Fetal Origin of Glomerulosclerosis

The kidney is a highly vulnerable organ during development, and exposure to adverse environmental conditions during pregnancy can result in intrauterine growth retardation, leading to fetal kidney damage and increased susceptibility to adult glomerulosclerosis. This chapter provides a comprehensive summary of the pathophysiology, mechanism, and intrauterine origin of glomerulosclerosis. Furthermore, it reviews the kidney’s developmental toxicity and long-term damage caused by adverse environmental conditions during pregnancy, considering both kidney morphology and function development. The chapter also examines the intrauterine epigenetic programming mechanism of fetal-originated glomerulosclerosis. As such, this chapter lays a solid theoretical foundation for the early prevention and treatment of fetal-originated glomerulosclerosis.