Maternal low protein diet in rats programmes fatty acid desaturase activities in the offspring

Dietary restriction in pregnant rats causes gender‐related hypertension and vascular dysfunction in offspring

“…The smallness of the lungs may reflect immaturity and could have consequences for later respiratory function. The increase in liver weight in the day-old offspring is of interest, as others (Langley Evans et al 1995c;Ozanne et al 1996Ozanne et al , 1998Desai et al 1997a,b) have reported hepatic enzymatic changes in the offspring of protein restricted dams, although to our knowledge no increase in liver weight has been recorded. A reduction in kidney size, as observed in the 100-day-old males, has been reported in the offspring of proteinrestricted rats (Langley-Evans et al 1996c) and abnormalities in the renin-angiotensin system have been implicated in the raised blood pressure in these animals (Langley-Evans & Jackson, 1995a;Sherman & LangleyEvans, 1998).…”

“…Maternal 50% casein restriction in the rat is associated with insulin resistance in the offspring (Ozanne et al 1998), an abnormality strongly linked with hypertension.…”

Dietary Protein Restriction in Pregnancy Induces Hypertension and Vascular Defects in Rat Male Offspring

“…Our findings support these previous studies that noted no change in liver or other organ weights (34) of offspring of PR rats. Conversely, a reduction in kidney (22,24,33) or liver size (33,35,36) has been reported in offspring of dietary restricted pregnant dams. In some of these studies, the decrease in organ weight is reported at weaning, and this reduction appears to be restored to those of the control group as the nutrient-restricted offspring mature (22,35).…”

“…However, in our study, a reduced sensitivity, although with a similar maximum response, to U46619 may suggest a disruption of thromboxane receptor-mediated contraction in the PR offspring at d 87. This contrasts with increased contraction or no change in U46619 responses in isolated femoral arteries from adult male offspring of pregnant rats fed a global-restricted (18) or high-fat diet (36). Differences in protocols, e.g.…”

Can perinatal supplementation of long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids prevent diabetes mellitus?

“…Could this be explained in terms of the hypothesis presented here? Ozanne et al (1998) showed that growth retardation due to maternal protein restriction induced a decrease in the ratio of DHA to DPA in both muscle and liver in their offspring. The D-5-desaturase activity in hepatic microsomes showed a reduction in the low-protein offspring, which was negatively correlated with fasting plasma insulin levels compared to controls.…”