title: Early determinants of cardiovascular disease.
abstract: According to the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease hypothesis intrauterine or postnatal adaptations to the environment causes morphologic, physiologic or metabolic changes that influence health later in life. These adaptations seem to be carried out through structural, functional and epigenetic modifications. Multiple animal models of cardiovascular programming have been developed, and a brief overview of well-known models and mechanisms is presented. However, developmental programming also offers a novel approach to prevent cardiovascular and related diseases through so-called Reprogramming: administration of appropriate or inhibition of deleterious perinatal factors in induced or genetic models ameliorated undesirable development that otherwise would inevitably have lead to more severe hypertension, cardiovascular and renal disease. A comprehensive overview of these studies suggests that, in analogy to what has been previously recognised in programming, many quite different reprogramming interventions all have similar protective effects. Whether this is due to common final epigenetic pathways remains to be shown.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nephrology and Hypertension, Laboratory of Renal and Vascular Biology, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands. m.sanchezsantos@umcutrecht.nl
authors.forename: Manuel S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Santos
authors.forename: Jaap A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Joles
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic; D005260:Female; D005317:Fetal Growth Retardation / Q000503:physiopathology; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000009:adverse effects; D006801:Humans; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D044342:Malnutrition / Q000150:complications; D023421:Models, Animal; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000503:physiopathology; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000503:physiopathology*
chemical_list: D005938:Glucocorticoids