title: Salt intake during pregnancy alters offspring's myocardial structure.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the effects of low or high salt intake during pregnancy on left ventricle of adult male offspring.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Low- (LS, 0.15%), normal- (NS, 1.3%) or high-salt (HS, 8% NaCl) diet was given to Wistar rats during pregnancy. During lactation all dams received NS as well as the offspring after weaning. To evaluate cardiac response to salt overload, 50% of each offspring group was fed a high-salt (hs, 4% NaCl) diet from the 21st to the 36th week of age (LShs, NShs, HShs). The remaining 50% was maintained on NS (LSns, NSns and HSns). Echocardiography was done at 20 and 30 weeks of age. Mean blood pressure (MBP), histology and left ventricular angiotensin II content (AII) were analyzed at 36 weeks of age. Interventricular septum, left ventricular posterior wall and relative wall thickness increased from the 20th to the 30th week of age only in HShs, cardiomyocyte mean volume was higher in HShs compared to NShs, LShs and HSns. AII and left ventricular fibrosis were not different among groups.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  HS during pregnancy programs adult male offspring to a blood pressure and angiotensin II independent concentric left ventricular hypertrophy, with no fibrosis, in response to a chronic high-salt intake.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Experimental Hypertension, University of São Paulo School of Medicine, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: E N
authors.initials: EN
authors.lastname: Alves-Rodrigues
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Veras
authors.forename: K T
authors.initials: KT
authors.lastname: Rosa
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: de Castro
authors.forename: L N S
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Furukawa
authors.forename: I B
authors.initials: IB
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Souza
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Heimann
mesh_terms: D000804:Angiotensin II / Q000097:blood; D000818:Animals; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000187:drug effects; D004452:Echocardiography; D005260:Female; D006352:Heart Ventricles / Q000187:drug effects / Q000503:physiopathology; D017379:Hypertrophy, Left Ventricular / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D008297:Male; D009206:Myocardium / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D007703:Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D011188:Potassium / Q000097:blood; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012084:Renin-Angiotensin System / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D012964:Sodium / Q000097:blood / Q000652:urine; D017673:Sodium Chloride, Dietary / Q000008:administration & dosage* / Q000009:adverse effects*
chemical_list: D017673:Sodium Chloride, Dietary; D000804:Angiotensin II; D012964:Sodium; D007703:Peptidyl-Dipeptidase A; D011188:Potassium