Fetal Hypoxia Results in Programming of Aberrant An- giotensin II Receptor Expression Patterns and Kidney Development

licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/). Reproduction is permitted for personal, noncommercial use, provided that the article is in whole, unmodified, and properly cited. Received: 2012.11.19; Accepted: 2013.02.26; Published: 2013.03.13 AIMS: The present study tested the hypothesis that fetal hypoxia adversely affects kidney de-velopment in fetal and offspring rats and alter the expression patterns of angiotensin II type 1 (AT1R) and type 2 (AT2R) receptors. METHODS: Time-dated pregnant rats were divided between normoxic and hypoxic (10.5 % O2 last period of gestation) groups. Protein expression, in the offspring, was determined using western blot. RESULTS: Hypoxic treatment significantly decreased body and kidney weight in 21-day fetuses (E21) and 7-day neonates (P7). In 3-month-old offspring there were no significant differences in body and kidney weight between hypoxic and control animals. Fetal hypoxia had no effect on kidney AT1R density in E21 or P7, but significantly decreased kidney AT1R protein and mRNA abundance in both male and female adults. In contrast, kidney AT2R density was not affected by fetal hypoxia throughout the developmental stages studied. The hypoxia-mediated reduction o