Department of Physiology, University of Toronto, Medical Sciences Building, 1 King's College Circle, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada.
Departments of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Medicine and Physiology, University of Toronto, Medical Sciences Building, 1 King's College Circle, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada.
Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2014 Jul;10(7):391-402. doi: 10.1038/nrendo.2014.73. Epub 2014 May 27.
Fetal development is a critical period for shaping the lifelong health of an individual. However, the fetus is susceptible to internal and external stimuli that can lead to adverse long-term health consequences. Glucocorticoids are an important developmental switch, driving changes in gene regulation that are necessary for normal growth and maturation. The fetal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is particularly susceptible to long-term programming by glucocorticoids; these effects can persist throughout the life of an organism. Dysfunction of the HPA axis as a result of fetal programming has been associated with impaired brain growth, altered behaviour and increased susceptibility to chronic disease (such as metabolic and cardiovascular disease). Moreover, the effects of glucocorticoid-mediated programming are evident in subsequent generations, and transmission of these changes can occur through both maternal and paternal lineages.
胎儿发育是塑造个体终身健康的关键时期。然而，胎儿易受到内外刺激的影响，这些刺激可能导致不良的长期健康后果。糖皮质激素是一个重要的发育开关，驱动基因调控的变化，这对于正常的生长和成熟是必要的。胎儿下丘脑-垂体-肾上腺（HPA）轴特别容易受到糖皮质激素的长期编程影响；这些影响可以在生物体的整个生命周期中持续存在。由于胎儿编程导致的 HPA 轴功能障碍与脑生长受损、行为改变和慢性疾病（如代谢和心血管疾病）易感性增加有关。此外，糖皮质激素介导的编程的影响在后代中是明显的，并且这些变化的传递可以通过母系和父系发生。
