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. 2021 Mar 18;11(3):860.
doi: 10.3390/ani11030860.

Skeletal Muscle Development in Postnatal Beef Cattle Resulting from Maternal Protein Restriction during Mid-Gestation

Thais Correia Costa  1   2 , Min Du  3 , Karolina Batista Nascimento  4 , Matheus Castilho Galvão  4 , Javier Andrés Moreno Meneses  4 , Erica Beatriz Schultz  5 , Mateus Pies Gionbelli  4 , Marcio de Souza Duarte  1   2
Affiliations

Skeletal Muscle Development in Postnatal Beef Cattle Resulting from Maternal Protein Restriction during Mid-Gestation

Thais Correia Costa et al. Animals (Basel). .

Abstract

We aimed to investigate the effects of maternal protein restriction during mid-gestation on the skeletal muscle composition of the offspring. In the restriction treatment (RES, n = 9), cows were fed a basal diet, while in the control (CON, n = 9) group cows received the same RES diet plus the protein supplement during mid-gestation (100-200d). Samples of Longissimus dorsi muscle were collected from the offspring at 30d and 450d postnatal. Muscle fiber number was found to be decreased as a result of maternal protein restriction and persisted throughout the offspring's life (p < 0.01). The collagen content was enhanced (p < 0.05) due to maternal protein restriction at 30d. MHC2X mRNA expression tended to be higher (p = 0.08) in RES 30d offspring, however, no difference (p > 0.05) was found among treatments at 450d. Taken together, our results suggest that maternal protein restriction during mid-gestation has major and persistent effects by reducing muscle fiber formation and may slightly increase collagen accumulation in the skeletal muscle of the offspring. Although maternal protein restriction may alter the muscle fiber metabolism by favoring the establishment of a predominant glycolytic metabolism, the postnatal environment may be a determinant factor that establishes the different proportion of muscle fiber types.

Keywords: beef cattle; dietary protein restriction; maternal effects; mid-gestation; skeletal muscle development.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Scheme I
Scheme I
Scheme showing the period of the dietary treatments according to the gestational timeline.
Figure 1
Figure 1
Cell area (um2), cell number (number/view), collagen content (%area) of the skeletal muscle of the offspring at 30d and 450d of age resulting from maternal protein restriction and control group (A,B), and number of muscle cells in rib eye area (REA) measured at 450d (B). Bars represent means ± SEM. Histological images from the skeletal muscle of the offspring from restriction (C,E) and control (D,F) group at 30d. Histological images from the skeletal muscle of the offspring from restriction (G) and control (H) group at 450d. To combine different measurement units into the graph, the data were transformed into log10.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Interaction effect between maternal treatment (CON vs. RES) and offspring’s sex (FEMALE vs. MALE) on the relative gene expression of Zfp423 (A), FN (B), LOX (C), PDGFRα (D), and MHC1 (E) at 30d. Different letters indicate differences among groups. Tendency was considered when 0.10 < p > 0.05 and significant differences when p < 0.05.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Interaction effect between maternal treatment (CON vs. RES) and offspring’s sex (FEMALE vs. MALE) on the relative gene expression of FN (A), TGFβ (B), COL1 (C), COL3 (D), and MMP2 (E), MHC1 (F), and MHC2X (G) at 450d. Different letters indicate differences among groups. Tendency was considered when 0.10 < p > 0.05 and significant differences when p < 0.05.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Relative gene expression (means ± SEM) of Myosin Heavy Chain (MHCs) isoforms in the skeletal muscle of the offspring resulting from maternal protein restriction and control group evaluated at 30d (A) and 450d (B); ns = not significant (p > 0.10); † tendency when 0.10 < p > 0.05.
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