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[CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM REACTIVITY IN PRENATALLY STRESSED RATS DURING THE LATE PERIOD OF ONTOGENESIS]
A Khudaverdyan1, M Saroyan1, D Khudaverdyan1
1M. Heratsi Yerevan State Medical University, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology N2; Department of Physiology, Armenia.
Insights
Prenatal stress in rats leads to lower blood pressure and heart rate, even months after birth. These cardiovascular changes indicate reduced adaptability to stress factors in adulthood.
Area of Science:
- Physiology
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
Context:
- Chronic stress during gestation can impact offspring's long-term health.
- Cardiovascular system development and reactivity are sensitive to early-life exposures.
- Understanding the lasting effects of prenatal stress is crucial for public health.
Purpose:
- To investigate the long-term effects of chronic prenatal stress on cardiovascular function in adult rats.
- To assess systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate in prenatally stressed rats.
- To evaluate the cardiovascular system's reactivity to immobilization stress in adulthood.
Summary:
- Adult rats exposed to chronic stress during gestation exhibited significantly lower systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate compared to controls.
- These cardiovascular differences persisted six months post-birth and were evident before and during immobilization stress.
- Prenatal stress exposure resulted in diminished cardiovascular system performance and reactivity to acute stress.
Impact:
- Prenatal stress impairs the cardiovascular system's adaptive capacity, potentially increasing vulnerability to stress-related disorders.
- Findings highlight the critical role of maternal environment in programming offspring's long-term physiological resilience.
- Suggests potential therapeutic targets for mitigating the adverse effects of early-life stress on cardiovascular health.
Abstract:
Systolic, diastolic blood pressure and heart rate were determined in normal rats and those exposed to influence of chronic stress during gestation. Data were registered six months after the birth and in 5, 24 and 48 hours after their immobilization. Analysis of the data showed that in rats undergoing stress, recorded systolic, diastolic blood pressure and heart rate both before and during all periods of immobilization were significantly below than in control group. It is concluded that the maximum limit of motor activity in the prenatally stressed rats accompanied by a decrease in the values recorded performance of the cardiovascular system, which is reflecting the decrease in these animals reactivity of the cardiovascular system, and thus the adaptive capacity for action of stress factors.
