Understanding the impact on metabolic health of interactions between pre- and post-natal nutrition, sex, growth and endocrine development

Pre and postnatal nutrition is key to the overall growth of an organism and to the development of growth-regulating endocrine organs and associated metabolic pathways. Over recent years, an increasing number of studies has demonstrated that males and females respond differently to manipulations of the nutritional environment designed to improve long term metabolic outcomes after in utero or postnatal compromise. It is likely that complex interactions between the nutritional environment and the sex of the organism, genetic and epigenetic factors, gut microbiome and neuroendocrine pathways affecting stress response and appetite regulation combine to impact long term metabolic health.

Basic science research continues to contribute to understanding of how genetic, epigenetic and nutritional environmental influences impact the development of physiological systems affecting growth and metabolism, but experimental work often focuses on specific areas, for example pancreatic development and glucose/insulin metabolism, or growth pattern, body composition and fat metabolism. Adverse health outcomes are likely a result of several interacting factors, many of which involve sex-specific responses to the nutritional environment.

This research topic aims to combine knowledge from existing and new studies to increase understanding of interactions between pre- and post-natal nutrition, sex, and physiological systems that contribute to healthy or adverse metabolic outcomes, thus providing a basis on which to develop integrated ‘packages’ of care to improve metabolic health.

We welcome original research, reviews, and mini-review articles focused on, but not limited to:

- Sex-specific endocrine and metabolic responses to the early nutritional environment.

- Mechanisms underlying interactions between sex, nutrition and early growth patterns.

- Targeted postnatal nutritional interventions to promote long term metabolic health.

- Mitigation of long term metabolic and endocrine effects of pre- and post-natal nutritional compromise.

- Interactions between early nutrition, stress response and appetite regulation.

- Early nutrition, sex and glucose metabolism.