Effects of Serotonin Reuptake Inhibition on anxiety-like behavior and adipocytes morphometry in offspring submitted to maternal high-fat/hypercaloric diet

A high-fat/hypercaloric diet (HHD) can reduce the synaptic availability of serotonin (5-HT), an effect opposite to that attributed to Serotonin Reuptake Inhibition (SRI). This study aimed to investigate the effects of SRI via fluoxetine on body weight (BW), anxiety-like behavior, and adiposity in the offspring of rats exposed to maternal HHD. Materials and Methods: Rats received Control Diet (C, 3.44 kcal/g) or HHD (4.62 kcal/g) from before mating until the end of lactation. On the 1st postnatal day (PND), the litters received sterile saline (S, 10 µl/g) or fluoxetine (F, 10 mg/Kg, 10 µl/g), as follows: C-S; C-F; HHD-S and HHD-F. In young and adult offspring, BW, anxiety-like behavior, and retroperitoneal white adipose tissue (RWAT) were evaluated. Results: From the 10th to the 60th PND, the HHD-F and C-F groups presented lower BW than their respective controls. In young offspring, the HHD-F group spent less time in the periphery and less time in immobility than the C-F group, besides less immobility in the HHD-S group. In adult offspring, time in the periphery and immobility were greater in the HHD-F group than in the HHD-S group and the HHD-F group than in the C-F group, respectively. At the 30th PND, the weight of WAT was lower in the HHD-F group than in the C-F group. At the 60th PND, the WAT weight was lower in the HHD-F group than in the HHD-S group. The area and perimeter of adipocytes were smaller in HHD-F than in HHD-S at the 30th and 60th PND. Conclusions: IRS attenuated the effects of maternal HHD consumption on BW and RWAT and on the area and perimeter of adipocytes in the offspring of rats. However, in the long term, the effects of SRI on behavioral phenotypic expression were less obvious.