INFLUENCES OF MODERATE ZINC DEFICIENCY DURING PRENATAL LIFE AND GROWTH ON RENAL NITRIC OXIDE SYSTEM

ARRANZ C; TOMAT A.; GIRGULSKY L.; VALLONE C.; VIEIRAS L.; ELESGARAY R.; FASOLI H.; BALASZCZUK A.; COSTA A.

Madrid, España

Congreso; Sixteenth European Meeting on Hypertension.; 2006

European Society of Hypertension

The hidden undernourishment results from the specific deficiency of micronutrients as zinc and affects mainly children and pregnant women with an inadequate nutritional quality. Previously we showed that zinc deficiency during growth in rats induces an increase in arterial pressure and a decrease in the vascular and renal nitric oxide system in the adult. The aim of this work is to study the effects of moderate zinc deficiency during fetal and early postnatal life on systolic arterial pressure, cardiovascular and renal nitric oxide activity and oxidative stress levels in the adult age. Wistar rats received from the beginning of pregnancy up to weaning: Low zinc diet (8 ppm zinc) or control Diet (30 ppm zinc). After weaning, the male offspring of each group of mothers continued with: low zinc diet (Cl and Ll) or control diet (Cc and Lc) during 60 days. At the end of this period we determined: systolic blood pressure (SBP, mmHg), serum and feces zinc concentration (µg/dl), the intensity of urinary spontaneous chemiluminescence (I, 1/mg creatinine), urinary concentration of nitrites and nitrates (NOx, nmol/ml×min×100 g), nitric oxide synthase (NOS) activity with L-[U14C]-arginine in aorta, cardiac ventricle and renal medulla and cortex (pmol/min×g tissue).                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Cc                       Cl                      Lc                       Ll                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        SBP                            129±3              147±4 *              145±5*                142±4*     Serum Zn                   147±7               119±5*              164±31              114±7*&     I                               0.84±0.13         2.90±0.31*         1.61±0.01         3.66±0.36*&  NOx                         1.42±0.16         0.83±0.07*         1.18±0.10         0.74±0.09*  Cortex NOS                321±7              257±17*            240±18*              254±13*    Medulla NOS              422±7               358±8*             333±24*              354±17*    Aorta NOS                 229±6               157±7*             152±11*               165±8*     Ventricle NOS            196±3               148±5*              139±7*                148±3*                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    *p < 0.05 vs Cc; & p < 0.001 vs Lc.             Zinc contribution during fetal life, lactation and growth could be a predisposing factor for the development of cardiovascular and renal pathologies in the adult life. Its deficiency induces an increase in the blood pressure, a decrease of cardiovascular and renal nitric oxide activity and an increase in oxidative stress levels.