Contractile activity of neonatal heart cells in culture derived from offspring of exercised pregnant rats.
5-day-old neonatal offspring of exercised or non-exercised pregnant Sprague Dawley rats were used to prepare primary cultures of beating myocardial cells. The cells from the exercise group exhibited a slower beating rate for both single and aggregate cells; a larger cell size; an increased percentage of contracting cells; a greater capacity to form confluent monolayers, and a greater viability. It was concluded that exercise during the period of pregnancy produced morphological alterations in the myocardium of the progeny.
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000502:physiology*; D002452:Cell Count; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D005260:Female; D009200:Myocardial Contraction; D009206:Myocardium / Q000166:cytology; D010805:Physical Conditioning, Animal; D011247:Pregnancy; D011270:Pregnancy, Animal; D051381:Rats