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The Mechanisms and Impact of Fetal Physiological Programming
APS Cross Sectional Symposium
Jeffrey Schwartz
W. Reik, L.D. Longo, J.A. Owens and R.M. Carey
The concept of fetal programming, whereby alterations
in the gestational environment from the pre-embryonic period until birth can
lead to subtle permanent changes in the developing regulatory mechanisms,
has recently become an area of keen interest, provocative discussion and
intense research among a diverse group of physiologists. The center of
gravity, it is fair to say, has evolved from descriptions of the impact of
programming and the establishing of cause-effect relationships to
delineation of specific mechanisms by which the prenatal physiological
changes occur. Scientists in virtually all disciplines of physiology are
currently focusing research efforts at levels from the epigenetic to the
whole animal. Interestingly, the research has become bi-directional.
Whereas it was once driven by fetal physiologists with an interest in the
impact of developmental changes, many researchers are now investigating how
programming might have contributed to the function of the regulatory systems
they have been studying in adult systems. As the field of physiological
programming has evolved and expanded, so too has the presentation of
research in the area. Numerous conferences have been held with audiences
composed primarily of researchers whose primary focus was programming itself
who presented evidence of the phenomenon. A featured topics session at
EB2002 represented shift to a much broader audience, who were presented with
results from a variety of studies on the mechanisms of cardiovascular
programming.
The interest generated in fetal programming among the
wider population of physiologists, who study regulatory mechanisms from a
variety of perspectives, suggests that the time is now propitious for a
symposium with the aim of relating the concept of fetal programming
to regulatory elements of cellular, endocrine, cardiovascular and renal
physiology, as well as others. Thus, it would not be a symposium to
describe or debate the existence of programming. Rather, the speakers would
articulate the impact of the developmental changes, both mechanistically
(how it happens) and functionally (what long term physiological changes
might or might not be attributable to programming), as understood in the
areas in which they are expert. Wolf Reik of the Babraham Institute,
Cambridge, England will address functional physiological aspects of genetic
imprinting, such as its role in placental growth and nutrient transfer, and
of epigenetic reprogramming in early development and its relevance to
cloning and stem cell biology. Lawrence Longo of the Center for Perinatal
Biology at Loma Linda University will relate research on fetuses subjected
to high-altitude long-term hypoxia, in terms of the permanent anatomical,
biochemical and functional changes that are part of fetal programming.
Julie Owens of the University of Adelaide, Australia will place in
perspective the changes in the maternal environment that alter endocrine and
metabolic regulatory systems, the mechanisms by which the alterations occur
and the long term consequences on growth and metabolism. Robert Carey of
the University of Virginia will examine current understanding of
cardiovascular and renal regulatory mechanisms, in light of changes that are
potentially the result of fetal programming. This spectrum of scientific
approaches and research perspectives represented by the four presentations
assures a most thought-provoking and forward-focused session of interest to
the members of numerous sections of the APS including Cardiovascular, Cell &
Molecular, Endocrinology & Metabolism, Renal, Respiration, Water &
Electrolyte Homeostasis and Hypoxia.
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