title: Decreased umbilical artery compliance and igf-I plasma levels in infants with intrauterine growth restriction - implications for fetal programming of hypertension.
abstract: Epidemiological studies link intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) to arterial hypertension in adulthood. We compared umbilical arteries from IUGR (n=12, <5th weight percentile) vs. appropriate for gestational age (AGA) infants (n=12) using structural and functional analyses. The vessel wall area of umbilical arteries in the IUGR group was significantly smaller than in the AGA group (2.8 vs. 3.8mm(2), P<0.05). Myographic measurements showed that maximal tension [mN/mm] as well as maximal force [mN] were both significantly increased in IUGR arteries compared with AGA arteries (P<0.05). Serum levels of IGF-I, a regulator of elastin synthesis, were significantly lower in IUGR cord blood (P<0.01) than in AGA cord blood. These IGF-I serum levels correlated significantly with maximum tension in umbilical arteries (P<0.01). Low intrauterine IGF-I serum levels may account for thinner and stiffer umbilical arteries in IUGR infants in comparison to AGA infants thereby providing a potential link to arterial hypertension in adulthood.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics, University Hospital Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Burkhardt
authors.forename: C M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Matter
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lohmann
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.forename: T F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Lüscher
authors.forename: A H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Zisch
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Beinder
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003187:Compliance; D005260:Female; D047109:Fetal Development / Q000502:physiology*; D005317:Fetal Growth Retardation / Q000097:blood*; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I / Q000378:metabolism*; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange / Q000502:physiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014469:Umbilical Arteries / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D007334:Insulin-Like Growth Factor I