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Effect of Advanced Maternal Age on Cardiovascular Function in Adult Male and Female Rat Offspring
Author(s) -
Shah Amin,
Care Alison Sandra,
Cooke Christy Lynn,
Morton Jude Sally,
Quon Anita,
Kirschenman Raven,
Davidge Sandra Thomas
Publication year - 2017
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.31.1_supplement.852.6
Subject(s) - offspring , medicine , litter , cardiac function curve , pregnancy , young adult , physiology , endocrinology , cardiology , biology , heart failure , genetics , agronomy
Pregnancy in advanced maternal age (< 35 yrs of age) increases the risk of immediate and long‐term health complications in mothers and offspring. Using a rat model of advanced maternal age, we have recently demonstrated poor fetal development, decreased litter size, and impaired maternal vascular function. The present study aimed to investigate the cardiovascular health of adult male and female offspring born to dams of advanced maternal age. Echocardiography and isolated working heart techniques were used to assess in vivo cardiac function and ex vivo cardiac function recovery after ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) respectively in 4 month and 12 month adult offspring born to young (4 month) or maternal aged (9.5 month) rat dams. At 4 month of age, ex‐vivo data showed that male offspring from aged dams had significantly decreased cardiac function recovery after I/R compared to offspring from young dams (45.78 ± 9.54% vs. 107.6 ± 4.03%; P< 0.001). In contrast, there was no significant difference in cardiac function recovery after I/R in female offspring born from aged vs young dams (87.6 ± 3.26% vs. 94.79 ± 5.89 %; P=NS); indicating better cardiac tolerance against I/R injury compared to their male counterparts. At 12 month of age, echocardiographic data revealed that compared to offspring from young dams, male offspring from aged dams developed in vivo cardiac diastolic dysfunction as indicated by decreased isovolumic relaxation time (male offspring IVRT; young dam 34.27 ± 2.04 vs. aged dam 27.61 ± 0.99 msec; P< 0.01). In contrast, there was no significant difference in in vivo cardiac function between the groups in female offspring indicating intact in vivo cardiac function. We further evaluated whether aging in the female offspring impacted ex vivo cardiac susceptibility to I/R. Our ex vivo data showed that 12 month old female offspring born from both young and aged dams had a similar basal cardiac power during the pre‐ischemia period and similar percent recovery of cardiac function after I/R injury (female offspring; young dam 102.8 % vs. aged dam 81.08 %, Mann‐Whitney U test: P=NS). In conclusion, aged male offspring born to mothers of advanced maternal age had an increased susceptibility to the development of cardiovascular dysfunction. Support or Funding Information This work is funded by grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (MOP 133566), the Women and Children's Health Research Institute through the generous contributions of the Stollery Children's Hospital Foundation and the Royal Alexandra Hospital Foundation. A. Shah is supported by fellowship from the Molly Towell Perinatal Research Foundation Canada. S. Davidge is a Canada Research Chair in Maternal and Perinatal Cardiovascular Health.