Skip to main content
Archives of Disease in Childhood logoLink to Archives of Disease in Childhood
. 1972 Aug;47(254):652–655. doi: 10.1136/adc.47.254.652

Cellular Development of Some Human Organs Before Birth

E M Widdowson, D E Crabb, R D G Milner
PMCID: PMC1648291  PMID: 5046781

Abstract

The total amount of DNA and the protein/DNA ratio have been measured in the kidneys, heart, liver, and gastrocnemius muscles of 56 human fetuses and newborn infants of 13-42 weeks' gestational age. The total amount of DNA in each organ approximately doubled every week up to the 25th; thereafter the rate of increase was slower. The protein/DNA ratio in each organ increased rapidly in the last 10 weeks of intrauterine life. Before 30 weeks there was some increase in the protein/DNA ratio in the kidneys, heart, and gastrocnemius muscles, but no significant change in the liver. In 5 small-for-dates infants the protein/DNA ratio was normal, whereas the total DNA tended to be low.

Full text

PDF
652

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. BURTON K. A study of the conditions and mechanism of the diphenylamine reaction for the colorimetric estimation of deoxyribonucleic acid. Biochem J. 1956 Feb;62(2):315–323. doi: 10.1042/bj0620315. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Chibnall A. C., Rees M. W., Williams E. F. The total nitrogen content of egg albumin and other proteins. Biochem J. 1943 Sep;37(3):354–359. doi: 10.1042/bj0370354. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. DICKERSON J. W., WIDDOWSON E. M. Chemical changes in skeletal muscle during development. Biochem J. 1960 Feb;74:247–257. doi: 10.1042/bj0740247. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Dobbing J., Sands J. Timing of neuroblast multiplication in developing human brain. Nature. 1970 May 16;226(5246):639–640. doi: 10.1038/226639a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Dobbing J. Undernutrition and the developing brain. The relevance of animal models to the human problem. Am J Dis Child. 1970 Nov;120(5):411–415. doi: 10.1001/archpedi.1970.02100100075005. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Epstein C. J. Cell size, nuclear content, and the development of polyploidy in the Mammalian liver. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1967 Feb;57(2):327–334. doi: 10.1073/pnas.57.2.327. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. WIDDOWSON E. M., DICKERSON J. W. The effect of growth and function on the chemical composition of soft tissues. Biochem J. 1960 Oct;77:30–43. doi: 10.1042/bj0770030. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Widdowson E. M. Intra-uterine growth retardation in the pig. I. Organ size and cellular development at birth and after growth to maturity. Biol Neonate. 1971;19(4):329–340. doi: 10.1159/000240427. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Winick M. Changes in nucleic acid and protein content of the human brain during growth. Pediatr Res. 1968 Sep;2(5):352–355. doi: 10.1203/00006450-196809000-00003. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Winick M., Coscia A., Noble A. Cellular growth in human placenta. I. Normal placental growth. Pediatrics. 1967 Feb;39(2):248–251. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Winick M., Noble A. Cellular response in rats during malnutrition at various ages. J Nutr. 1966 Jul;89(3):300–306. doi: 10.1093/jn/89.3.300. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. ZAMENHOF S., BURSZTYN H., RICH K., ZAMENHOF P. J. THE DETERMINATION OF DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID AND OF CELL NUMBER IN BRAIN. J Neurochem. 1964 Jul;11:505–509. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-4159.1964.tb07499.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Archives of Disease in Childhood are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES