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Endocrine Abstracts (2016) 44 S9.1 | DOI: 10.1530/endoabs.44.S9.1

SFEBES2016 Symposia Exposing the sins of our fathers (and mothers) (3 abstracts)

Maternal nutrition around conception and its influence on fetal development and adult health

Tom Fleming


University of Southampton, Southampton, UK.


The early embryo before implantation, in addition to undergoing the intrinsic steps of morphogenesis, demonstrates external ’awareness’ of environmental conditions in particular maternal nutritional quality. These nutritional cues are used to optimise the developmental programme for long-term survival, a form of developmental plasticity. Thus, maternal protein restriction exclusively during mouse preimplantation development with normal nutrition thereafter and postnatally, is sufficient to induce adult-onset cardiometabolic and behavioural disease risk. Related human models show a similar legacy for periconceptional maternal nutrition on long-term health. We have shown changes in maternal metabolites induced by diet are detected by embryos within the uterine environment via signalling mechanisms. These programme a series of compensatory responses within the embryo affecting differentially the embryonic and extra-embryonic cell lineages. Collectively, these changes alter the fetal growth trajectory via epigenetic, cellular and physiological mechanisms, leading ultimately to postnatal disease risk. The mechanisms and consequences for periconceptional maternal nutritional programming on intergenerational health will be discussed. Funding: BBSRC, MRC, NICHD, EU-FP7, Rosetrees Trust, Kerkut Trust.

Volume 44

Society for Endocrinology BES 2016

Brighton, UK
07 Nov 2016 - 09 Nov 2016

Society for Endocrinology 

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