| Popis: |
A balanced diet with adequate nutrient intake is vital for normal fetal kidney development to occur. In contrast, maternal malnourishment during pregnancy impairs fetal kidney development due to a deficiency in nutrients that the mother and growing fetus have access to. Nutritional deficiency not only reduces the structural building blocks needed for nephron generation but also impacts various signaling pathways, growth factors, epigenetic modifications, gene expression, and oxidative stress that collectively blunts nephrogenesis. These effects of nutritional deficiency consequently reduce the stem cell pool that is available for nephron building by altering their self-renewal, survival, and patterned differentiation. As a result, the fetus is born following maternal malnourishment with significantly fewer nephrons, underdeveloped kidneys, potential kidney dysfunction, and a lifelong increased susceptibility to kidney and cardiovascular disease. Discussed in this chapter are the specific affects that vitamins, minerals, amino acids, lipids, and fatty acids have on stem cells, nephrogenesis, and kidney development. |
