Preeclampsia alters the expression of HPA axis related genes in the hippocampus of offspring rats / 复旦学报（医学版）

ABSTRACT

Objective To explore the effect of preeclampsia on the expression of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis related genesin the hippocampus of adolescent offspring rats.Methods The pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into two groups to be given 125 mg · kg-1 ·d-1 L-NAME or 1 mL pure saline by daily injection from day 14 to delivery.Serum corticosterone (CORT) levels in neonatal offspring rats were detected by ELISA.The mRNA and protein levels of glucocorticoid receptor (GR),corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH),CRH receptor 1 (CRHR1) and IL-6 in the hippocampus of 8-week offspring rats were determined by real-time PCR and Western blot,respectively.Results Compared with normal neonatal rats,the serum CORT concentration of neonatal rats with preeclampsia was increased (P＜0.05).Compared with normal adolescent offspring,the levels of GR,CRH and CRHR1 mRNA and protein were increased in the hippocampus of adolescent rats with preeclampsia (P＜0.05),accompanied by increased IL-6 mRNA and protein (P＜0.05),as a downstream inflammatory gene of the GR.Conclusions We found that adolescent SD rats exposed to preeclampsia showed alteration in the expression of HPA related genes in the hippocampus,which played a role in the impairment of learning and memory in children.