scholarly journals Forage allowances offered to pregnant ewes until middle and late gestation: Organ priorities on foetus development

2020 ◽  
Vol 50 (3) ◽  
pp. 471-480
Author(s):  
M. J. Abud ◽  
A. Bielli ◽  
J. Ithurralde ◽  
A. Freitas-de-Melo ◽  
A. Álvarez-Oxiley ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intrauterine Growth Restriction ◽  
Adrenal Glands ◽  
External Genitalia ◽  
Liver Weight ◽  
Reproductive Organ ◽  
Late Gestation ◽  
Organ Weights ◽  
Intrauterine Growth ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
High Forage

Effect of forage allowance before conception and until mid or late gestation was evaluated for effects on foetal and neonatal weights, carcass, nervous systems, metabolic and reproductive organ weights, body dimensions, and variation in intensity of the effects among organs. Effects of two forage allowances, HFA: high forage allowance (2.9 - 3.8 kg of dry matter (DM)/kg bodyweight (BW)) and LFA: low forage allowance (1.4 - 2.6 kg DM/kg BW) were evaluated from 23 days before conception until 70 or 122 days postpartum. On gestation day 70, nine ewes per treatment, each carrying one male foetus, were euthanized and their foetuses were removed. The foetuses were weighed, their carcass and organ weights were recorded, and their external genitalia dimensions were measured. Nine additional lambs per treatment were euthanized 12 hours after birth and the same data were recorded. Hearts from day 70 LFA foetuses were lighter, their external genitalia were smaller, and their foetal weight tended to be less than in HFA. Newborn lambs from LFA ewes had lighter carcasses, livers, kidneys, adrenal glands and testes, shorter penises, but higher brain to liver weight ratios than in HFA. The cerebellum, brain, and heart weights of LFA and HFA newborn lambs did not differ. Low forage allowance until late gestation influenced both foetal and lamb weights and affected organ weights differentially. Thus, the treatments induced differences in prioritization of nutrients, with the central nervous system receiving the highest priority, and carcass and external genitalia the lowest. Keywords: foetal programming, intrauterine growth restriction, lambs, undernutrition

scholarly journals The expression of ovine placental lactogen, StAR and progesterone-associated steroidogenic enzymes in placentae of overnourished growing adolescent ewes

Reproduction ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 133 (4) ◽  
pp. 785-796 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard G Lea ◽  
Peter Wooding ◽  
Ian Stewart ◽  
Lisa T Hannah ◽  
Stephen Morton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Intrauterine Growth Restriction ◽  
Nutrient Intake ◽  
Hepatic Clearance ◽  
Transcript Abundance ◽  
Late Gestation ◽  
Placental Lactogen ◽  
Steroidogenic Enzymes ◽  
Intrauterine Growth ◽  
Pregnant Adolescent ◽  
Singleton Pregnancies

Overnourishing pregnant adolescent sheep promotes maternal growth but reduces placental mass, lamb birth weight and circulating progesterone. This study aimed to determine whether altered progesterone reflected transcript abundance forStAR(cholesterol transporter) and the steroidogenic enzymes (Cyp11A1,Hsd3bandCyp17). Circulating and placental expression of ovine placental lactogen (oPL) was also investigated. Adolescent ewes with singleton pregnancies were fed high (H) or moderate (M) nutrient intake diets to restrict or support placental growth. Experiment 1: peripheral progesterone and oPL concentrations were measured in H (n=7) and M (n=6) animals across gestation (days 7–140). Experiment 2: progesterone was measured to mid- (day 81; M:n=11, H:n=13) or late gestation (day 130; M:n=21, H:n=22), placental oPL,StARand steroidogenic enzymes were measured by qPCR and oPL protein by immunohistochemistry. Experiment 1: in H vs M animals, term placental (P<0.05), total cotyledon (P<0.01) and foetal size (P<0.05) were reduced. Circulating oPL and progesterone were reduced at mid- (P<0.001,P<0.01) and late gestation (P<0.01,P<0.05) and oPL detection was delayed (P<0.01). Experiment 2: placental oPL was not altered by nutrition. In day 81 H animals, progesterone levels were reduced (P<0.001) but not related to placental or foetal size. Moreover, placental steroidogenic enzymes were unaffected. Day 130 progesterone (P<0.001) andCyp11A1(P<0.05) were reduced in H animals with intrauterine growth restriction (H+IUGR). Reduced mid-gestation peripheral oPL and progesterone may reflect altered placental differentiation and/or increased hepatic clearance respectively. Restricted placental growth and reduced biosynthesis may account for reduced progesterone in day 130 H+IUGR ewes.

scholarly journals Extrinsic Factors Influencing Fetal Deformations and Intrauterine Growth Restriction

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wendy Moh ◽  
John M. Graham ◽  
Isha Wadhawan ◽  
Pedro A. Sanchez-Lara
Keyword(s):  
Intrauterine Growth Restriction ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Tissue Response ◽  
Growth Restriction ◽  
Late Gestation ◽  
Fetal Head ◽  
Extrinsic Factors ◽  
Intrauterine Growth ◽  
Stage Of Development ◽  
Uterine Malformation

The causes of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) are multifactorial with both intrinsic and extrinsic influences. While many studies focus on the intrinsic pathological causes, the possible long-term consequences resulting from extrinsic intrauterine physiological constraints merit additional consideration and further investigation. Infants with IUGR can exhibit early symmetric or late asymmetric growth abnormality patterns depending on the fetal stage of development, of which the latter is most common occurring in 70–80% of growth-restricted infants. Deformation is the consequence of extrinsic biomechanical factors interfering with normal growth, functioning, or positioning of the fetus in utero, typically arising during late gestation. Biomechanical forces play a critical role in the normal morphogenesis of most tissues. The magnitude and direction of force impact the form of the developing fetus, with a specific tissue response depending on its pliability and stage of development. Major uterine constraining factors include primigravida, small maternal size, uterine malformation, uterine fibromata, early pelvic engagement of the fetal head, aberrant fetal position, oligohydramnios, and multifetal gestation. Corrective mechanical forces similar to those that gave rise to the deformation to reshape the deformed structures are often used and should take advantage of the rapid postnatal growth to correct form.

N-Methyl-d-aspartate does not prevent effects of melatonin on the reproductive and thyroid axes of male Syrian hamsters

1992 ◽  
Vol 133 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-58 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. A. Hoover ◽  
M. K. Vaughan ◽  
J. C. Little ◽  
R. J. Reiter
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Organ ◽  
Short Photoperiod ◽  
Organ Weights ◽  
Syrian Hamsters ◽  
Reproductive Effects ◽  
Receptor Sites ◽  
Brown Adipose ◽  
The Central Nervous System ◽  
A Site ◽  
Pituitary Prolactin

ABSTRACT The reproductive and thyroid status of male Syrian hamsters maintained on long days (14 h light, 10 h darkness) were assessed after 10 weeks of daily injections of pharmacological doses of melatonin (25 μg s.c.) and/or N-methyl-dl-aspartic acid (NMDA, 0·025–6 mg i.p.), a compound with receptor sites in the central nervous system which are known to affect reproduction. Melatonin given during the late light phase decreased reproductive organ weights and levels of serum and pituitary prolactin and serum thyroxine (T4); these results are similar to published reports on the effects of chronic short photoperiod treatment of this species. Reproductive organ weights, T4 levels and values for prolactin did not differ significantly between groups receiving only melatonin and those receiving NMDA in addition to melatonin; likewise these variables did not differ significantly between groups receiving only either NMDA or saline. NMDA alone and in combination with melatonin increased serum tri-iodothyronine (T3). The brown adipose tissue enzyme T4 5′-deiodinase demonstrated an increased activity in the presence of NMDA, with the lowest dosage eliciting the most significant effect. Previous studies have demonstrated that NMDA reverses the reproductive effects of short photoperiod. The results of this study show that NMDA is incapable of preventing the inhibitory reproductive effects of exogenously administered melatonin. These observations are consistent with the proposal for a site of action for NMDA on neural regions more proximal than those altered by melatonin; alternatively, NMDA may interfere with neurotransmitter actions in the pathway controlling melatonin production. Journal of Endocrinology (1992) 133, 51–58

scholarly journals Alterations in placental 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11βHSD) activities and fetal cortisol:cortisone ratios induced by nutritional restriction prior to conception and at defined stages of gestation in ewes

Reproduction ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 127 (6) ◽  
pp. 717-725 ◽  
Author(s):  
S McMullen ◽  
J C Osgerby ◽  
L M Thurston ◽  
T S Gadd ◽  
P J Wood ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fetal Programming ◽  
Enzyme Activities ◽  
Intrauterine Growth Restriction ◽  
Nutrient Intake ◽  
Ex Vivo ◽  
Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase ◽  
Late Gestation ◽  
Intrauterine Growth ◽  
Fetal Plasma ◽  
Nutritional Restriction

In the placenta, cortisol is inactivated by NADP+- and NAD+-dependent isoforms of 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11βHSD). Decreased placental 11βHSD activities have been implicated in intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and fetal programming of adult diseases. The objective of this study was to investigate whether placental 11βHSD activities and fetal plasma cortisol:cortisone ratios could be affected by nutritional restriction of ewes (70% maintenance diet) throughout gestation, for specific stages of gestation, or prior to mating. Chronic nutritional restriction from day 26 of gestation onwards decreased NAD+-dependent 11βHSD activities by 52 ± 4% and 45 ± 6% on days 90 and 135 of gestation respectively. Although the decreases in enzyme activities were associated with fetal IUGR, the cortisol:cortisone ratio in fetal plasma was unaffected by chronic nutritional restriction throughout pregnancy. Nutritional restriction confined to early (days 26–45), mid- (days 46–90) and late gestation (days 91–135), or the 30 days prior to mating, had no significant effect on NAD+-dependent, placental 11βHSD activities, nor was there evidence of IUGR. However, nutritional restriction at each stage of pregnancy and prior to mating was associated with significant decreases in the fetal plasma cortisol:cortisone ratio (3.2 ± 0.7 in control fetuses; 1.0 to 1.6 in fetuses carried by nutritionally restricted ewes). We conclude that nutritional restriction of pregnant ewes for more than 45 consecutive days can significantly decrease NAD+-dependent placental 11βHSD activities in association with IUGR. While the cortisol:cortisone ratio in fetal plasma is sensitive to relatively acute restriction of nutrient intake, even prior to mating, this ratio does not reflect direct ex vivo measurements of placental 11βHSD activities.

Effect of population density on adrenal glands and reproductive organs of CFW mice

1959 ◽  
Vol 197 (1) ◽  
pp. 111-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charles H. Southwick ◽  
Vivian P. Bland
Keyword(s):  
Population Density ◽  
Adrenal Glands ◽  
Reproductive Organs ◽  
Reproductive Organ ◽  
Seminal Vesicles ◽  
Adrenal Weight ◽  
Population Densities ◽  
Organ Weights ◽  
Albino Strain ◽  
Fixed Population

Young mice of the CFW albino strain were subjected to fixed population densities of 1, 4, 8 and 16 animals/cage after a 3-week period of isolation. After 1 week of such groupings, the animals were sacrificed, the adrenal glands, testes and seminal vesicles were weighed and histological preparations were made of the adrenal glands. The increased adrenal weights and decreased reproductive organ weights reported by Christian ( Am. J. Physiol. 181: 477, 1955; 182: 292, 1955) did not occur in the group means of male populations. Increased relative adrenal weights (mg adrenal weight/gm body weight) did occur in wounded animals of these populations, however. Increased relative adrenal weights of males also occurred in populations containing 50% females. Increased adrenal weight was usually, but not consistently, associated with increased cortical width. Testes weights were unaffected by population density. Seminal vesicle weights declined with increasing population density. Crowding increased fertility in groups of 4 and 8, whereas, it impaired fertility in groups of 16.

scholarly journals Placental fatty acid transport across late gestation in a baboon model of intrauterine growth restriction

2020 ◽  
Vol 598 (12) ◽  
pp. 2469-2489 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie S. Chassen ◽  
Veronique Ferchaud‐Roucher ◽  
Claire Palmer ◽  
Cun Li ◽  
Thomas Jansson ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fatty Acid ◽  
Intrauterine Growth Restriction ◽  
Growth Restriction ◽  
Late Gestation ◽  
Fatty Acid Transport ◽  
Acid Transport ◽  
Intrauterine Growth ◽  
Baboon Model
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