Maternal low-protein diet programs cardiac β-adrenergic response and signaling in 3-mo-old male offspring

Low birth weight in humans is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Humans with heart failure have a reduced beta-adrenergic response. The aim of this study was to investigate the hemodynamic response to the beta-adrenergic agonist isoproterenol and to identify molecular deficiencies that may be predictive of cardiac failure in a low-birth weight rodent model that develops insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes in adulthood. Wistar rats were fed a control or a low-protein (LP) diet throughout pregnancy and lactation. The resting heart rate and blood pressure of the 3-mo-old male offspring of these dams, termed control and LP groups, respectively, and their responses to isoproterenol (ISO) infusion were monitored by radiotelemetry. The protein expression of beta-adrenergic signaling components was also measured by Western blot analysis. Basal heart rate was increased in LP offspring (P < 0.04), although mean arterial pressure was comparable with controls. Chronotropic effects of ISO were blunted in LP offspring with significant delays to maximal response (P = 0.01), a shorter duration of response (P = 0.03), and a delayed return to baseline (P = 0.01) at the lower dose (0.1 mu g(.)kg(-1.)min(-1)). At the higher dose (1.0 mu g(.)kg(-1.)min(-1) ISO), inotropic response was blunted (P = 0.03) but quicker (P = 0.001). In heart tissue of LP offspring, beta(1)-adrenergic receptor expression was reduced (P < 0.03). beta(1)-Adrenergic receptor kinase and both stimulatory and inhibitory G protein levels remained unchanged, whereas beta-arrestin levels were higher (P < 0.03). Finally, insulin receptor-beta expression was reduced in LP offspring ( P < 0.012). LP offspring have reduced beta-adrenergic responsiveness and attenuated adrenergic and insulin signaling, suggesting that intrauterine undernutrition alters heart failure risk.