Abstract:Aim To investigate the effects of fetal intrauterine chromic hypoxia on the blood pressure of offspring rats. Methods Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to hypoxia for 3 hours in low pressure cabin with an oxygen concentration of 10%±1% from day 7 to day 21 of pregnancy.The body weight,organs weight and blood pressure were determined in the offspring rats. Results Fetal hypoxia offspring growth were retarded at birth(P><0.01) but had similar weight to controls at 20 days of age.There were significant declines in liver weight of offspring at birth and 20 days of age,and significant decreases in kidney weight of male offspring at 3 and 7 months of age(all P><0.05).Systolic blood pressures were significantly elevated in male hypoxia offspring rats at 5 and 7 months of age as compared with controls(all P><0.05),and aggravated with age.But it was not significantly different from controls in female hypoxia offspring rats. Conclusion Intrauterine chromic hypoxia may be a stress factor for fetal programming in rat liver,kidney and vascular tissues. It can induce the increased blood pressure in the male offspring rats,which aggravated with age and displayed a gender related character.

Abstract:Aim To investigate the effects of fetal intrauterine chromic hypoxia on the vascular endothelial function of adult offspring rats,and its relation to gender,hyperlipemia,and adult hypoxia. Methods Four factorial experiment was designed to explore the role of fetal intrauterine chromic hypoxia,gender,hyperlipemia,and adult hypoxia on endothelial dependent diastolic function.Four animal models of intrauterine chromic hypoxia,hyperlipemia and adult hypoxia were established in Sprague-Dawley rats.Endothelial dependent diastolic function and histologic changes were determined in the rats offsping. Results Except the factor of gender,the other three factors of intrauterine hypoxia,hyperlipemia,and adult hypoxia resulted in an impairment of endothelial dependent diastolic function with main effects of 14.1%,14.2%,12.9%,respectively(all P><0.01).There was a positive interaction between intrauterine hypoxia and hyperlipemia on endothelial function(F=4.889,P><0.05),but no other significant interactions among these four factors.Furthermore,marked histological changes,such as edema,necrosis,and desquamation of vascular epithelium,platelet aggregation and microthrombosis,subendothelial edema and infiltration of inflammatory cells,were observed in the fetal hypoxia offspring but not in the control group. Conclusion Intrauterine chromic hypoxia can induce both functional and morphologic impairment in vascular endothelium from adult offspring rats.This effect on the impaired endothelial function was similar to hyperlipemia and adult hypoxia on that,and was enhanced with hyperlipemia.