Basic Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2017. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Nephrol. Jan 6, 2017; 6(1): 21-28
Published online Jan 6, 2017. doi: 10.5527/wjn.v6.i1.21
Acetylsalicylic acid interferes with embryonic kidney growth and development by a prostaglandin-independent mechanism
Simon J M Welham, Alexander J Sparrow, David S Gardner, Matthew J Elmes
Simon J M Welham, Alexander J Sparrow, Matthew J Elmes, Division of Nutritional Sciences, School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE12 5RD, United Kingdom
David S Gardner, School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE12 5RD, United Kingdom
Author contributions: Welham SJW devised studies, participated in all experimental work and wrote the manuscript; Sparrow AJ participated in organ culture experiments and measurements of growth; Gardner DS conducted statistical analysis and participated in manuscript preparation; Elmes MJ devised studies, participated in experimental work and wrote the manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: The present investigation was performed in accordance with the Home Office Guidance on the operation of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act (Great Britain Home Office, 2000). However, the study only used tissues from animals which fell outside of the ASPA remit (i.e., organs were isolated from fetuses before 2/3 gestation was completed) and thus no specific “procedures” were carried out requiring explicit ethical approval.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
Data sharing statement: Statistical code, and some datasets available from the corresponding author at simon.welham@nottingham.ac.uk.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Correspondence to: Dr. Simon JM Welham, Division of Nutritional Sciences, School of Biosciences, University of Nottingham, Sutton Bonington Campus, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE12 5RD, United Kingdom. simon.welham@nottingham.ac.uk
Telephone: +44-115-9516183 Fax: +44-115-9516129
Received: June 30, 2016
Peer-review started: July 1, 2016
First decision: September 5, 2016
Revised: September 22, 2016
Accepted: October 22, 2016
Article in press: October 24, 2016
Published online: January 6, 2017
Core Tip

Core tip: Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are widely used as painkillers and are available without prescription. They act by inhibiting cyclooxygenase activity thereby preventing prostaglandin synthesis via the prostaglandin synthase enzymes prostaglandin synthase 1 (PTGS1) and PTGS2. Although NSAIDs cross the placenta, they are among the most common drugs prescribed during the first trimester of pregnancy and estimated prevalence of usage is more than 25% of pregnant women. NSAID use during pregnancy has been associated with abnormal renal development and renal failure in the offspring at birth. These may impact the individual throughout their adult life.