Maternal urinary tract infection alters water maze performance in the offspring

The effects of maternal urinary tract infection (UTI) or endotoxin exposure on fetal outcome in rats were investigated. Prior to conception, dams of the UTI group were water-deprived and anesthetized. The urinary tract was then catheterized and injected with 0.2 of 1 x 10(9) Escherichia coli. The endotoxin group was injected with 0.03 mg/kg lipopolysaccharide on the fourth day of gestation and then every third day thereafter. The control groups were treated in the same manner, with the exception that the infection control was not catheterized or injected with E. coli, and the endotoxin control was not exposed to lipopolysaccharide. A nontreated control group was weighed daily. Beginning on postnatal day (PD) 19, offspring were tested daily in a water maze spatial navigation task. The retention latencies (Sessions 7--10) revealed deficits in the infection and endotoxin groups. In the rat model, these findings suggest that exposure during gestation to a maternal immune challenge may result in adverse fetal outcome.