Description
Impaired muscle growth as a result of IUGR is a major contributor to lifelong reductions in muscle mass (sarcopenia) and metabolic disease risk. We use an ovine model of chronic placental insufficiency which restricts nutrient supply from mother to fetus and results in intrauterine growth restriction. In our model of placental insufficiency and IUGR, fetal hindlimb muscles weigh less than normally-grown control fetuses and have smaller myofiber diameters.