Antioxidant administration to the mother prevents oxidative stress associated with birth in the neonatal rat.
In the fetal-to-neonatal transition, important circulatory and respiratory changes ensue which lead to oxidative stress evidenced by changes in glutathione status. Administration of N-Acetyl-Cysteine (NAC), a glutathione precursor, to the mother might be a rational approach to protect the fetus against oxidative stress. We have found that NAC administration to pregnant rats partially prevents the change in hepatic GSSG that occurs in the fetal-neonatal transition: GSSG increased 11-fold (from 1 to 12 nmol/g) in controls and less than two-fold (from 5 to 9 nmol/g) in animals exposed to NAC in utero. The GSH/GSSG ratio in liver of NAC-treated newborns was 411 +/- 216 and in liver of controls it was 283 +/- 176. Thus, the oxidative stress that occurs in the fetal-to-neonatal transition is partially prevented by oral NAC administration.
Sastre
J
J
Departamento de Fisiologia, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Valencia, Spain.
Asensi
M
M
Rodrigo
F
F
Pallardó
F V
FV
Vento
M
M
Viña
J
J
D000111:Acetylcysteine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000502:physiology*; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D005978:Glutathione / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000378:metabolism*; D019803:Glutathione Disulfide; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism*; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000517:prevention & control
D000975:Antioxidants; D005978:Glutathione; D019803:Glutathione Disulfide; D000111:Acetylcysteine