German scientists from the University of Bonn have discovered an alarming mechanism of metabolic disorders transmission from mother to child. It turned out that obesity of a pregnant woman can “reprogram” the liver of the fetus, increasing the risk of developing fatty liver disease and other metabolic disorders in the child in the future. The study is published in the scientific journal Nature.

 The team found that special immune cells in the liver - Kupffer cells - play a key role in this process. In obese mice, these cells begin to send distorted signals to hepatocytes, causing them to more actively store fat. Strikingly, these changes occur as early as in utero and persist after birth.

Experiments showed that the offspring of obese mice developed fatty liver disease even with a normal diet. Scientists were able to identify a specific molecular mechanism - a special transcription factor in Kupffer cells, responsible for these changes. When the researchers genetically “turned off” this factor, the offspring did not develop liver problems. 

Although the study was conducted on animals, the authors believe that similar processes can occur in humans. This explains why children of obese mothers are more likely to suffer from metabolic disorders, even if they lead a healthy lifestyle.