340 Effects of nutrient restriction during mid- to late-gestation on maternal and fetal pancreatic exocrine function in sheep

Abstract To examine the effects of nutrient restriction on fetal and maternal ovine exocrine pancreatic function during mid- to late-gestation, 41 singleton ewes (48.3±0.6 kg BW) were randomly assigned to dietary treatments: 100% (control; CON; n = 20) or 60% of nutrient requirements (restricted; RES; n = 21) from day 50–90 (mid-gestation). At day 90, 14 ewes (CON, n = 7; RES, n = 7) were slaughtered. The remaining ewes were subjected to treatments of nutrient restriction or remained under a control diet from day 90–130 (late-gestation): CON-CON (n = 6), CON-RES (n = 7), RES-CON (n = 7), and RES-RES (n = 7) and were slaughtered at day 130. The pancreas was weighed, subsampled, and assayed for digestive enzyme activity. Enzyme activity was expressed as U/g, U/g protein, or U/pancreas (total content). Total protein content in the pancreas was expressed as g/pancreas. Differences between means were determined using contrasts in the MIXED procedure of SAS. Fetal and maternal pancreatic mass increased (P < 0.04) with day of gestation. Nutrient restriction during mid- (P = 0.01) and late-gestation (P = 0.01) decreased maternal pancreatic mass on d 130. Total fetal pancreatic α-amylase, trypsin, and protein content increased (P < 0.05) with day of gestation. Maternal nutrient restriction during late-gestation tended to decrease (P < 0.08) fetal pancreatic trypsin activity. Nutrient restriction during late-gestation tended to increase (P = 0.07) α-amylase:trypsin in fetal pancreas but tended to have the opposite response in maternal pancreas (P = 0.10). Total maternal pancreatic content of trypsin and protein tended to increase (P < 0.07) as gestation progressed. Nutrient restriction of gestating ewes decreased total content of a-amylase (P = 0.04) and tended to decrease total content of trypsin (P = 0.06) and protein (P = 0.06) in the maternal pancreas on d 90. Nutrient restriction during mid-gestation on d 90 and during late-gestation on d 130 decreased (P = 0.04) maternal α-amylase activity. Maternal nutrient restriction impairs pancreatic exocrine function by reducing maternal and fetal digestive enzyme activity.