Developmental plasticity and human health
Developmental plasticity and human health
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DOI：
10.1038/nature02725
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发表时间：
2004-07-22
期刊：
影响因子：
64.8
通讯作者：
Sultan, SE
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Bateson, P;Barker, D;Sultan, SE
许多植物和动物都能以各种方式发育，形成很好地适应它们可能生活的环境的特征。例如，在不利的环境中，小的体型和缓慢的新陈代谢可以促进生存，而当资源更丰富时，更大的体型和更快的新陈代谢对繁殖成功有优势。这些特征通常是在生命早期诱导的，甚至是由他们的父母或祖父母所接触的线索所决定的。然而，个体在发育上适应了一种环境，当他们长大后暴露于另一种环境时，可能会有风险。生物学证据可能与理解人类发育和疾病易感性有关。随着世界各地许多人类母亲的营养状况得到改善，其后代的特征（如体型和代谢）也发生了变化，出生前对母亲状况的反应通常可以使个体做好准备，以便他们最适合早期生活中可用的线索所预测的环境。然而，奇怪的是，营养和其他环境条件的迅速改善可能对那些父母和祖父母生活在贫困条件下的人的健康产生破坏性影响。更全面地了解人类对早期营养和其他环境因素的可塑性模式将对公共卫生管理产生影响。
Many plants and animals are capable of developing In a variety of ways, forming characteristics that are well adapted to the environments In which they are likely to live. In adverse circumstances, for example, small size and slow metabolism can facilitate survival, whereas larger size and more rapid metabolism have advantages for reproductive success when resources are more abundant Often these characteristics are induced In early life or are even set by cues to which their parents or grandparents were exposed. Individuals developmentally adapted to one environment may, however, he at risk when exposed to another when they are older, The biological evidence may be relevant to the understanding of human development and susceptibility to disease. As the nutritional state of many human mothers has improved around the world, the characteristics of their offspring-such as body size and metabolism-have also changed, Responsiveness to their mothers' condition before birth may generally prepare individuals so that they are best suited to the environment forecast by cues available in early life. Paradoxically, however, rapid improvements in nutrition and other environmental Conditions may have damaging effects on the health of those people whose parents and grandparents lived In impoverished conditions. A fuller understanding of patterns of human plasticity in response to early nutrition and other environmental factors will have implications for the administration of public health.