Story perspectives

Prenatal High-Fructose Diet Impairs Rat Memory, iOPN Reverses

7/3/2026

Summary

Story summary

Hiroya Yamada of Fujita Health University found that pregnant rats fed high-fructose corn syrup produced adult offspring with impaired spatial learning and memory.
The high-fructose diet suppressed neurogenesis in hippocampal regions essential for cognition.
Isolated fetal neural stem cells showed reduced division, impaired neuronal differentiation, and altered gene expression.
Restoring phosphoprotein 1 (iOPN) expression rescued stem-cell division and neuron generation, showing a reversible target for prenatal dietary stress.

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Story summary

Hiroya Yamada of Fujita Health University found that pregnant rats fed high-fructose corn syrup produced adult offspring with impaired spatial learning and memory.
The high-fructose diet suppressed neurogenesis in hippocampal regions essential for cognition.
Isolated fetal neural stem cells showed reduced division, impaired neuronal differentiation, and altered gene expression.
Restoring phosphoprotein 1 (iOPN) expression rescued stem-cell division and neuron generation, showing a reversible target for prenatal dietary stress.