutrition is crucial for developing MASLD preventive strategies. Methods: Female mice were fed a Western diet to induce obesity before mating. Biochemical detection and histopathological staining were employed to assess changes in lipid metabolism and liver fibrosis. Oxidative stress indices were measured using ELISA, while metabolic profiling was conducted through liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis. Protein expression was evaluated by western blot. Results: Male offspring from obese dams (OffOb) exhibited increased activities of ALT, AST, GGT, and ALP, along with evident hepatic steatosis and fibrosis. These male offspring also showed impaired antioxidant defenses in liver. Administration of the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine during pregnancy (OffObnac) enhanced some antioxidant enzymes/substances and reversed these abnormal changes in the male offspring's liver. Notably, antioxidant treatment significantly mitigated the IL-6 increase induced by maternal obesity. According to KEGG analyses, the differential metabolites between OffOb and OffCon, as well as between OffObnac and OffOb, were primarily enriched in the forkhead box O (FoxO) signaling pathway. Protein expression results indicated that antioxidant treatment inhibited the phosphorylation activation of JAK2, STAT3, and FoxO6 in the liver of male offspring from obese mothers. Conclusions: Antioxidant management effectively alleviated oxidative stress conditions, blocked the IL-6-STAT3-FoxO6 axis, and had a robust impact on mitigating MASLD following intrauterine overnutrition-induced hepatic impairments in a mouse model.