Suppression by developing ovarian follicles of the low-dose endotoxin-induced glomerular inflammatory reaction in the pregnant rat.
OBJECTIVE
In the current study the role of developing ovarian follicles in the control of the endotoxin-induced pregnancy-specific inflammatory reaction was evaluated.


METHODS
Follicular development was induced in pregnant rats (n = 20) by means of daily intraperitoneal injections of follicle-stimulating hormone from day 11 of pregnancy until the end of the experiment. Control pregnant rats (n = 20) received daily sodium chloride injections. All pregnant rats were infused for 1 hour with either 2 mL endotoxin solution (1.0 microg/kg body weight) or 2 mL sodium chloride solution on day 14 and killed 4 hours or 3 days later. At death, the left kidneys were snap-frozen and immunohistologically stained for the presence of polymorphonuclear leukocytes and monocytes.


RESULTS
The results show that in control pregnant rats endotoxin significantly increased glomerular polymorphonuclear leukocyte and monocyte numbers at both 4 hours and 3 days after endotoxin infusion. Induction of follicular development did not affect glomerular polymorphonuclear leukocyte number after endotoxin infusion but significantly decreased the number of monocytes in the glomeruli at both 4 hours and 3 days after endotoxin infusion.


CONCLUSIONS
We conclude that follicles stimulated with follicle-stimulating hormone produce a follicular factor or factors that are able to prevent the endotoxin-induced influx of monocytes into the glomeruli of pregnant rats. It is suggested that these factors play a role in the control of inflammatory processes associated with reproduction, including the disease of pregnancy, preeclampsia.
Division of Reproductive Biology, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Groningen, The Netherlands.
G A
GA
Schuiling
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N
Valkhof
M M
MM
Faas
D000818:Animals; D004731:Endotoxins; D005260:Female; D005640:Follicle Stimulating Hormone / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005921:Glomerulonephritis / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D007265:Inhibins / Q000097:blood; D007700:Kinetics; D007958:Leukocyte Count; D009000:Monocytes / Q000473:pathology; D009504:Neutrophils / Q000473:pathology; D006080:Ovarian Follicle / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology*; D010052:Ovariectomy; D011247:Pregnancy; D011374:Progesterone / Q000097:blood; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
D004731:Endotoxins; D011374:Progesterone; D007265:Inhibins; D005640:Follicle Stimulating Hormone