Influence of maternal pre-pregnancy body composition and diet during early-mid pregnancy on cardiovascular function and nephron number in juvenile sheep

摘要

The prenatal diet can program an individual’s cardiovascular system towards later higher resting blood pressure (BP) and kidney dysfunction but the extent to which these programmed responses are directly determined by the timing of maternal nutritional manipulation is unknown. In this study we examined whether maternal nutrient restriction targeted over the period of maximal placental growth i.e. 28-80 d gestation resulted in altered BP or kidney development in the juvenile offspring. This was undertaken in 6-month-old sheep born to mothers fed control (100-150% recommended metabolisable energy (ME) intake for that stage of gestation) or nutrient-restricted (NR; 50%; n 6) diets between 28-80 d gestation. Controls were additionally grouped according to normal (C; ≥3, n 7) or low body condition score (LBCS; ≤2, n 6) thereby enabling us to examine the effect of maternal body composition on later cardiovascular function. From day 80 to term (∼147 d) all sheep were fed to 100% ME. Offspring were weaned at 12 weeks and pasture-reared until 6 months of age when cardiovascular function was determined. Both LBCS and NR sheep tended to have lower resting systolic (C, 85 (SEM 2); LBCS, 77 (SEM 3); NR, 77 (SEM 3) mmHg) and diastolic BP relative to controls. Total nephron count was markedly lower in both LBCS and NR relative to controls (LBCS, 59 (SEM 6); NR, 56 (SEM 12) %). Our data suggest maternal body composition around conception is as important as the level of nutrient intake during early pregnancy in programming later cardiovascular health.