Fetal developmental programing: insights from human studies and experimental models

Lopes, Gisele Aparecida Dionísio; Ribeiro, Vinícius Luís Bertotti; Barbisan, Luı́s Fernando; Rodrigues, Maria Aparecida Marchesan

doi:10.1080/14767058.2016.1183635

Cited by 17 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 91 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Perinatal undernutrition can be induced in rodents through either maternal underfeeding (general food restriction or protein content restriction) during gestation or the modification of the offspring's energy intake during the suckling period. Rodents have been used in numerous studies to examine different degrees of dietary restriction during gestationfrom mild (30%), through moderate (50%), up to severe (70%) protein restriction (PR) or food restriction (FR) [for reviews see (87,88)]. Postnatal manipulations usually include various forms of maternal milk restriction, e.g.…”

Section: Animal Models Of Undernutritionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Animal Foetal Models of Obesity and Diabetes – From Laboratory to Clinical Settings

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The prenatal period, during which a fully formed newborn capable of surviving outside its mother’s body is built from a single cell, is critical for human development. It is also the time when the foetus is particularly vulnerable to environmental factors, which may modulate the course of its development. Both epidemiological and animal studies have shown that foetal programming of physiological systems may alter the growth and function of organs and lead to pathology in adulthood. Nutrition is a particularly important environmental factor for the pregnant mother as it affects the condition of offspring. Numerous studies have shown that an unbalanced maternal metabolic status (under- or overnutrition) may cause long-lasting physiological and behavioural alterations, resulting in metabolic disorders, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2DM). Various diets are used in laboratory settings in order to induce maternal obesity and metabolic disorders, and to alter the offspring development. The most popular models are: high-fat, high-sugar, high-fat-high-sugar, and cafeteria diets. Maternal undernutrition models are also used, which results in metabolic problems in offspring. Similarly to animal data, human studies have shown the influence of mothers’ diets on the development of children. There is a strong link between the maternal diet and the birth weight, metabolic state, changes in the cardiovascular and central nervous system of the offspring. The mechanisms linking impaired foetal development and adult diseases remain under discussion. Epigenetic mechanisms are believed to play a major role in prenatal programming. Additionally, sexually dimorphic effects on offspring are observed. Therefore, further research on both sexes is necessary.

show abstract

Section: Animal Models Of Undernutritionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Animal Foetal Models of Obesity and Diabetes – From Laboratory to Clinical Settings

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…1A). While programmatic variability in development has received particular attention (4,5), early random effects could be a major source of phenotypic variance (Fig. 1B).…”

Section: Main Textmentioning

confidence: 99%

The transcriptional legacy of developmental stochasticity

Ballouz

Peña

Knight

et al. 2019

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Genetic variation, epigenetic regulation and major environmental stimuli are key contributors to phenotypic variation, but the influence of minor perturbations or "noise" has been difficult to assess in mammals. In this work, we uncover one major axis of random variation with a large and permanent influence: developmental stochasticity. By assaying the transcriptome of wild monozygotic quadruplets of the nine-banded armadillo, we find that persistent changes occur early in development, and these give rise to clear transcriptional signatures which uniquely characterize individuals relative to siblings. Comparing these results to human twins, we find the transcriptional signatures which define individuals exhibit conserved co-expression, suggesting a substantial fraction of phenotypic and disease discordance within mammals arises from developmental stochasticity. One sentence summaryLongitudinal gene expression in identical armadillo quadruplets reveals a major role for developmental stochasticity.

show abstract

“…Later in life, the adult offspring were more likely to have an increased body mass index and be at greater risk of impaired glucose tolerance, hypertension and coronary heart disease [ 4 ]. These observations have been recapitulated in a variety of animal models, including both under- and over-nutrition [ 5 ], demonstrating that the intrauterine environment is critical in determining long-term health and disease. When the supply of nutrients is inadequate, particularly during the later stages of gestation, resources are diverted to protect growth of the brain at the expense of visceral organs such as the liver and kidneys [ 6 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of maternal intermittent fasting during pregnancy on cardiovascular, metabolic and renal function in adult rat offspring

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Pregnant Muslim women are exempt from fasting during Ramadan; however a majority are reported to fast. The impact of this form of maternal intermittent fasting (IF) on fetal development and offspring health is not well defined. Using a rat model, we have shown previously that maternal IF results in fetal growth restriction accompanied by changes in placental nutrient transport function. The aim of this study was to assess cardiovascular, metabolic and renal function in adult offspring of IF-exposed dams. Food was withheld from Wistar rats from 17:00 to 09:00 daily throughout pregnancy; controls had ad libitum access to food. Birth weight was unaffected; however male IF pups grew more slowly up to 10 weeks of age (P < 0.01) whereas IF females matched their control counterparts. Systolic blood pressure (SBP), glucose tolerance and basal renal function at 14 weeks were not affected by IF exposure. When offered saline solutions (0.9–2.1%) to drink, females showed a greater salt preference than males (P < 0.01); however there were no differences between dietary groups. A separate group of pups was weaned onto a 4% NaCl diet. SBP increased in IF pups sooner, at 7 weeks (P < 0.01), than controls which became hypertensive from 10 weeks. Renal function did not appear to differ; however markers of renal injury were elevated in IF males (P < 0.05). Maternal IF does not affect resting cardiovascular, metabolic and renal function; but when challenged by dietary salt load male IF offspring are more prone to renal injury.

show abstract

Fetal developmental programing: insights from human studies and experimental models

Abstract: An adequate maternal nutrition during pregnancy is crucial for the health outcome of the offspring at adulthood.

Cited by 17 publications

References 91 publications

Animal Foetal Models of Obesity and Diabetes – From Laboratory to Clinical Settings

Animal Foetal Models of Obesity and Diabetes – From Laboratory to Clinical Settings

The transcriptional legacy of developmental stochasticity

Impact of maternal intermittent fasting during pregnancy on cardiovascular, metabolic and renal function in adult rat offspring

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About