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Updated: Jan 29, 2026

Fetal Echocardiography and Pulsed-wave Doppler Ultrasound in a Rabbit Model of Intrauterine Growth Restriction
Published on: June 29, 2013
Increased Autophagy and Apoptosis in the Kidneys of Intrauterine Growth Restricted Rats
Tyrus Stewart1, Mahmoud Kallash2,3, V Matti Vehaskari1
1a Louisiana State University, Health Sciences Center , New Orleans , Louisiana , USA.
Background:
IUGR has been associated with nephron loss and chronic kidney disease (CKD).
Materials And Methods:
We examined autophagy and apoptosis markers in the kidneys of IUGR Sprague Dawley rats induced by maternal low protein diet (LP), comparing them to controls. The autophagy marker LC3B, the pro-apoptotic protein Bax, and the anti-apoptotic protein Bcl-2 were determined by quantitative immunoblotting. Immunohistochemical expressions of LC3B, Bax, and Bcl-2 were evaluated at 4 weeks age. Glomerular counts (by maceration techniques) were performed at 5 weeks.
Results:
The LP diet offspring were lighter (P < 0.05). In IUGR kidneys, LC3B and Bax were increased at birth (p < 0.05, p < 0.001) and at 4 weeks (p < 0.0142, p < 0.0001), Bcl-2 was decreased at birth (p < 0.05), and there were less glomeruli (p < 0.01) at 5 weeks.
Conclusions:
Autophagy and apoptosis may have a role in IUGR associated decreased nephron number in Sprague rats.
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