Original Research Article Relationship Between Maternal and Newborn Endothelial Function and Oxidative Stress ISABELLA ECHEVERRI, 1,2 * JOS  E GUILLERMO ORTEGA–  AVILA, 2,3 MILDREY MOSQUERA, 2,4 ANDR  ES CASTILLO, 5 ELI  ECER JIM  ENEZ, 2,4 MILTON FABIAN SU  AREZ-ORTEGON, 2,6 * JULIO CESAR MATEUS, 7,8 AND CECILIA AGUILAR-DE PLATA 2,4 1 Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad ICESI, Cali, Colombia 2 Nutrition Group, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia 3 Department of Basic Sciences, Research Group on Basic and Clinical Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Cali, Colombia 4 Department of Physiological Sciences, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia 5 Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Universidad ICESI, Cali, Colombia 6 Centre for Population Health Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom 7 School of Public Health, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia 8 Fundaci on FES, Cali, Colombia Objective: To evaluate the relationship between maternal and newborn endothelial function and oxidative stress. Methods: Forty-three pregnant women and their offspring were evaluated. As markers of endothelial function, the flow-mediated dilation (FMD) was measured in pregnant women in the second and third trimesters, and nitric oxide (NO) was quantified in the endothelial cells of the umbilical cord vein. Malondialdehyde (MDA), as a marker of oxida- tive stress, was measured in the maternal plasma (second and third trimesters) and plasma from umbilical cord blood. Gestational age and birth weight were recorded. Correlations between variables were estimated, and adjustments were made for specific gestational week of measurement, gestational age at birth, and complications during pregnancy and/ or at delivery. Results: Maternal FMD at second trimester correlated positively with newborn MDA, although with marginal sig- nificance (P 5 0.090). The change in maternal FMD was positively correlated with newborn NO (P 5 0.039), although adjustment for gestational age and specific week of gestation attenuated this relationship (P 5 0.070). Maternal MDA at second trimester correlated positively with newborn MDA independently of gestational age at birth, specific week of gestation of the measurement, and having complications during pregnancy or at delivery (P 5 0.032). After adjust- ments, the change in maternal MDA correlated with newborn MDA but marginally (P 5 0.077). Conclusion: Study findings suggest that under physiological conditions, enhanced endothelial function and/or oxi- dative stress in the mother may impact on normal fetal development. Future studies are recommended, employing larger sample sizes, a more extensive set of markers of oxidative stress, and comparisons of complicated versus normal pregnancies. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 27:822–831, 2015. V C 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. During pregnancy, many changes in maternal physiol- ogy provide optimum conditions for the proper develop- ment of the embryo. Included in the major changes are those at the cardiovascular level including increased car- diac output and decreased peripheral vascular resistance due to increased endothelial vasodilator activity (Weiss- gerber et al., 2011). The endothelium is critical in the car- diovascular physiology of pregnancy for regulating the production of various factors responsible for tissue vasodi- latation, such as the endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factors, prostacyclin, and nitric oxide (NO) (Saarelainen et al., 2006). Alterations in maternal endothelial function during pregnancy could affect the development of the uterine and placental vascular bed, with consequent com- plications, such as preeclampsia and intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) (Jansson et al, 2006). NO is involved in the process of implantation and trophoblast invasion and in the regulation of the placental vascular tone (Krause et al., 2011). The blood flow to the placenta and transport across the trophoblast membrane largely determines the intake of oxygen and nutrients by the fetus (Lewis et al., 2006). IUGR infants have an increased risk of chronic adult diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and metabolic syndrome (Delisle, 2002). This risk was initially demonstrated in retrospective epidemiological studies by Barker (2002), in which the association between birth weight and adult cardiovascu- lar disease was found. A history of low birth weight was associated with a higher risk of coronary heart disease in the sixth decade of life (Barker et al., 1989). Barker hypothesizes the existence of “fetal origins of adult dis- eases,” suggesting that events occurring during fetal development could have a permanent functional and/or structural lifetime effect on individual susceptibility to disease. Additionally, other studies have shown effects of Additional Supporting Information may be found in the online version of this article. Contract grant sponsor: Colombian Department for Science and Technology development (COLCIENCIAS); Contract grant number: 1106- 45921540. *Correspondence to: Isabella Echeverri; Universidad ICESI, Calle 18 # 122-135, Edificio L, Quinto piso, Cali, CO; E-mail: iecheverri1@icesi.edu.co or Milton Fabian Su arez-Ortegon; Centre for Population Health Sciences, College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Teviot Place, Edinburgh EH8 9AG, United Kingdom; E-mail: Milton.Suarez@ ed.ac.uk Received 18 September 2014; Revision received 24 March 2015; Accepted 7 April 2015 DOI: 10.1002/ajhb.22733 Published online 6 May 2015 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). V C 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY 27:822–831 (2015)