Early life origins of the insulin resistance syndrome in the aged guinea pig.

Abstract

In human populations, perturbed growth in early life and ageing have been identified as risk factors for the development of Insulin resistance syndrome (IRS). The consequences of restricted prenatal growth on postnatal function have been investigated using numerous experimental models of intrauterine growth retardation, mainly in the rat. These studies have shown that some, but not all, aspects of postnatal function that are programmed in humans are also programmed in the rat. This study was designed to determine whether IRS develops with increasing age in the guinea pig as it does in the human and whether the development of the syndrome is more pronounced in aged offspring which have undergone spontaneous fetal growth restriction and accelerated growth in the neonatal period. It appeared that the guinea pig is a suitable animal model of ageing, displaying many of the metabolic, cardiovascular and anthropometric changes seen in humans. Furthermore, the effects of perturbed prenatal and early postnatal growth on the development of IRS in the aged guinea pig exhibit a sexually dimorphic pattern.