Prenatal stress enhances atherosclerosis and telomere shortening in ApoE knockout mouse offspring

• DOI: 10.1152/ajpregu.00201.2021
• Publication Date: 2022-04-12T12:01:03Z
• Authors: Tomoaki Ito; Harumi Saeki; Xin Guo; Polina Sysa-Shah; Kellie L. Tamashiro; Richard S. Lee; Shun Ishiyama; Hajime Orita; Koichi Sato; Malcolm V. Brock; Kathleen Gabrielson
• Keywords: Prenatal Stress; Pathogenesis; Apolipoprotein E; Knockout mouse

Children born to women who experience stress during pregnancy have an increased risk of atherosclerosis in later life, but few animal models explored mechanisms. To study this phenomenon, timed-bred ApoE knockout mice were determined pregnant with ultrasound and randomly assigned on gestation day 8.5 either a control (no stress) or prenatal (PS) group using 2 h restraint for five consecutive days. PS significantly plasma corticosterone levels mice. The litters from showed neonatal mortality within the first week life. Body weights (at euthanasia) adult offspring at 25 wk compared controls. Adult these pregnancies serially imaged measure plaque thickness macroscopic microscopic pathology. groups had by ultrasound, gross, histological evaluation aortic root valve macrophage infiltration wk. Five-week-old significant decrease mean arterial pressure, yet blood pressure normalized 10 As induced atherosclerosis, telomeres are susceptible stress, aortas 10-wk-old telomere lengths found be shorter These studies support future investigation how impacts shortening human aortas. This model could further used investigate role biology, pathogenesis adults.