Impact of maternal undernutrition on diabetes and cardiovascular disease risk in adult offspring.

Epidemiological, clinical, and experimental observations have led to the hypothesis that the risk of developing chronic diseases in adulthood is influenced not only by genetic and adult lifestyle factors, but also by environmental factors during early life. Low birth weight, a marker of intrauterine stress, has been linked to predisposition to cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes. The compelling animal evidence and significant human data to support this conclusion are reviewed.

Alterations in the expression of myocardial calcium cycling genes in rats fed a low protein diet in utero.

An adverse environmental experience of the growing fetus leads to permanent changes in the structure and contractile function of the heart; however, the mechanisms are incompletely understood. To examine if a maternal low protein (LP) diet can modulate the gene and protein expression of the Ca(2+)-cycling proteins in the neonatal heart, we employed a rat model in which pregnant dams were fed diets containing either 180 (normal) or 90 g (low) casein/kg diet for 2 weeks before mating and throughout pregnancy. A significant reduction in the L-type Ca(2+)-channel mRNA level in the LP group was detected at 1, 7, and 14 days of age.