title: Effects of restricted feeding on fetal and placental development in pregnant rabbits.
abstract: In our previous study on the effects of restricted feeding on pregnant rabbits (Matsuoka et al., 2009), animals given 20 g/day of diet on and after gestation day 6 (GD 6) showed significant changes in blood coagulation-related parameters suggesting a tendency to bleed and a decrease in serum concentration of progesterone, an important factor to maintain pregnancy, on GD 22, and a half of them showed serum progesterone concentrations less than 4.0 ng/ml which resulted in abortions on and after GD 23. In the present study, the effects of restricted feeding of 20 g/day from GD 6 to GD 22 on embryo-fetal and placental development on GD 23 as well as on blood coagulation-related parameters and serum progesterone concentrations on GD 22 were examined in pregnant rabbits. As compared with the non-restricted feeding (Not-treated, NT) group, the restricted feeding (RF) group showed lower values of platelets, fibrinogen, activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT) and antithrombin III (ATIII) and a longer prothrombin time (PT), reflecting an inhibition of blood coagulation, and a decrease in serum progesterone concentration on GD 22. Cesarean section performed on GD 23 revealed that the RF group showed a tendency towards an increase in the embryo-fetal death index and lower body weights and placental volumes compared with the NT group. Histological examination of the placenta in the RF group revealed that the labyrinth zone was thin and many glycogen-containing cells still remained in the basal zone, suggesting a delay in placental growth.
authors.affiliation: Kannami Laboratory, Bozo Research Center Inc., Japan. matsuoka@bozo.co.jp
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Matsuoka
authors.forename: Yasumoto
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mizoguchi
authors.forename: Ryo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Haneda
authors.forename: Ema
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Otsuka
authors.forename: Hiroyasu
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mizuguchi
authors.forename: Kazuya
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Fukuda
authors.forename: Tsutomu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.forename: Kazuko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tsurumoto
authors.forename: Maki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Noguchi
authors.forename: Sachiko
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tamai
authors.forename: Yuzo
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Asano
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001780:Blood Coagulation Tests; D005260:Female; D047109:Fetal Development; D005508:Food Deprivation; D010920:Placenta / Q000187:drug effects / Q000473:pathology; D010929:Placentation; D010976:Platelet Count; D011247:Pregnancy; D011270:Pregnancy, Animal / Q000097:blood* / Q000502:physiology; D011374:Progesterone / Q000097:blood; D011817:Rabbits
chemical_list: D011374:Progesterone