Effect of Maternal Undernutrition during Late Pregnancy on Growth and Development of Ovine Fetal Visceral Organs

ABSTRACT Total sulphoconjugated and unconjugated dehydroepiandrosterone (DHA) and total oestrone were measured in plasma of intact sheep fetuses, fetuses hypophysectomized at 104–112 days and fetuses bilaterally adrenalectomized at 98–101 days. At 120–127 days, the mean concentrations of total DHA and oestrone in intact fetuses (n = 13) were 29·7 ± 4·2 (s.e.m.) nmol/l and 14·3 ± 2·8 nmol/l respectively. At term, the values for total DHA and oestrone in hypophysectomized fetuses (n = 13) of 18·0 ± 1·9 nmol/l and 9·1 ±2·0 nmol/l were significantly (P <0·05) lower than the intact group whereas in the adrenalectomized fetuses (n = 8) total DHA (80·8±13·0 nmol/l) was higher (P < 0·05) and total oestrone values were similar to the intact animals. Intrafetal infusion of cortisol at term (1 mg/h for 84 h) raised levels of total oestrone in intact (n = 6; 12·3 ± 2·9 vs 31·6± 8·5 nmol/l) and adrenalectomized (n = 4; 14·2 ± 2·6 vs 190·6 ± 53·0 nmol/l) fetuses and of total DHA in hypophysectomized fetuses (n = 7; 16·0±1·9 vs 31·6 ± 8·5 nmol/l) while infusion of ACTH(1–24) (5 μg/h) was without significant effect in any group. It is concluded that the ovine fetal adrenal in late pregnancy makes no significant contribution either to the high circulating concentrations of DHA sulphate or to the substrates for placental oestrogen synthesis. J. Endocr. (1985) 104, 279–283

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Prenatal programming of postnatal productivity and health of livestock: a brief review

Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture ◽

10.1071/ea06006 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 46 (7) ◽

pp. 725 ◽

Cited By ~ 23

Author(s):

A. W. Bell

Keyword(s):

Large Body ◽

Late Pregnancy ◽

Later Life ◽

High Energy ◽

Meat Production ◽

Postnatal Life ◽

Large Animal ◽

Fetal Life ◽

Fetal Origins ◽

Maternal Undernutrition

Human epidemiological evidence has suggested that metabolic perturbations during fetal life may increase predisposition to cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and obesity in later life. A growing number of controlled experiments on sheep and other large animal species are adding to the already large body of experimental evidence from rat studies in supporting the ‘fetal origins’ hypothesis. Of particular practical relevance are findings that maternal undernutrition in late pregnancy can predispose lambs to glucose intolerance and increased adiposity in early adulthood. This effect may be exacerbated by high energy intakes and limited capacity for muscle growth in undernourished or growth-retarded lambs during early postnatal life. Recent Australian studies have demonstrated the effects of prenatal nutrition on postnatal growth and meat production in beef cattle, and on quantity and quality of wool production in sheep.

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Maternal undernutrition during late pregnancy in sheep. Its relationship to maternal condition, gestation length, hepatic physiology and glucose metabolism

British Journal Of Nutrition ◽

10.1079/bjn19960162 ◽

1996 ◽

Vol 75 (4) ◽

pp. 593-605 ◽

Cited By ~ 25

Author(s):

Hilary J. West

Keyword(s):

Glucose Metabolism ◽

Late Pregnancy ◽

Metabolic Effects ◽

Control Group ◽

Gestation Length ◽

Metabolic Clearance ◽

Maternal Condition ◽

Plasma Urea ◽

Maternal Undernutrition ◽

Condition Score

There is a paucity of information on the metabolic effects of undernutrition of the ewe carrying multiple fetuses in late pregnancy. In the present study the effects of induction of ketosis from 132 d gestation in ewes carrying twin fetuses were compared with a control group. The ewes were well fed up to 132 d. Ketotic ewes showed a loss of condition score from 3·7 (SE 0·11) at 130 d gestation to 3·0 (SE 0·15) 10 d later after clinical recovery, compared with control twin-pregnant ewes (P < 0·01). The weight loss during the same time period was from 70·6 (SE 2·7) kg at 130 d to 64·2 (SE 2·7) kg at 140 d gestation. As expected, both groups lost weight and condition score in the first 28 d of lactation. Induction of ketosis caused a significant shortening of the gestation period to 142·8 (SE 0·7) d compared with 150 (SE 0·4) d in normal twin-pregnant ewes (P < 0·001). Ewes with induced ketosis recovered clinically and showed a normal feed intake by 3·4 (SE 0·07) d; three required treatment. Induction of ketosis resulted in reduction of hepatic uptake of bromosulphthalein (P < 0·01) and its biliary excretion (P < 0·05), metabolic clearance rate (P < 0·001), fractional clearance (P < 0·001) and 15 and 30 min retention compared with control twin-pregnant ewes. Most values had returned to normal by the first week of lactation. It is thought that in human pregnancy similar changes in bromosulphthalein clearance may be related to reduced binding sites for bromosulphthalein in the liver caused by increased circulating oestrogens. Induction of ketosis resulted in a significant hypoglycaemic (P < 0·01), ketotic (P < 0·001) state compared with well-fed twin-pregnant ewes. These changes could be correlated with the severity of the clinical signs, together with a significant rise in plasma urea (P < 0·001) and NH3 (P < 0·05) concentrations. Again, the return of most of these values to normal by the first week of lactation lends support to the reversibility of hepatic lesions caused by fatty infiltration of the liver. The seventy of this condition in naturally occurring cases suggests that factors other than undernutrition may be contributory, such as the general body condition of the ewe and glucose metabolism by the liver, including the conversion of propionate to glucose.

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Birth Weight, Weight Gain and Intestinal Disaccharidase Activities in Calves as Affected by Maternal Undernutrition in Late Pregnancy

Nihon Chikusan Gakkaiho ◽

10.2508/chikusan.56.243 ◽

1985 ◽

Vol 56 (3) ◽

pp. 243-249

Author(s):

Toshikazu MIYASHIGE ◽

Yoshiro HAYASHI ◽

Kunio KATO ◽

Shigefusa YAHATA

Keyword(s):

Weight Gain ◽

Birth Weight ◽

Late Pregnancy ◽

Maternal Undernutrition

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Effect of maternal undernutrition during late pregnancy on hormonal status and metabolic changes in neonatal lambs

Czech Journal of Animal Science ◽

10.17221/6521-cjas ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 58 (No. 1) ◽

pp. 15-20 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

F. Gao ◽

Y.C. Liu

Keyword(s):

Late Pregnancy ◽

Metabolic Changes ◽

Total Amino Acid ◽

Control Group ◽

Hormonal Status ◽

Nonesterified Fatty Acids ◽

Maternal Undernutrition ◽

Restricted Group ◽

Igf I ◽

Neonatal Lambs

The study investigated the consequences of maternal undernutrition during late pregnancy on hormonal status and metabolic changes in neonatal lambs. Four ewes out of twenty-eight multiparous ewes mated at a synchronized oestrus were slaughtered at day 90 of pregnancy to collect fetal blood to serve as an initial comparison group. Twenty-four animals were divided into three groups and offered 0.18 MJ ME·kg–0.75per day (restricted group 1, RG1), 0.33 MJ ME·kg–0.75per day (restricted group 2, RG2), and control group (ad libitum CG) during late pregnancy, respectively. Immediately after parturition, blood was collected from the neonatal lambs in each group and analyzed for growth hormone (GH), insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), IGF-II, insulin (INS), thyroxine (T4), triiodothyronine (T3), glucose (GLU), nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA), and total amino acid (TAA), respectively. The results indicated that the maternal undernutrition during late gestation decreased the average lamb birth weight in both RG1 (P < 0.01) and RG2 (P < 0.05) compared to CG. During the late fetal development period, the concentrations of T4, INS, and IGF-I of neonatal lambs in CG were increased (P < 0.05) compared to those at day 90 of pregnancy; the secretions of T4, INS, and IGF-I in RG1 and RG2 during restriction were suppressed. The neonatal INS concentrations in RG1 and RG2 were decreased (P < 0.05), but the neonatal GH concentration in RG1 was greater than that of CG (P < 0.05). The GLU concentrations of neonatal lambs in RG1 were lower than those of CG (P < 0.05). However, the neonatal NEFA (P < 0.05) and TAA (P < 0.01) concentrations in RG1 were greater than those of CG. Thus, maternal undernutrition can change the hormonal and metabolic status of neonatal lambs, which may have significant implications on postnatal growth and adult health.

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237. AR-mediated androgen actions are essential for normal mouse uterine growth and development but not implantation and embryo development

Reproduction Fertility and Development ◽

10.1071/srb08abs237 ◽

2008 ◽

Vol 20 (9) ◽

pp. 37

Author(s):

K. A. Walters ◽

M. Jimenez ◽

L. A. Salamonsen ◽

D. J. Handelsman

Keyword(s):

Growth And Development ◽

Function Analysis ◽

Reproductive Function ◽

Late Pregnancy ◽

Female Reproduction ◽

Gestational Length ◽

Serum Progesterone ◽

Uterine Growth ◽

Functional Consequences ◽

And Function

Recently the androgen receptor (AR) has been shown definitively to play a role in female reproduction. We generated a homozygous AR−/− female mouse using Cre/LoxP recombination for an in-frame excision of exon 3, encoding the second zinc finger essential for DNA-binding, while allowing production of an exon 3 deleted mutant AR protein which is nonfunctional as a nuclear transcription factor. AR−/− females were sub-fertile due primarily to ovulatory dysfunction (1). However, the mechanism(s) of the observed sub-fertility remains to be fully defined. To evaluate the role of AR in uterine function we carried out a morphological and function analysis of the AR−/− uterus. Uterine weights did not differ, however, AR−/− females exhibited a significant increase in uterine horn length (P < 0.01), and a significant reduction in uterine diameter (P < 0.01), total uterine area (P < 0.01), endometrial area (P < 0.05) and myometrial area (P < 0.01), indicating a role for genomic AR-mediated actions in physiological uterine growth and development. Furthermore, during late pregnancy AR−/− females had significantly fewer implantation sites (P < 0.01), fetuses present in utero (P < 0.05) and a lower serum progesterone concentration (P < 0.01). In spite of these findings, AR−/− females had normal gestational length, parturition and pup weights, as well as similar pre- and post implantation losses compared with AR+/+ females. Therefore, although AR is not essential for normal uterine reproductive function, disrupting genomic AR signalling in the uterus leads to dysfunctional uterine development which may have important long-term functional consequences for hormone dependent uterine disorders such as endometrial hyperplasia and cancer. (1) K. A. Walters et al. Endocrinology 148, 3674 (2007).

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Effects of intrauterine growth restriction during late pregnancy on the ovine fetal renal function and antioxidant capacity

Animal Science Journal ◽

10.1111/asj.13613 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 92 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Yang Zi ◽

Chi Ma ◽

Huimin Li ◽

Suting Shen ◽

Yingchun Liu ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Renal Function ◽

Antioxidant Capacity ◽

Intrauterine Growth Restriction ◽

Late Pregnancy ◽

Growth Restriction ◽

Intrauterine Growth ◽

Ovine Fetal

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75 Assessment of allometric changes of visceral organs in pigs from birth to 10 kg bodyweight at 14 days post-weaning

Journal of Animal Science ◽

10.1093/jas/skz122.075 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 97 (Supplement_2) ◽

pp. 42-42

Author(s):

Sarah K Elefson ◽

James C Matthews ◽

H J Monegue ◽

Merlin D Lindemann

Keyword(s):

Body Weight ◽

Growth And Development ◽

Relative Weight ◽

Nutrient Metabolism ◽

Visceral Organs ◽

Intestinal Length ◽

Intestine Length ◽

Quadratic Effects ◽

Crossbred Pigs ◽

Over Time

Abstract Visceral organs (VO) play a crucial role in nutrient metabolism needed for growth and development. Although many studies have documented selected VO growth during early development or around the time of weaning, few studies have documented complete VO growth from birth through the post-weaning (PW) period. The objective of this study was to assess allometric changes of VO growth from birth through d 14 PW. Crossbred pigs were randomly assigned to slaughter (n = 6, 3 male and 3 female) for tissue collection at birth (pre-suckle), 1 and 7 days after birth, at weaning (20.0 ± 1.3 d), and days 1, 2, 5, 7, and 14 PW. Pigs were fed a common PW diet formulated to meet or exceed NRC (2012) estimates. Body weight (BW) and VO were collected and measured (Table 1). Data were analyzed by ANOVA using GLM procedure of SAS with linear and quadratic effects of age determined by contrast statements. BW, absolute small intestine length (SIL), and absolute large intestine length (LIL) increased (linear, P < 0.001) with age. Absolute stomach, liver, pancreas, and total VO weight (including the previously mentioned organs in addition to heart, lungs, kidneys, and spleen) increased (linear and quadratic, P < 0.0001) with pig age and BW. Relative weight (relative to BW) for stomach (0.52 - 0.82%, respectively), liver (2.99 - 3.17%, respectively), pancreas (0.14 - 0.22 %, respectively), and total VO weight (9.95 - 17.64%, respectively) also increased (linear and quadratic, P < 0.0008) over time (d 0 - 14 PW). The SIL relative to total intestinal length (83.79 - 82.14%, respectively) and relative LIL (16.21 - 17.86, respectively) did not change (P > 0.05) from birth to d 14 PW. In conclusion, the weight of the assessed VO increased hyperallometrically from birth to d 14 PW.

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