Folic acid supplementation alleviates reduced ureteric branching, nephrogenesis, and global DNA methylation induced by maternal nutrient restriction in rat embryonic kidney

We previously reported that maternal nutrient restriction (NR) inhibited ureteric branching, metanephric growth, and nephrogenesis in the rat. Here we examined whether folic acid, a methyl-group donor, rescues the inhibition of kidney development induced by NR and whether DNA methylation is involved in it. The offspring of dams given food ad libitum (CON) and those subjected to 50% food restriction (NR) were examined. NR significantly reduced...