Figure 3. . Hallmarks of developmental origin of health and disease that would be difficult or impossible to reverse.

(A) Changes in cell shape. Left, human neural precursor cell (center) is differentiated in culture for 17 days by Senut and colleagues [78] and shows a stereotypical pattern of neurite outgrowth. Right, after exposure to Pb for days 11–17 of differentiation, the neurites are shorter and there is less branching. (B) Changes in connectivity. Shown are the subway maps of Berlin and Boston, with Berlin having much more connectivity. Subways are a metaphor for neuronal connectivity that would be reduced by Pb exposure, for instance. (C) Changes in hypertrophy. Shown is a normal heart (left) and one greatly increased by cellular hypotrophy of cardiomyocytes. Such hypertrophy of the heart can be caused by developmental exposure to Pb, cadmium or arsenic [79], while hypertrophy of the liver can be caused by exposure to some perfluoralkyl substances [80,81].

Pb: Lead.