Maternal low-protein diet programs adult blood pressure in sex-specific ways.

The article presents information on a study from England, according to which animal models support human epidemiological studies in demonstrating a relationship between impaired fetal growth and risk of adult hypertension. Undernutrition during pregnancy exerts programming effects on the developing kidney, and modulation of angiotensin receptor (ATR) expression has been observed persisting into adult life. Fetal overexposure to glucocorticoids is thought to be central to the nutritional programming of blood pressure and may act through an interaction with ATR expression. The study was conducted by researcher S. McMullen and colleagues, and published in the "American Journal of Physiology--Regulatory Integrative and Comparative Physiology."