title: Nutritional programming of insulin resistance: causes and consequences.
abstract: Strong evidence indicates that adverse prenatal and early postnatal environments have a significant long-term influence on risk factors that result in insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes (T2D), and cardiovascular disease later in life. Here we discuss current knowledge of how maternal and neonatal nutrition influence early growth and the long-term risk of developing insulin resistance in different organs and at the whole-body level. Accumulating evidence supports a role for epigenetic mechanisms underlying this nutritional programming, consisting of heritable changes that regulate gene expression which in turn shapes the phenotype across generations. Deciphering these molecular mechanisms in key tissues and discovering key biological markers may provide valuable insight towards the development of effective intervention strategies.
authors.affiliation: University of Cambridge Metabolic Research Laboratories and Medical Research Council (MRC) Metabolic Disease Unit, Institute of Metabolic Sciences, Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK.
authors.forename: Daniella E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Duque-Guimarães
authors.forename: Susan E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Ozanne
mesh_terms: D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D044127:Epigenesis, Genetic / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007333:Insulin Resistance / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D039401:Prenatal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena / Q000502:physiology*; D012307:Risk Factors
keywords: epigenetics; insulin resistance; metabolic diseases; nutritional programming