Prenatal programming of angiotensin II type 2 receptor expression in the rat.

ABSTRACT: Exposure to undernutrition during fetal life has been proposed as an underlying cause of adult hypertension. Epidemiological studies demonstrating relationships between low birth weight and later CVD are supported by animal experiments indicating that manipulations of the maternal diet in pregnancy exert programming effects upon blood pressure control. Pregnant female Wistar rats were fed a control diet (n 13) or a low-protein diet (n 12) throughout pregnancy. At delivery all animals were fed the same standard laboratory chow diet. Analysis of nephron number in kidneys obtained from 4-week-old offspring showed that this was significantly (P<0.05) reduced in animals exposed to maternal protein restriction. At this age rats exposed to low-protein diets in utero had systolic blood pressures t

SUBMITTER: McMullen S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1891638 | biostudies-literature | 2004 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature