Intrauterine environments are related to fetal renal development and postnatal health. Influence of salty diets during pregnancy on renal functions and renin–angiotensin system (RAS) was determined in the ovine fetuses and offspring. Pregnant ewes were fed high-salt diet (HSD) or normal-salt diet (NSD) for 2 months during middle-to-late gestation. Fetal renal functions, plasma hormones, and mRNA and protein expressions of the key elements of renal RAS were measured in the fetuses and offspring. Fetal renal excretion of sodium was increased while urine volume decreased in the HSD group. Fetal blood urea nitrogen was increased, while kidney weight:body weight ratio decreased in the HSD group. The altered ratio was also observed in the offspring aged 15 and 90 days. Maternal and fetal plasma antidiuretic hormone was elevated without changes in plasma renin activity and Ang I levels, while plasma Ang II was decreased. The key elements of local renal RAS, including angiotensinogen, angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE), ACE2, AT1, and AT2 receptor expression in both mRNA and protein, except renin, were altered following maternal high salt intake. The results suggest that high intake of salt during pregnancy affected fetal renal development associated with an altered expression of the renal key elements of RAS, some alterations of fetal origins remained after birth as possible risks in developing renal or cardiovascular diseases.
Background: Umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cell (UCMSCs) transplantation has been widely studied in premature ovarian failure (POF). However, the underlying mechanism remains elusive. This study aims to investigate the protective properties and mechanisms of heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) expressed in UCMSCs in restoring the ovarian function of POF mice. Methods: In in vitro and in vivo experiments, mice were treated with the presence or absence of the HO-1/shHO-1-transfected UCMSCs, and the administration of SP600125 or anisomycin, the inhibitor or activator of JNK. The viability and apoptosis of granulosa cells (GCs) at different time points of co-cultivation were assessed in vitro. In in vivo experiments, mouse ovarian function was assessed by detecting the serum levels of hormone and observing the ovarian morphological changes. Multiple molecular indices of JNK/Bcl-2 signal pathway were performed. And the autophagy changes in GCs were assessed by detecting the associated cytokines and observing the intracellular autophagosome accumulation. Additionally, the spleen levels of CD8 + CD28 − T cells and serum levels of interleukin 10 (IL-10) were tested to evaluate the immune mechanisms involved.
This study determines the influence of a prenatal high-sucrose (HS) diet on angiotensin II (Ang II)-mediated pressor response and determine the underlying mechanism. Pregnant rats were provided with a 20% sucrose solution diet throughout gestation. Blood pressure and vascular response to Ang II were measured in 5-month-old adult offspring. Currents of L-type Ca(2+) channels (Cav1.2) were measured in smooth muscle cells of small mesenteric arteries from the offspring. Ang II-mediated pressor response was higher in the offspring exposed to prenatal high sugar compared with the control. In mesenteric arteries from the HS offspring, AT1 receptors (AT1R), not AT2 receptors, mediated the increased vasoconstriction; protein kinase C (PKC) antagonist GF109203X suppressed the Ang II-increased vasoconstriction; PKC agonist phorbol 12,13-dibutyrate produced a greater contractile response that was reversed by the Cav1.2 antagonist nifedipine. The expression of PKCα was increased, whereas PKCδ was unchanged; KCl-induced vasoconstriction was stronger and was suppressed by nifedipine; nifedipine also reduced the enhanced vasoconstriction by Ang II. In addition, the Cav1.2 of smooth muscle cells in mesenteric arteries from the HS offspring showed larger current density, although its expression was unchanged. The data suggest that a HS diet during pregnancy alters Ang II-mediated pressor response and microvessel tone acting through the PKC/Cav1.2 pathway in the offspring that may in part be because of alterations in AT1Rs, PKCα and Cav1.2.
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