Grant: CIHR New Investigator

Iron deficiency is the most common nutritional disorder in the world, affecting an estimated 66-80% of the global population, with pregnant women being the most susceptible subgroup. We and others have shown that offspring that were iron deficient during pregnancy are at a greater risk of developing heart disease and obesity in later life. Due to its prevalence and tendency to affect pregnant women, iron deficiency undoubtedly contributes substantially to the health care burden caused by chronic disease. Despite the magnitude of the problem, little is known about how iron deficiency impacts the development of the fetus, and without this knowledge, devising and testing new treatments is not possible. The objective of this work is to study how prenatal iron deficiency impact oxygen transport and free radical production in the fetus, and in turn, how these impact blood vessel and kidney development. We study blood vessels and kidneys in an animal model because these tissues are known to be vulnerable to insults during pregnancy. Furthermore, kidneys and blood vessels play important roles in cardiovascular function, and problems with their development can lead to a life-time of health complications. We will study the offspring at various ages to see how blood vessel and kidney dysfunction progresses through life, and how these programmed tissues cope with secondary stressors such as increased dietary sodium intake. The ultimate goal of this work is to build a framework of detailed information with which we can test the safety and efficacy of prenatal treatments for future use in humans, so we can prevent the long-term health consequences of pregnancy complications like iron deficiency. With this goal in mind, a final objective of this work is to test the safety and therapeutic benefit of resveratrol (a natural plant-derived polyphenol known to confer many cardiovascular health benefits) treatment during pregnancy to prevent the fetal damage caused by iron deficiency.