Jane K. Cleal

Low protein diet fed exclusively during mouse oocyte maturation leads to behavioural and cardiovascular abnormalities in offspring

Early embryonic development is known to be susceptible to maternal undernutrition, leading to a disease‐related postnatal phenotype. To determine whether this sensitivity extended into oocyte development, we examined the effect of maternal normal protein diet (18% casein; NPD) or isocaloric low protein diet (9% casein; LPD) restricted to one ovulatory cycle (3.5 days) prior to natural mating in female MF‐1 mice. After mating, all females received NPD for the remainder of gestation and all offspring were litter size adjusted and fed standard chow. No difference in gestation length, litter size, sex ratio or postnatal growth was observed between treatments. Maternal LPD did, however, induce abnormal anxiety‐related behaviour in open field activities in male and female offspring (P < 0.05). Maternal LPD offspring also exhibited elevated systolic blood pressure (SBP) in males at 9 and 15 weeks and in both sexes at 21 weeks (P < 0.05). Male LPD offspring hypertension was accompanied by attenuated arterial responsiveness in vitro to vasodilators acetylcholine and isoprenaline (P < 0.05). LPD female offspring adult kidneys were also smaller, but had increased nephron numbers (P < 0.05). Moreover, the relationship between SBP and kidney or heart size or nephron number was altered by diet treatment (P < 0.05). These data demonstrate the sensitivity of mouse maturing oocytes in vivo to maternal protein undernutrition and identify both behavioural and cardiovascular postnatal outcomes, indicative of adult disease. These outcomes probably derive from a direct effect of protein restriction, although indirect stress mechanisms may also be contributory. Similar and distinct postnatal outcomes were observed here compared with maternal LPD treatment during post‐fertilization preimplantation development which may reflect the relative contribution of the paternal genome.

Mismatched pre- and postnatal nutrition leads to cardiovascular dysfunction and altered renal function in adulthood

The early life environment has long-term implications for the risk of developing cardiovascular (CV) disease in adulthood. Fetal responses to changes in maternal nutrition may be of immediate benefit to the fetus, but the long-term effects of these adaptations may prove detrimental if nutrition in postnatal life does not match that predicted by the fetus on the basis of its prenatal environment. We tested this predictive adaptive response hypothesis with respect to CV function in sheep. We observed that a mismatch between pre- and postnatal nutrient environments induced an altered CV function in adult male sheep that was not seen when environments were similar. Sheep that received postnatal undernutrition alone had altered growth, CV function, and basal hypothalamo–pituitary–adrenal axis activity in adulthood. Prenatal undernutrition induced greater weight gain by weaning compared with the prenatal control diet, which may provide a reserve in the face of a predicted poor diet in later life. In an adequate postnatal nutrient environment (i.e., relatively mismatched), these offspring exhibited cardiac hypertrophy and altered CV function in adulthood. These data support the concept that adult CV function can be determined by developmental responses to intrauterine nutrition made in expectation of the postnatal nutritional environment, and that if these predictions are not met, the adult may be maladapted and at greater risk of CV disease. Our findings have substantial implications for devising strategies to reduce the impact of a mismatch in nutrition levels in humans undergoing rapid socio-economic transitions in both developing and developed societies.

The Mechanisms and Regulation of Placental Amino Acid Transport to the Human Foetus

The mechanisms by which amino acids are transferred across the human placenta are fundamental to our understanding of foetal nutrition. Amino acid transfer across the human placenta is dependent on transport across both the microvillous and basal plasma membranes of the placental syncytiotrophoblast, and on metabolism within the syncytiotrophoblast. Although the principles underlying uptake of amino acids across the microvillous plasma membrane are well understood, the extent to which amino acids are metabolised within human placenta and the mechanisms by which amino acids are transported out of the placenta across the basal plasma membrane are not well understood. Understanding the mechanisms and regulation of amino acid transport is necessary to understand the causes of intrauterine growth restriction in human pregnancy.

Maternal low-protein diet during mouse pre-implantation development induces vascular dysfunction and altered renin-angiotensin-system homeostasis in the offspring

Environmental perturbations during early mammalian development can affect aspects of offspring growth and cardiovascular health. We have demonstrated previously that maternal gestational dietary protein restriction in mice significantly elevated adult offspring systolic blood pressure. Therefore, the present study investigates the key mechanisms of blood pressure regulation in these mice. Following mating, female MF-1 mice were assigned to either a normal-protein diet (NPD; 18 % casein) or an isocaloric low-protein diet throughout gestation (LPD; 9 % casein), or fed the LPD exclusively during the pre-implantation period (3.5 d) before returning to the NPD for the remainder of gestation (Emb-LPD). All offspring received standard chow. At 22 weeks, isolated mesenteric arteries from LPD and Emb-LPD males displayed significantly attenuated vasodilatation to isoprenaline (P = 0.04 and P = 0.025, respectively), when compared with NPD arteries. At 28 weeks, stereological analysis of glomerular number in female left kidneys revealed no significant difference between the groups. Real-time RT-PCR analysis of type 1a angiotensin II receptor, Na+/K+ ATPase transporter subunits and glucocorticoid receptor expression in male and female left kidneys revealed no significant differences between the groups. LPD females displayed elevated serum angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) activity (P = 0.044), whilst Emb-LPD males had elevated lung ACE activity (P = 0.001), when compared with NPD offspring. These data demonstrate that elevated offspring systolic blood pressure following maternal gestational protein undernutrition is associated with impaired arterial vasodilatation in male offspring, elevated serum and lung ACE activity in female and male offspring, respectively, but kidney glomerular number in females and kidney gene expression in male and female offspring appear unaffected.

Review: Placenta, evolution and lifelong health

The intrauterine environment has an important influence on lifelong health, and babies who grew poorly in the womb are more likely to develop chronic diseases in later life. Placental function is a major determinant of fetal growth and is therefore also a key influence on lifelong health. The capacity of the placenta to transport nutrients to the fetus and regulate fetal growth is determined by both maternal and fetal signals. The way in which the placenta responds to these signals will have been subject to evolutionary selective pressures. The responses selected are those which increase Darwinian fitness, i.e. reproductive success. This review asks whether in addition to responding to short-term signals, such as a rise in maternal nutrient levels, the placenta also responds to longer-term signals representing the mothers phenotype as a measure of environmental influences across her life course. Understanding how the placenta responds to maternal signals is therefore not only important for promoting optimal fetal growth but can also give insights into how human evolution affected developmental history with long-term effects on health and disease.

The effect of maternal undernutrition in early gestation on gestation length and fetal and postnatal growth in sheep

In utero undernutrition in humans may result in cardiovascular (CV), metabolic, and growth adaptations. In sheep, maternal nutrient restriction during pregnancy, without effects on fetal or birth weight, results in altered CV control in the offspring. Adjustment of gestation length after undernutrition could be a strategy to enhance postnatal health/survival. The aim of this study was to determine in sheep the effect of a 50% reduction in maternal nutrient intake [undernutrition group (U) versus 100%, control group (C)] during 1–31 d of gestation (dGA) on gestation length and offspring size. By 28 dGA, U ewes had gained less weight than C, and twin-bearing ewes had gained less weight than singleton-bearing ewes regardless of group (p < 0.05). In different-sex twin pairs, maternal undernutrition resulted in longer gestation compared with C (146.5 ± 0.6 versus 144.6 ± 0.6 d, p < 0.05). Increased weight gain by weaning (20.8 ± 0.8 versus 17.9 ± 0.8 kg, p < 0.05) was observed in U male twins. These findings suggest that the strategy (i.e. growth rate or length of time in utero) adopted by the fetus to enhance immediate survival depends on offspring number and sex. This is likely to reflect the degree of constraint imposed on the fetus.

Facilitated transporters mediate net efflux of amino acids to the fetus across the basal membrane of the placental syncytiotrophoblast

Non‐technical summary Fetal growth depends on transfer of amino acids from the mother to the fetus via the placenta: the interface between the maternal and fetal circulations. We know how amino acids enter the placenta from the maternal blood, but it was not known how the amino acids exit the placenta to reach the fetus. Our work has now provided the first experimental evidence for a novel transport system which provides net amino acid transport to the fetus and influences fetal growth.

Sex‐ and age‐specific effects of nutrition in early gestation and early postnatal life on hypothalamo‐pituitary‐adrenal axis and sympathoadrenal function in adult sheep

The early‐life environment affects risk of later metabolic disease, including glucose intolerance, insulin resistance and obesity. Changes in hypothalamo‐pituitary‐adrenal (HPA) axis and sympathoadrenal function may underlie these disorders. To determine consequences of undernutrition in early gestation and/or immediately following weaning on HPA axis and sympathoadrenal function, 2‐ to 3‐year‐old Welsh Mountain ewes received 100% (C, n= 39) or 50% nutritional requirements (U, n= 41) from 1–31 days gestation, and 100% thereafter. From weaning (12 weeks) to 25 weeks of age, male and female offspring were then either fed ad libitum (CC, n= 22; UC, n= 19) or were undernourished (CU, n= 17; UU, n= 22) such that body weight was reduced to 85% of their individual target, based on a growth trajectory calculated from weights taken between birth and 12 weeks. From 25 weeks, ad libitum feeding was restored for all offspring. At 1.5 and 2.5 years, adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol concentrations were measured at baseline and in response to corticotropin‐releasing factor (CRF) (0.5 μg kg−1) plus arginine vasopressin (AVP) (0.1 μg kg−1). At 2.5 years, HPA axis and sympathoadrenal (catecholamine) responses to a transport and isolation stress test were also measured. In females, post‐weaning undernutrition reduced pituitary output (ACTH) but increased adrenocortical responsiveness (cortisol:ACTH area under curve) during CRF/AVP challenge at 1.5 years and increased adrenomedullary output (adrenaline) to stress at 2.5 years. In males, cortisol responses to stress at 2.5 years were reduced in those with slower growth rates from 12 to 25 weeks. Early gestation undernutrition was associated with increased adrenocortical output in 2.5‐year‐old females only. Pituitary and adrenal responses were also related to adult body composition. Thus, poor growth in the post‐weaning period induced by nutrient restriction has sex‐ and age‐specific effects on HPA and sympathoadrenal function. With altered glucose tolerance previously reported in this model, this may have long‐term detrimental effects on metabolic homeostasis and cardiovascular function.

Effects of pre- and periconceptional undernutrition on arterial function in adult female sheep are vascular bed dependent

The nutritional environment during development and even prior to conception may contribute to cardiovascular risk. In mature adult female sheep, we investigated the effect of preconceptional and periconceptional maternal nutritional restriction on the vascular reactivity of arteries from four vascular beds supplying the heart, thorax, kidney and hindlimb. Welsh Mountain ewes received 100% of nutrient requirements throughout gestation (control group, C, n= 18), or 50% of nutrient requirements for 30 days prior to conception (preconceptional group, PRE, n= 20) or for 15 days either side of conception (periconceptional group, PERI, n= 31) and 100% thereafter. In 3.5‐year‐old female offspring, the left anterior descending coronary (LAD), left internal thoracic (LITA), right renal and second and third order femoral arteries were dissected and their reactivity was assessed by organ bath or wire myography. Vasoconstrictor responses were greater in both LAD and LITA from PERI offspring compared with C (P < 0.01), while vasoconstriction was unaffected by maternal diet in arteries from the renal and femoral circulations (P= n.s.). Endothelium‐dependent and ‐independent vasodilatation was attenuated in third order femoral arteries of PRE and PERI groups compared with C (P < 0.05). Endothelium‐independent vasodilatation was attenuated in both the LAD and renal arteries in the PERI group compared with C (P < 0.05). These data show that moderate maternal undernutrition either prior to or around conception affects vascular function of adult offspring. The effect depends on the timing of the insult, but also on the vascular bed studied and vessel hierarchy in the vascular tree.

Modification of fetal plasma amino acid composition by placental amino acid exchangers in vitro

Fetal growth is dependent on both the quantity and relative composition of amino acids delivered to the fetal circulation, and impaired placental amino acid supply is associated with restricted fetal growth. Amino acid exchangers can alter the composition, but not the quantity, of amino acids in the intra‐ and extracellular amino acid pools. In the placenta, exchangers may be important determinants of the amino acid composition in the fetal circulation. This study investigates the substrate specificity of exchange between the placenta and the feto‐placental circulation. Maternal–fetal transfer of radiolabelled amino acids and creatinine were measured in the isolated perfused human placental cotyledon. Transfer of l‐[14C]serine or l‐[14C]leucine, and [3H]glycine, were measured in the absence of amino acids in the fetal circulation (transfer by non‐exchange mechanisms) and following 10–20 μmol boluses of unlabelled amino acids into the fetal circulation to provide substrates for exchange (transfer by exchange and non‐exchange mechanisms). The ability of fetal arterial boluses of l‐alanine and l‐leucine to stimulate release of amino acids from the placenta was also determined using HPLC in order to demonstrate the overall pattern of amino acid release. Experiments with radiolabelled amino acids demonstrated increased maternal–fetal transfer of l‐serine and l‐leucine, but not glycine, following boluses of specific amino acids into the fetal circulation. l‐[14C]Leucine, but not l‐[14C]serine or [3H]glycine, was transferred from the maternal to the fetal circulation by non‐exchange mechanisms also (P < 0.01). HPLC analysis demonstrated that fetal amino acid boluses stimulated increased transport of a range of different amino acids by 4–7 μmol l−1 (P < 0.05). Amino acid exchange provides a mechanism to supply the fetus with amino acids that it requires for fetal growth. This study demonstrates that these transporters have the capacity to exchange micromolar amounts of specific amino acids, and suggests that they play an important role in regulating fetal plasma amino acid composition.