ESA-SRB-AOTA 2019

Health outcomes in offspring following an acute, low dose of prenatal alcohol: Potential reproductive and metabolic impacts in early and adult life (#50)

Lisa K Akison 1 , Tam MT Nguyen 2 , Elizabeth McReight 2 , Sarah E Steane 2 , Karen M Moritz 1
  1. Child Health Research Centre, Centre for Children’s Health Research, The University of Queensland, South Brisbane, QLD, Australia
  2. School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

Alcohol consumption is highly prevalent in women of reproductive age. Our recent systematic reviews highlight the range of health impacts in offspring with prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE). However, few studies have looked at acute, low-dose alcohol exposure. Our aim was to examine offspring glucose metabolism, frequently affected in higher dose models, as well as ovarian reserve and female fertility, not currently reported in the literature, in PAE offspring.

Sprague-Dawley dams were treated with a 1g/kg-BW EtOH-gavage (EtOH) or an equivalent volume of saline (Control) at gestational days 13.5 and 14.5 (peak BAC ~0.06%). Reproductive outcomes: Primordial and early growing follicles were quantified in neonatal ovaries using unbiased stereology; puberty onset was determined by age at vaginal opening; estrous cycles were monitored in adults via vaginal electrical impedance; and fertility assessed by mating success and number of implantations. Glucose metabolism: Fasting blood glucose and plasma insulin were measured in adolescence (day 30) and a glucose tolerance test (GTT) or insulin tolerance test (ITT) was performed at 6-months of age. Only 1 male and/or 1-2 females from each litter were used per experiment (n=8-9).

There was no evidence of growth restriction in EtOH versus control offspring. There was also no impact on follicle numbers, puberty onset or female fertility in adulthood. Glucose metabolism was not altered in EtOH-exposed adolescent offspring compared to controls. However, there was evidence of insulin resistance in adult males, with elevated fasting plasma insulin levels and 1st-phase insulin secretion during the GTT, altered indices for insulin resistance/sensitivity, and attenuated blood glucose lowering during the ITT.

Therefore, while some aspects of offspring health were not affected by this relatively modest PAE, there was evidence of a pre-diabetic, insulin-resistant phenotype in male offspring of EtOH-exposed dams. This study highlights the importance of abstaining from alcohol consumption during pregnancy.