Low-protein pregnancy diet weakened bones in aging mouse offspring
An experiment compared male offspring of 10 mothers fed low-protein diets with offspring of 10 controls, finding weaker bones at 18 months.
Limit: Bone strength tests used only four males per group at each age
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
Male C57BL/6J mice were studied at 12 and 18 months in an animal experiment testing the lasting effects of protein restriction during pregnancy. Ten pregnant mice received a diet containing 6% protein throughout gestation; 10 controls received 17% protein. All litters switched to standard food after birth.
At 18 months, males from the low-protein group had lower bone mineral density and less internal spongy bone than controls. Their thighbones withstood less force before breaking. The dense outer bone layer was thinner at both ages. Older low-protein offspring also had more porous bone and disrupted organization of collagen, a structural protein. Gene activity differed in pathways involving immune cells and the development of osteoclasts, cells that break down bone. Bone marrow staining also supported an increase in immune cells.
Why it matters
The study addresses whether nutrition before birth can leave lasting changes in the bone’s immune environment that contribute to fragility with age.
Caveats
Bone imaging and strength tests used four males per group at each age; gene sequencing used three per group at 18 months. These mouse experiments did not establish that the immune changes caused weaker bones, or whether the findings apply to females or people.
- Gestational protein restriction
- Complement system
- Extracellular matrix remodeling
- Bone mineral density
- Osteoporosis
- Mice
The paper
Gestational Protein Restriction Promotes Osteoporotic Phenotype During Aging
Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP)
Calcified Tissue International, Jul 24, 2026, Open access
