The expression of growth-arrest genes in the liver and kidney of the protein-restricted rat fetus

Abstract

During fetal life, there are periods of rapid cell proliferation, which are uniquely sensitive to nutritional perturbation. Feeding the pregnant rat a proteinrestricted diet alters the growth trajectory of major fetal organs such as the kidney. By day 21 of gestation, the ratio of kidney weight to total body weight is reduced in the fetuses of dams fed a protein-deficient diet. In contrast, the ratio of fetal liver weight to total body weight is unchanged. To investigate the mechanisms underlying this disproportionate change in organ growth in the low-protein group, cell proliferation and differentiation have been assessed in the liver and kidney. The steady-state levels of mRNA for the growth-arrest and DNA-damage gene gadd153/CHOP-10, CCAAT enhancer-binding proteins a and b were unaffected by maternal diet in both fetal liver and kidney. The mRNA for alpha-fetoprotein, albumin and hepatic glucokinase were unchanged in the liver, suggesting that maternal protein deficiency does not alter the state of differentiation. The steady-state levels of the mRNA coding for the cyclindependent protein kinase inhibitors (p15 INK4a, p19INK4d , p21 CIP1

An imbalance in the methionine content of the maternal diet reduces postnatal growth in the rat

“…Previously, it has been shown that feeding the pregnant rat the protein-restricted diets described above alters the growth trajectory of the fetus [11,12]. By day 21 of gestation, there are significant asymmetries in the growth of major organs.…”

Gene and protein expression profiles in the foetal liver of the pregnant rat fed a low protein diet

“…Analyses of foetal liver were carried out on tissues from six female pups, one chosen randomly from each litter. Females were used as these were shown to be more affected in adult life [11].…”

“…All mRNA samples used had an RNA integrity number [8 (Agilent Bioanalyser) and sexing was verified by PCR [11]. Samples of RNA were hybridised to Affymetrix Rat Genome 230 2.0 microarrays (Affymetrix, Santa Clara, CA, USA, provided through the NuGO array pipeline) by ServiceXS (Leiden, the Netherlands).…”

“…A portion of the foetal liver was used for the preparation of total RNA using Trizol reagent (Sigma, Poole, Dorset, UK) and treated with DNAse as described previously [11]. All mRNA samples used had an RNA integrity number [8 (Agilent Bioanalyser) and sexing was verified by PCR [11].…”

Efeito da concentração de metionina na dieta durante o período pré e pósnatal sobre o estresse oxidativo, a instabilidade genômica e expressão de RNAm de Mat1a, Bhmt e Cbs em camundongos

“…Alguns órgãos de fetos podem ser mais sensíveis que outros quando dietas com conteúdo de proteína balanceado com metionina é administrada a fêmeas durante a gravidez (MALONEY et al, 2005 (IWASAKI et al, 2009). Assim, a GSH é a forma encontrada em grande quantidade nas células sob condições normais e sua atividade antioxidante ocorre pela oxidação do grupo tiol em presença de H 2 O 2 gerando a glutationa oxidada (GSSG) pela ação da glutationa peroxidase (GIUSTARINI et al, 2009;GRIFFITH, 1999;GUTTERIDGE, 1995;MORAN;GUTTERIDGE;QUINLAN, 2001).…”