Endocrine Abstracts

Introduction: Epidemiological evidence suggests that a poor diet during pregnancy leads to offspring with higher risk of chronic diseases in adulthood. Our previous work in sheep showed that mild protein-energy malnutrition in early gestation results in decreased insulin signalling in the liver, and changes in vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) in the kidney. The current study explored whether these changes are generalised phenomena, or organ-specific.<p class="abst...

Background: Previous studies have linked a low protein maternal diet with hypertension in adult offspring, and have suggested that impaired kidney development may be an important predisposing factor. This study aims to identify the molecular and structural changes that explain the decline in function.Methods: Pregnant ewes were fed either a control diet providing adequate dietary protein (control protein (CP); n=15), or a low protein diet during e...