Reproductive disorders in female rats after prenatal exposure to betamethasone

Betamethasone is the drug of choice for antenatal treatment, promoting fetal lung maturation and decreasing mortality. Previous studies in rats reported male programming and alteration in sperm parameters and sexual behavior following intrauterine betamethasone exposure. The impact on the female rep...

Ausführliche Beschreibung

Gespeichert in:
Bibliographische Detailangaben
Veröffentlicht in:Journal of applied toxicology 2017-09, Vol.37 (9), p.1065-1072
Hauptverfasser: Borges, Cibele S., Pacheco, Tainá L., Guerra, Marina T., Barros, Aline L., Silva, Patricia V., Missassi, Gabriela, Silva, Katiussia Pinho, Anselmo‐Franci, Janete A., Pupo, André S., Kempinas, Wilma De G.
Format: Artikel
Sprache:eng
Schlagworte:
Online-Zugang:Volltext
Tags: Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
Beschreibung
Zusammenfassung:Betamethasone is the drug of choice for antenatal treatment, promoting fetal lung maturation and decreasing mortality. Previous studies in rats reported male programming and alteration in sperm parameters and sexual behavior following intrauterine betamethasone exposure. The impact on the female reproductive development is not known. In this study, rat female offspring was assessed for sexual development, morphophysiology of the reproductive tract and fertility after maternal exposure to 0.1 mg kg−1 of betamethasone or vehicle on gestational days 12, 13, 18 and 19. The treatment promoted reduction of litter weight on postnatal day 1, morphological masculinization in females, delay in the age of puberty onset, reduction in estrus number, increase in estrous cycle length and increase in luteinizing hormone serum levels and uterus weight. The females from the betamethasone group showed an increase of myometrial uterine area and decrease in endometrial uterine area. These animals also performed less lordosis during the sexual behavior test and showed impaired reproductive performance. The uterus showed higher contraction in the treated group as shown by a pharmacological assay. In conclusion, prenatal betamethasone exposure in rats promoted female masculinization, altered sexual development and reproductive parameters. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Betamethasone promoted the reduction in litter weight and morphological masculinization in females, delay in puberty onset, reduction in estrus number with increase in estrus cycle length and luteinizing hormone serum levels. The uterus showed an increase in myometrial area with higher contractility activity and decrease in endometrial area. These animals also performed less lordosis and showed impaired reproductive performance. In conclusion, prenatal betamethasone exposure promoted female reproductive disorders.
ISSN:0260-437X
1099-1263
DOI:10.1002/jat.3457