Effects of intrauterine inflammation on the developing mouse brain.
Clinical and experimental evidence indicate that the presence of intrauterine inflammation in pregnancy is not only a cause of preterm birth but is also associated with perinatal brain damage and long-term neurological handicap. In the present study, the neuropathological outcome was investigated in surviving pups in a model of inflammation-induced preterm delivery. C57BL/6 mice were subjected to intrauterine injection of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) or saline, at a time corresponding to 79% of average gestation (gestational day 15). Fetuses that survived after LPS administration were sacrificed on postnatal day 14 (PND 14). At PND 14, the brain weight of LPS-exposed pups was significantly lower than that of saline-exposed. A high proportion of LPS-exposed brains were found affected and exhibited hypomyelination, enlarged ventricles, and in some cortical gray matter lesions were evident. None of these pathologies were detected in sham-treated animals.


CONCLUSIONS
Intrauterine inflammation impaired brain development and various brain lesions were produced in both the white and gray matter after intrauterine LPS administration in mice.
Wang
Xiaoyang
X
Perinatal Center, Dept. of Physiology, Göteborg University, SE 405 30 Göteborg, Sweden. xiaoyang.wang@fysiologi.gu.se
Hagberg
Henrik
H
Zhu
Changlian
C
Jacobsson
Bo
B
Mallard
Carina
C
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D001921:Brain / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000473:pathology*; D005260:Female; D007249:Inflammation / Q000401:mortality / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology*; D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D051379:Mice; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D004676:Myelin Basic Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D009929:Organ Size / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology
D008070:Lipopolysaccharides; D004676:Myelin Basic Protein