Consumption of a high-salt diet by ewes during pregnancy alters nephrogenesis in 5-month-old offspring

Abstract

Maternal nutrition during pregnancy can affect kidney development in the foetus, which may lead to adverse consequences in the mature kidney. It was expected that high-salt intake by pregnant ewes would lead to a reduction in foetal glomerular number but that the ovine kidney would adapt to maintain homoeostasis, in part by increasing the size of each glomerulus. Merino ewes that were fed either a control (1.5% NaCl) or high-salt (10.5% NaCl) diet during pregnancy, as well as their 5-month-old offspring, were subjected to a dietary salt challenge, and glomerular number and size and sodium excretion were measured. The high-salt offspring had 20% fewer glomeruli compared with the control offspring ( P , 0.001), but they also had larger glomerular radii compared with the control offspring ( P , 0.001). Consequently, the cross-sectional area of glomeruli was 18% larger in the high-salt offspring than in the control offspring ( P , 0.05). There was no difference in the daily urinary sodium excretion between the two offspring groups ( P . 0.05), although the high-salt offspring produced urine with a higher concentration of sodium. Our results demonstrated that maternal high-salt intake during pregnancy affected foetal nephrogenesis, altering glomerular number at birth. However, the ability to concentrate and excrete salt was not compromised, which indicates that the kidney was able to adapt to the reduction in the number of glomeruli.

High-salt diets during pregnancy increases renal vascular reactivity due to altered soluble guanylyl cyclase-related pathways in rat offspring

“…Previous studies reported that maternal HS diets during pregnancy affected nephrogenesis and altered glomerular number and size and changed expression of key elements of renin-angiotensin system in the offspring kidney [12,22]. The aim of present study was to determine whether renal vascular development could be affected by prenatal HS.…”

Determinação de valores de referência séricos para os eletrólitos magnésio, cloretos, cálcio e fósforo em ovinos das raças Dorper e Santa Inês

“…Apesar de não existir significância estatística, esses resultados sugerem atenção durante a interpretação de análises deste eletrólito nos animais. Para os íons clore- (Tay et al 2012), e especial atenção deve ser dada aos níveis de cloretos por essa espécie animal. Os ní-veis de cloro também estão diretamente ligados à ingestão de sal mineral, e, como o consumo de sal pelos animais desta faixa etária é menor que nas demais (Oliveira 2011), esse resultado sugere que animais mais jovens devem possuir intervalo de referência diferenciado para os íons cloretos.…”

How the Kidney Is Impacted by the Perinatal Maternal Environment to Develop Hypertension1

“…Consumption of a high-salt diet by pregnant ewes during the final phase of nephrogenesis reduces the number of nephrons in the offspring [68]. Similarly in rats, exposure to maternal high dietary salt intake during pregnancy and lactation periods compromises nephrogenesis in the offspring [24].…”