In a sheep model, we investigated diet effects on skeletal muscle mitochondria to look for fetal programming. During pregnancy, ewes were fed normally (N) or were 50% food restricted (L) during the last trimester, and lambs born to these ewes received a normal (N) or a high-fat diet (H) for the first 6 mo of life. We examined mitochondrial function in permeabilized muscle fibers from the lambs ...

This review article outlines epidemiologic studies that support the hypothesis that maternal environment (including early nutrition) plays a seminal role in determining the offspring's long-term health and metabolism, known as the concept of Developmental Origins of Health and Diseases (DOHaD). In this context, current concerns are particularly focused on the increased incidence of obesity and ...

AS PROPOSED BY BARKER (2, 3), limitations in fetal nutrition contribute to intrauterine growth restriction and the increased risk for development of cardiovascular disease and hypertension in later life. Although this observation was derived from numerous epidemiological studies, experimental studies in animals further support fetal programming of hypertension and the role of the kidney. Specif...

Exposure to environmental contaminants during the critical window of pregnancy results in deregulation of highly coordinated genetic and epigenetic mechanisms involved in prenatal growth. Such disturbances significantly alter the fetal programming, and lead to various developmental disorders immediately, over the lifetime, or transgenerationally. During the process of placental development, fet...

Growing evidence supports the hypothesis that the in utero environment can have profound implications for fetal development and later life offspring health. Current theory suggests conditions experienced in utero prepare, or "programme", the fetus for its anticipated post-natal environment. The mechanisms responsible for these programming events are poorly understood but are likely to involve g...

It has long been postulated that pathogenic events during fetal development influence atherosclerosis-related diseases later in life, but the mechanisms involved are unknown. This review focuses on the evidence indicating that maternal hypercholesterolemia during pregnancy is responsible for one cascade of pathogenic events. Maternal hypercholesterolemia is associated with greatly increased fat...