The interrelationship of birth weight, physical training and blood pressure levels: a clinical and experimental approach on the role of endothelial progenitor cells

Abstract

Several available evidence from clinical and experimental studies demonstrated that there is an excess risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD), type 2 diabetes, hypertension and metabolic syndrome among individuals with history of low birth weight (LBW). Recently, we demonstrated that LBW children had elevation of blood pressure levels associated with endothelial dysfunction. Moreover, we observed in these children increased circulating levels of uric acid and homocysteine, and these changes were accompanied by a decrease in the NO concentration. Experimental studies carried out by our group corroborate and extend these clinical findings. In these studies, we demonstrated that rats submitted to intrauterine undernutrition exhibited endothelial dysfunction characterized by decreased in NO synthesis and redox state unbalance via NADPH oxidase activation by angiotensin II. The aim of this study is to evaluate the clinical and experimental context in the involvement of the endothelial progenitor cells and its interaction with birth weight, blood pressure levels and physical training. Thus, contributing to better understanding of the role of low birth weight in the pathophysiology of cardiovascular diseases. (AU)