Maternal diabetes increases FOXO1 activation during embryonic cardiac development.

Maternal diabetes is known to affect heart development, inducing the programming of cardiac alterations in the offspring's adult life. Previous studies in the heart of adult offspring have shown increased activation of FOXO1 (a transcription factor involved in a wide variety of cellular functions such as apoptosis, cellular proliferation, reactive oxygen species detoxification, and antioxidant and pro-inflammatory processes) and of target genes related to inflammatory and fibrotic processes. In this work, we aimed to evaluate the effects of maternal diabetes on FOXO1 activation as well as on the expression of target genes relevant to the formation of the cardiovascular system during organogenesis (day 12 of gestation).

Intrauterine Programming of Cardiovascular Diseases in Maternal Diabetes.

Maternal diabetes is a prevalent pathology that increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases in the offspring, the heart being one of the main target organs affected from the fetal stage until the adult life. Metabolic, pro-oxidant, and proinflammatory alterations in the fetal heart constitute the first steps in the adverse fetal programming of cardiovascular disease in the context of maternal diabetes. This review discusses both human and experimental studies addressing putative mechanisms involved in this fetal programming of heart damage in maternal diabetes.