Maternal nutrient restriction during pregnancy impairs an endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor-like pathway in sheep fetal coronary arteries.

ABSTRACT: The mechanisms underlying developmental programming are poorly understood but may be associated with adaptations by the fetus in response to changes in the maternal environment during pregnancy. We hypothesized that maternal nutrient restriction during pregnancy alters vasodilator responses in fetal coronary arteries. Pregnant ewes were fed a control [100% U.S. National Research Council (NRC)] or nutrient-restricted (60% NRC) diet from days 50 to 130 of gestation (term = 145 days); fetal tissues were collected at day 130. In coronary arteries isolated from control fetal lambs, relaxation to bradykinin was unaffected by nitro-l-arginine (NLA). Iberiotoxin or contraction with KCl abolished the NLA-resistant response to bradykinin. In fetal coronary arteries from nutrient-restricted ewes, rel

SUBMITTER: Shukla P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4101639 | biostudies-literature | 2014 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature