Developmental plasticity and human health

Abstract

Many plants and animals are capable of developing in a variety of ways, forming characteristics that are well adapted to the environments in which they are likely to live. In adverse circumstances, for example, small size and slow metabolism can facilitate survival, whereas larger size and more rapid metabolism have advantages for reproductive success when resources are more abundant. Often these characteristics are induced in early life or are even set by cues to which their parents or grandparents were exposed. Individuals developmentally adapted to one environment may, however, be at risk when exposed to another when they are older. The biological evidence may be relevant to the understanding of human development and susceptibility to disease. As the nutritional state of many human mothers has improved around the world, the characteristics of their offspring--such as body size and metabolism--have also changed. Responsiveness to their mothers' condition before birth may generally prepare individuals so that they are best suited to the environment forecast by cues available in early life. Paradoxically, however, rapid improvements in nutrition and other environmental conditions may have damaging effects on the health of those people whose parents and grandparents lived in impoverished conditions. A fuller understanding of patterns of human plasticity in response to early nutrition and other environmental factors will have implications for the administration of public health.

Familial intergenerational and maternal aggregation patterns in nutrient intakes in the Lifeways Cross-Generation Cohort Study

“…Although still rare, some initiatives of such programmes are available (http://www.preparing forlife.ie/) (50) . Barker contends that the critical 1000 d period from pregnancy until the child is 2 years old is of profound importance, but also that grand-maternal influences are strongly influential (40,(51)(52)(53) . In conclusion, our study provides empirical cross-generation evidence in human families that that is certainly the case in relation to nutrient intakes.…”

Advanced aging phenotype is revealed by epigenetic modifications in rat liver after in utero malnutrition

“…Fetal life is a critical period of developmental plasticity during which insults can give rise to distinctive morphological states (Bateson et al ., 2004). While the environment over the course of a lifetime can have a cumulative impact on epigenetic dysregulation, adverse exposures in early life may set alterations in epigenetic markings within young replicative cells.…”

Nutrient-intake-level-dependent regulation of intestinal development in newborn intrauterine growth-restricted piglets via glucagon-like peptide-2

“…Neonates born with IUGR have increased risk of postnatal morbidity and mortality, and IUGR is considered to be a major health concern worldwide for both humans and commercially raised domestic animals (Bateson et al, 2004;Wu et al, 2006). IUGR has been primarily attributed to placental insufficiency during the intrauterine phase (Wu et al, 2006), and can be regarded as the failure of a fetus to reach its genetic growth potential.…”