Authors: Helen Budge,; Terence Stephenson,; Michael E. Symonds,

Source: Current Drug Targets, Volume 8, Number 8, August 2007 , pp. 888-893(6)

Publisher: Bentham Science Publishers

Abstract:

An increase in fetal glucocorticoid exposure has long been considered to be a primary mechanism by which maternal nutritional manipulation may result in long term adaptations in the fetus such that it is at increased risk of a range of adult diseases including hypertension, diabetes and obesity. Animal studies in which high doses of synthetic glucocorticoids have been administered to the mother shown some long term programming effects, but these are nearly always accompanied by a reduction in maternal food intake. In this review, we will, therefore, consider the extent to which maternal food restriction and elevated maternal glucocorticoid concentrations can result in the same or different adaptations within the fetus such that they exhibit developmental changes in blood pressure control and/or metabolic homeostasis. One factor that appears to be critical in determining the mother's response is the stage of gestation at which her nutrient intake is manipulated. This may be explained in part by the placenta's ability to inactivate glucocorticoids. Irrespective of the mechanisms involved, it is clear that long term tissue specific adaptations within a range of organs, including adipose tissue and the kidney, can be greatly altered following changes in maternal glucocorticoid secretion.

Keywords: Nutrition; blood pressure; cortisol; growth

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2174/138945007781386839

Publication date: 2007-08-01

More about this publication?

• Current Drug Targets aims to cover the latest and most outstanding developments on the medicinal chemistry and pharmacology of molecular drug targets e.g. disease specific proteins, receptors, enzymes, genes. Each issue of the journal will be devoted to a single timely topic, with series of in-depth reviews, written by leaders in the field, covering a range of current topics on drug targets. These issues will be organized and led by a guest editor who is a recognized expert in the overall topic. As the discovery, identification, characterisation and validation of novel human drug targets for drug discovery continues to grow; this journal will be essential reading for all pharmaceutical scientists involved in drug discovery and development.

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