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Impact of Prenatal Dexamethasone on Circulating Cytokines and Chemokines in Neonatal and Adult Rats
Author(s) -
Madhavpeddi Lakshmi,
Hammond Bradley,
Hale Taben,
Handa Robert
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.2019.33.1_supplement.505.13
Subject(s) - medicine , endocrinology , in utero , offspring , chemokine , glucocorticoid , dexamethasone , monocyte , cytokine , gestation , biology , pregnancy , fetus , inflammation , genetics
Dexamethasone (DEX) is a synthetic glucocorticoid administered to mothers at risk for pre‐term labor. We and others have shown that prenatal DEX produces long‐term changes in the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis and cardiovascular function in adult offspring. However, there is limited information regarding the longitudinal impact of in utero DEX exposure on the immune system. In the present study, we determined the plasma levels of 20 cytokines and chemokines in male and female neonatal and adult rats that had been exposed to DEX in utero . Pregnant dams were administered DEX (0.4mg/kg or 0.1mg/kg per day, s.c .) or vehicle on gestation days 18–21. A subset of rats was sacrificed at post‐natal day 0 (PND0) and remaining rats were weaned at post‐natal day 21 and sacrificed at 2.5 – 3 months of age for measurement of plasma cytokine and chemokine levels. At PND0, plasma Il‐1β was reduced only in DEX‐exposed males, while the lymphocyte chemoattractant IP‐10 was only increased in DEX‐exposed females. In contrast, the levels of monocyte chemoattractant protein‐1 (MCP‐1) at PND0 were elevated in both males and females that were exposed to DEX in utero . Although increased MCP‐1 levels continued to be elevated in adult females that were prenatally exposed to DEX, this chemokine was significantly reduced in DEX‐exposed adult males. Moreover, DEX‐exposed male, but not female adult offspring displayed reduced circulating levels of Il‐2, Il‐17α, Il‐18, and TNFα. Taken together, prenatal DEX results in persistent and sex‐specific changes in circulating levels of inflammatory mediators. Further studies will determine the long‐term consequence of this age‐ and sex‐related changes of DEX on immune function. Support or Funding Information ABRC ADHS14‐082990 This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal .