Effect of moderate, 30 percent global maternal nutrient reduction on fetal and postnatal baboon phenotype

BackgroundMost developmental programming studies on maternal nutrient reduction (MNR) are in altricial rodents whose maternal nutritional burden and offspring developmental trajectory differ from precocial non-human primates and humans. MethodsControl (CTR) baboon mothers ate ad libitum; MNR mothers ate 70% global control diet in pregnancy and lactation. ResultsWe present offspring morphometry, blood cortisol, and adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) during second half of gestation (G) and first three postnatal years. Moderate MNR produced intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR). IUGR males (n=43) and females (n=28) were smaller than CTR males (n=50) and females (n=47) in many measurements at many ages. In CTR, fetal ACTH increased 228% and cortisol 48% between 0.65G and 0.9G. IUGR ACTH was elevated at 0.65G and cortisol at 0.9G. 0.9G maternal gestational weight gain, fetal weight, and placenta weight were correlated. ConclusionsModerate IUGR decreased body weight and morphometric measurements at key time points and altered hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal function.