Endotoxin exposure during late pregnancy alters ovine offspring febrile and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis responsiveness later in life.
A growing number of studies indicate that maternal infection during pregnancy is associated with adverse fetal development and neonatal health. In this study, late gestating sheep (day 135) were challenged systemically with saline (0.9%) or Escherichia coli lipopolysaccharide endotoxin (400 ng/kg x 3 consecutive days, or 1.2 microg/kg x 1 day) in order to assess the impact of maternal endotoxemia on the developing fetal neuroendocrine-immune system. During adulthood, cortisol secretion and febrile responses of female offspring and the cortisol response of the male offspring to endotoxin (400 ng/kg), as well as the female cortisol response to adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) challenge, were measured to assess neuroendocrine-immune function. These studies revealed that maternal endotoxin treatment during late gestation altered the female febrile and male and female cortisol response to endotoxin exposure later in life; however, the response was dependent on the endotoxin treatment regime that the pregnant sheep received. The follow-up ACTH challenge suggests that programing of the adrenal gland may be altered in the female fetus during maternal endotoxemia. The long-term health implications of these changes warrant further investigation.
Department of Animal and Poultry Science, University of Guelph, Guelph, Ont., N1G 2W1, Canada.
Rebecca E
RE
Fisher
Niel A
NA
Karrow
Margaret
M
Quinton
Esther J
EJ
Finegan
Stephan P
SP
Miller
Jim L
JL
Atkinson
Herman J
HJ
Boermans
D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone; D000818:Animals; D004731:Endotoxins / Q000494:pharmacology*; D005260:Female; D005334:Fever / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000276:immunology*; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000097:blood*; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System / Q000276:immunology*; D007249:Inflammation / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D010913:Pituitary-Adrenal System / Q000276:immunology*; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000276:immunology; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000276:immunology*; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012756:Sheep
D004731:Endotoxins; C044101:endotoxin, Escherichia coli; D000324:Adrenocorticotropic Hormone; D006854:Hydrocortisone