title: Autonomic and Renal Alterations in the Offspring of Sleep-Restricted Mothers During Late Pregnancy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Considering that changes in the maternal environment may result in changes in progeny, the aim of this study was to investigate the influence of sleep restriction during the last week of pregnancy on renal function and autonomic responses in male descendants at an adult age.
  
  
  METHODS
  After confirmation of pregnancy, female Wistar rats were randomly assigned to either a control or a sleep restriction group. The sleep-restricted rats were subjected to sleep restriction using the multiple platforms method for over 20 hours per day between the 14th and 20th day of pregnancy. After delivery, the litters were limited to 6 offspring that were designated as offspring from control and offspring from sleep-restricted mothers. Indirect measurements of systolic blood pressure (BPi), renal plasma flow, glomerular filtration rate, glomerular area and number of glomeruli per field were evaluated at three months of age. Direct measurements of cardiovascular function (heart rate and mean arterial pressure), cardiac sympathetic tone, cardiac parasympathetic tone, and baroreflex sensitivity were evaluated at four months of age.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The sleep-restricted offspring presented increases in BPi, glomerular filtration rate and glomerular area compared with the control offspring. The sleep-restricted offspring also showed higher basal heart rate, increased mean arterial pressure, increased sympathetic cardiac tone, decreased parasympathetic cardiac tone and reduced baroreflex sensitivity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data suggest that reductions in sleep during the last week of pregnancy lead to alterations in cardiovascular autonomic regulation and renal morpho-functional changes in offspring, triggering increases in blood pressure.
authors.affiliation: Escola Paulista de Medicina - UNIFESP, Departamento de Fisiologia, São Paulo/SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Joyce R S
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Raimundo
authors.affiliation: Escola Paulista de Medicina - UNIFESP, Departamento de Fisiologia, São Paulo/SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Cassia T
authors.initials: CT
authors.lastname: Bergamaschi
authors.affiliation: Escola Paulista de Medicina - UNIFESP, Departamento de Fisiologia, São Paulo/SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ruy R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Campos
authors.affiliation: Escola Paulista de Medicina - UNIFESP, Departamento de Psicobiologia, São Paulo/SP, Brazil.|Centro Universitário São Camilo, São Paulo/SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Beatriz D
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Palma
authors.affiliation: Escola Paulista de Medicina - UNIFESP, Departamento de Psicobiologia, São Paulo/SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tufik
authors.affiliation: Escola Paulista de Medicina - UNIFESP, Departamento de Fisiologia, São Paulo/SP, Brazil.
authors.forename: Guiomar N
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Gomes
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001341:Autonomic Nervous System / Q000503:physiopathology; D017704:Baroreflex / Q000502:physiology; D001794:Blood Pressure / Q000502:physiology; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D047109:Fetal Development / Q000502:physiology; D005583:Fourier Analysis; D005919:Glomerular Filtration Rate; D006339:Heart Rate / Q000502:physiology; D006973:Hypertension / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D007668:Kidney / Q000503:physiopathology; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D011897:Random Allocation; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D012307:Risk Factors; D012892:Sleep Deprivation / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D013997:Time Factors