At the molecular level, one study in the rat found that placental insufficiency-associated fetal growth restriction was related to age and sex-specific alterations in offspring kidney Vegf/VEGF expression (137); expression was reduced at birth and at PND21 in both sexes, but increased at PND120 in female and not in male offspring whose Vegf expression was similar to PND120 controls. This evidence concerns the gene VEGFA and placental insufficiency.