(TG) concentrations in the fetuses, as well as decreased plasma TG levels in the adult offspring. To investigate how maternal Fe restriction was affecting fetal lipid metabolism, we investigated whether there were changes in liver lipid metabolism in the full-term fetuses. There was a ϳ27% (P Ͻ 0.05) increase in cholesterol but ϳ29% reduction (P ϭ 0.01) in TG concentrations in the liver of the Fe-restricted fetuses. Hepatic mRNA levels of cholesterol 7␣ hydroxylase and liver X receptor-␣ (LXR␣) were reduced by ϳ50% (P Ͻ 0.01) and ϳ34% (P Ͻ 0.01), respectively. As LXR␣ regulates expression of sterol response element binding protein-1c (SREBP-1c) expression, we measured SREBP-1c expression. There was an ϳ43% (P Ͻ 0.001) reduction in mRNA levels of SREBP-1c and its response genes, including acetyl-CoA carboxylase by ϳ35% (P ϭ 0.01), fatty acid synthase by ϳ18% (P ϭ 0.05), and diacylglycerol acyltransferase by ϳ19% (P ϭ 0.03). Furthermore, protein levels of CD36 were reduced by ϳ27% (P ϭ 0.02) in Fe-restricted fetuses. In conclusion, changes in liver cholesterol and TG concentrations in Fe-restricted fetuses may be coordinated through reduced expression of heme-containing cholesterol 7␣ hydroxylase and its regulator LXR␣, mainly via downregulation of expression of genes in bile acid synthesis and fatty acid synthesis pathways. cholesterol; cholesterol 7 alpha hydroxylase; liver X receptor-alpha; fetus ABNORMALITIES IN LIPID METABOLISM are associated with the metabolic syndrome, Type 2 diabetes and coronary heart disease (45). Plasma lipid profile may be affected by a change in development before birth, which has been referred to as the "fetal origins," "thrifty phenotype," or "fetal programming" hypothesis (3,16,17,30). This hypothesis is supported by data from epidemiological and animal studies. For example, people who had a small abdominal circumference at birth had raised serum concentrations of total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and apolipoprotein B in adulthood (2). People exposed to famine in early gestation had a more atherogenic lipid profile than did those who were not exposed to famine in utero (38). In animal studies, maternal dietary protein restriction during either (both) gestation or (and) lactation reduces total cholesterol and high-density lipoproteincholesterol in the rat offspring (31). Increased dietary cholesterol intake in the mother during gestation increases long-term progression of atherosclerosis in the rabbit offspring (33), and treatment of the mother with vitamin E or cholestyramine during gestation markedly reduces the progression of atherogenic lesions in the aorta of these offspring (33). In the rat, maternal calorie restriction causes hyperphagia, obesity, and hypertension in the rat offspring (48), and maternal dietary Fe restriction reduces offspring plasma triglyceride (TG) concentrations (29). Thus these data suggest that a change in maternal physiology may have a long-lasting effect on lipid metabolism in the offspring.Fe deficiency is a common nutritio...