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Updated: Dec 30, 2025
A Murine Model of Fetal Exposure to Maternal Inflammation to Study the Effects of Acute Chorioamnionitis on Newborn Intestinal Development
Published on: June 24, 2020
Nongenomic memory of foetal history in chronic diseases development
Stefan Bezek1, Eduard Ujhazy, Michal Dubovicky
1Institute of Experimental Pharmacology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia. stefan.bezek@savba.sk
Insights
Fetal development is influenced by genetics and the maternal environment. Prenatal and postnatal factors can permanently alter metabolism, increasing susceptibility to chronic diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular conditions.
Area of Science:
- Developmental biology
- Perinatal medicine
- Environmental health
Background:
- Fetal growth is a complex process influenced by genetics, nutrient/oxygen availability, and maternal factors.
- An optimal fetal environment is crucial for long-term health and quality of life.
- Adverse conditions like poor nutrition, infection, or maternal health issues can disrupt fetal development.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review how environmental factors during critical developmental periods influence molecular mechanisms.
- To examine the link between prenatal/postnatal stimuli and long-term disease risk.
- To understand the impact of intrauterine conditions on chronic disease susceptibility.
Main Methods:
- Review of human epidemiologic data.
- Analysis of animal model studies.
- Examination of molecular mechanisms linking environmental factors to disease risk.
Main Results:
- Severe intrauterine deprivation can lead to loss of structural units in developing organs, impairing function.
- Environmental stimuli during development induce permanent metabolic changes.
- Altered developmental pathways increase the risk of metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and other chronic conditions.
Conclusions:
- Environmental factors significantly impact fetal development and long-term health outcomes.
- Prenatal and postnatal environments play a critical role in programming susceptibility to chronic diseases.
- Understanding these influences is key to preventing future health issues.
Abstract:
Foetal growth from conception to birth is a complex process predetermined by the genetic configuration of the foetus, the availability of nutrients and oxygen to the foetus, maternal nutrition and various growth factors and hormones of maternal, foetal and placental origin. Maintenance of the optimal foetal environment is the key factor of the future quality of life. Such conditions like inadequate nutrition and oxygen supply, infection, hypertension, gestational diabetes or drug abuse by the mother, expose the foetus to nonphysiological environment. In conditions of severe intrauterine deprivation, there is a potential loss of structural units within the developing organ systems affecting their functionality and efficiency. Extensive human epidemiologic and animal model data indicate that during critical periods of prenatal and postnatal mammalian development, nutrition and other environmental stimuli influence developmental pathways and thereby induce permanent changes in metabolism and chronic disease susceptibility. The studies reviewed in this article show how environmental factors influence a diverse array of molecular mechanisms and consequently alter disease risk including diseases such as metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular diseases, insulin resistance and diabetes mellitus, neuropsychiatric disorders, osteoporosis, asthma and immune system diseases.
