London, 12 October 2015
Lack of oxygen during pregnancy combined with high salt intake in later life can damage vascular function in the offspring of mice, according to a study published today in The Journal of Physiology. In her experiments, PhD student Sarah Walton, used mice in which pregnancy was complicated by reducing oxygen supply. The offspring were fed either a normal rodent diet, or a diet containing high levels of salt throughout adult life. The team evaluated the functional and mechanical characteristics of the blood vessels to investigate the combined impact of lack of oxygen in the womb and a postnatal diet high in salt. Offspring whose mothers experienced reduced oxygen during pregnancy had blood vessels with impaired function, a condition associated with stroke and heart attack. In addition, feeding these offspring a diet high in salt caused degenerative changes in the walls of the aorta, and stiffness of the small blood vessels. Increased vascular stiffness can contribute to high blood pressure and is used as a predictor for future cardiovascular events.
Associate Professor Karen Moritz, The University of Queensland, and principal investigator of the study, explained, ‘Reduced oxygen supply to the developing fetus due to, for example, smoking or severe sleep apnoea, is a common pregnancy complication in humans. In our mouse model hypoxia (lack of oxygen) during pregnancy caused growth restriction and increased vulnerability to poor blood vessel function in adult offspring. Strikingly, we observed marked stiffening of the blood vessels when the low oxygen levels in utero was combined with a high dietary salt intake throughout adult life.
‘High dietary salt intake is endemic in Western societies, largely due to our consumption of processed foods. As such, we may be inadvertently enhancing certain predispositions to vascular dysfunction and stiffness by making poor dietary choices. Our findings are promising, as consuming a healthy diet may prevent or at least limit adverse cardiovascular outcomes associated with unavoidable complications during pregnancy (such as low oxygen).
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Notes for Editors:
- Full paper title: Walton S et al (2015) Late gestational hypoxia and a postnatal high-salt diet programs endothelial dysfunction and arterial stiffness in adult mouse offspring DOI: 10.1113/JP271067 http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1113/JP271067/abstract
- The Journal of Physiology publishes advances in physiology, which increase our understanding of how our bodies function in health and disease. http://jp.physoc.org
- The Physiological Society brings together over 3,500 scientists from over 60 countries. The Society promotes physiology with the public and parliament alike. It supports physiologists by organising world-class conferences and offering grants for research and also publishes the latest developments in the field in its three leading scientific journals, The Journal of Physiology, Experimental Physiology and Physiological Reports. www.physoc.org
Contacts:
Dr Helga Groll, Media and Communications Officer, The Physiological Society
+44 (0)20 7269 5727, pressoffice@physoc.org
Associate Professor Karen Moritz, School of Biomedical Sciences, The University of Queensland, Australia
Phone: 61-7-3365-4598
E-mail: k.moritz@uq.edu.au