in this study, the effects of late gestational undernutrition (lgu) on plasma concentration of insulin-like growth factor 1 (igf-i), leptin, insulin and glucose in subsequent sucking lambs was investigated. ten twin-bearing ewes were fed either restrictedly (restricted) or adequately (control) during the last six weeks of gestation and were fed ad libitum after parturition. blood samples were t...

Williams, Sarah J., Morag E. Campbell, I. Caroline McMillen, and Sandra T. Davidge. Differential effects of maternal hypoxia or nutrient restriction on carotid and femoral vascular function in neonatal rats. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 288: R360–R367, 2005. First published November 4, 2004; doi:10.1152/ajpregu.00178. 2004.—In response to reduced oxygen or nutrient supply, the fetus m...

The incidence of intestinal nutrient malabsorption increases with age. Therefore, an important question is whether there are age-related changes in intestinal nutrient absorption which may contribute to a decline in absorptive capacity. Sugar and amino acid transport per mg intestine generally decreases with age. The proximate mechanism underlying this age-related decrease in transport activity...

In response to reduced oxygen or nutrient supply, the fetus may redistribute cardiac output to conserve brain and heart growth, at the expense of the peripheral tissues; however, it is not known whether alterations in vascular function are maintained after birth or whether reduced fetal oxygen versus nutrient supply produces distinct effects. Using a pressure myograph, we examined isolated caro...

Postnatal ad libitum caloric intake superimposed on intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is associated with adult-onset obesity, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). We hypothesized that this paradigm of prenatal nutrient deprivation-induced programming can be reversed with the introduction of early postnatal calorie restriction. Ten-month-old male rats exposed to either p...

When developing animals encounter nutrient restriction, most tissues stop growing. Some vital tissues, however, such as the brain, continue to grow. Now, Cheng et al. (2011) identify Alk as the kinase that allows the Drosophila brain to continue growing during nutrient restriction by bypassing the requirements for insulin receptor and TOR activation.

Linear growth in children is sensitive to nutritional status. Amino acids, in particular leucine, have been shown to regulate cell growth, proliferation, and differentiation through the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), a nutrient-sensing protein kinase. Having recently demonstrated a role for mTOR in chondrogenesis, we hypothesized that leucine restriction, acting through mTOR, would inhib...