This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Copyright Permission Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by McMillen, I. C. Articles by Coulter, C. L. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by McMillen, I. C. Articles by Coulter, C. L.

Impact of Restriction of Placental and Fetal Growth on Expression of 11ß-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase Type 1 and Type 2 Messenger Ribonucleic Acid in the Liver, Kidney, and Adrenal of the Sheep Fetus¹

Departments of Physiology and Obstetrics and Gynecology (J.S.R.), University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia

Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Dr. I. C. McMillen, Department of Physiology, Medical School Building, University of Adelaide, G.P.O. Box 498, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia. E-mail: caroline.mcmillen{at}adelaide.edu.au

We have investigated the effects of fetal growth restriction, induced by restriction of placental growth and function (PR), on 11ß-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type 1 (11ßHSD-1) and 11ßHSD-2 messenger RNA (mRNA) expression in fetal tissues in the sheep, using Northern blot analysis. Fetal liver, kidney, and adrenals were collected from normally grown fetuses at 90 days (n = 6), 125 days (n = 6), and 141–145 days (n = 7) and from PR fetuses at 141–145 days (n = 6). Expression of 11ßHSD-1 mRNA in the fetal liver increased significantly between 125 days (7.4 ± 0.8) and 141–145 days gestation (27 ± 5.3). There was also an approximately 2-fold increase in the ratio of 11ßHSD-1 mRNA/18S rRNA expression in the PR group (53.8 ± 7.9) compared with that in control animals at 141–145 days gestation. There was a significant decrease in 11ßHSD-2 mRNA in fetal adrenals between 125 days (41.6 ± 2.4) and 141–145 days (26.7 ± 1.1) gestation, but there was no effect of PR on the expression of adrenal 11ßHSD-2 mRNA. 11ßHSD-2 mRNA expression in the fetal kidney increased between 90 days (16.8 ± 1.7) and 141–145 days gestation (31.7 ± 4.3), but there was no effect of PR on the levels of 11ßHSD-2 mRNA in the fetal kidney. In summary, 11ßHSD-2 mRNA is differentially regulated in the fetal adrenal and kidney in the sheep fetus during late gestation. There is also a specific increase in the expression of 11ßHSD-1 mRNA in the liver of growth-restricted fetuses in late gestation. This suggests that there is increased hepatic exposure to cortisol in the growth-restricted fetus, which may be important in the reprogramming of hepatic physiology that occurs after growth restriction in utero.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. M. MacLaughlin, S. K. Walker, D. O. Kleemann, J. P. Sibbons, D. N. Tosh, S. Gentili, C. L. Coulter, and I. C. McMillen Impact of Periconceptional Undernutrition on Adrenal Growth and Adrenal Insulin-Like Growth Factor and Steroidogenic Enzyme Expression in the Sheep Fetus during Early Pregnancy Endocrinology, April 1, 2007; 148(4): 1911 - 1920. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Nammi, K. Dembele, and B. L. G. Nyomba Increased 11beta-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase type-1 and hexose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase in liver and adipose tissue of rat offspring exposed to alcohol in utero Am J Physiol Regulatory Integrative Comp Physiol, March 1, 2007; 292(3): R1101 - R1109. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				I. C. Mcmillen and J. S. Robinson Developmental Origins of the Metabolic Syndrome: Prediction, Plasticity, and Programming Physiol Rev, April 1, 2005; 85(2): 571 - 633. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K.E. Warnes, I.C. McMillen, J.S. Robinson, and C.L. Coulter Differential Actions of Metyrapone on the Fetal Pituitary-Adrenal Axis in the Sheep Fetus in Late Gestation Biol Reprod, August 1, 2004; 71(2): 620 - 628. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K E Warnes, C L Coulter, J S Robinson, and I C McMillen The effect of intrafetal infusion of metyrapone on arterial blood pressure and on the arterial blood pressure response to angiotensin II in the sheep fetus during late gestation J. Physiol., October 15, 2003; 552(2): 621 - 633. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. L. Coulter, I. C. McMillen, I. M. Bird, and M. D. Salkeld Steroidogenic Acute Regulatory Protein Expression Is Decreased in the Adrenal Gland of the Growth-Restricted Sheep Fetus During Late Gestation Biol Reprod, August 1, 2002; 67(2): 584 - 590. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. E Bertram and M. A Hanson Animal models and programming of the metabolic syndrome: Type 2 diabetes Br. Med. Bull., November 1, 2001; 60(1): 103 - 121. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. Bertram, A. R. Trowern, N. Copin, A. A. Jackson, and C. B. Whorwood The Maternal Diet during Pregnancy Programs Altered Expression of the Glucocorticoid Receptor and Type 2 11{beta}-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase: Potential Molecular Mechanisms Underlying the Programming of Hypertension in Utero Endocrinology, July 1, 2001; 142(7): 2841 - 2853. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. B. Whorwood, K. M. Firth, H. Budge, and M. E. Symonds Maternal Undernutrition during Early to Midgestation Programs Tissue-Specific Alterations in the Expression of the Glucocorticoid Receptor, 11{beta}-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase Isoforms, and Type 1 Angiotensin II Receptor in Neonatal Sheep Endocrinology, July 1, 2001; 142(7): 2854 - 2864. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]