Effects of Dexamethasone on Offspring Survival and Intrauterine Growth Restriction
| Autor: | Noura El Habbal, Dave Bridges, JeAnna R. Redd, Molly C. Mulcahy |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2021 |
| Předmět: |
Pregnancy
Fetus Offspring business.industry Endocrinology Diabetes and Metabolism Intrauterine growth restriction Physiology Placental insufficiency medicine.disease Implantation and Pregnancy: Impact on Maternal and Fetal Health medicine Reproductive Endocrinology Gestation medicine.symptom business Weight gain AcademicSubjects/MED00250 hormones hormone substitutes and hormone antagonists Glucocorticoid medicine.drug |
| Zdroj: | Journal of the Endocrine Society |
| ISSN: | 2472-1972 |
| Popis: | The placenta is the primary organ responsible for deactivating maternal glucocorticoids and reducing fetal exposure. Glucocorticoid use during pregnancy is a common treatment for asthma, allergies, and COVID-19. Several studies have reported adverse effects including intrauterine growth restriction as a result of glucocorticoid exposure, yet little is known about the mechanisms by which short and long-term maternal glucocorticoid exposures affect placental biology and fetal development. To better understand the role of glucocorticoids on placental and fetal outcomes, we used a mouse model exposed to the synthetic glucocorticoid, dexamethasone (Dex), prior to and throughout gestation. We conducted a randomized controlled trial in mice with a treatment arm of Dex exposure and water exposure as control. Virgin C57Bl/6J female mice were single-housed at 11 weeks of age, and Dex was introduced in the drinking water as a 1mg/kg/day dose. After one week of treatment, mice were bred with age-matched virgin males. Dam body composition, food, and water intake were monitored weekly. Maternal insulin sensitivity, pup survival rate, litter size, and pup birth weight at postnatal day (PND) 0.5 were also assessed. Dams treated with Dex lost significant lean mass after one week of treatment. Dex treatment did not appear to affect the dams’ ability to get pregnant, as both groups carried pups to term with similar lengths of gestation (p=0.838). Water and Dex-treated dams gained comparable weight during the first and second trimesters of pregnancy, however, the Dex group gained less lean mass than the water group during the third trimester. At PND0.5, Dex dams had fewer pups with a 40% reduction in litter size (p=0.01) and lighter pups with a 37% reduction in offspring weight (p |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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