Abstract
Moderate maternal nutrient restriction during pregnancy occurs in both developing and developed countries. In addition to poverty, maternal dieting, teenage pregnancy, and uterine vascular problems in older mothers are causes of decreased fetal nutrition. We evaluated the impact of global 30% maternal nutrient reduction (MNR) on early fetal baboon brain maturation. MNR induced major cerebral developmental disturbances without fetal growth restriction or marked maternal weight reduction. Mechanisms evaluated included neurotrophic factor suppression, cell proliferation and cell death imbalance, impaired glial maturation and neuronal process formation, down-regulation of gene ontological pathways and related gene products, and up-regulated transcription of cerebral catabolism. Contrary to the known benefits from this degree of dietary reduction on life span, MNR in pregnancy compromises structural fetal cerebral development, potentially having an impact on brain function throughout life.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 3011-3016 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |
Volume | 108 |
Issue number | 7 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Feb 15 2011 |
Keywords
- Brain development
- Environment
- Epigenetics
- Fetus
- Malnutrition
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- General