Effect of Sympathetic Nerves on Proliferation of Splenic Lymphocytes and Antioxidant Function of Maternal Spleen in Early Pregnant Mice

Sympathetic regulation plays an important role in fetal survival and development during early pregnancy. Maternal adaptations to pregnancy may involve changes of the spleen in its structure, size, and function. This study was therefore designed to investigate the effects of sympathetic nerves on these adaptations in the maternal spleen of mice during early pregnancy. The adult female mice were intraperitoneally injected with neurotoxin 6‐hydroxydopamine (6‐OHDA) for 5 consecutive days to selectively destroy the sympathetic nerves. The results were as follows: (1) the splenic weight was reduced in the 6‐OHDA group by 10.9%–13.0% at E5–E9 (P < 0.05) when compared with the control group. (2) The splenic nodule and periarterial lymphatic sheath of the 6‐OHDA‐treated mice were smaller than those of control mice. The proliferating cell nuclear antigen positive cells of 6‐OHDA‐treated group were decreased by 10.9%–16.2% (P < 0.05) at E1–E9. (3) Lymphocyte proliferation indices in response to concanavalin A or lipopolysaccharide were significantly decreased (P < 0.05) in the 6‐OHDA group. (4) When compared with control mice, the superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities of 6‐OHDA‐treated mice were decreased by 14.3%–21.9% (P < 0.05) at E1–E9 and 17.4%–25.0% (P < 0.05) at E3–E9, respectively. In contrast, the malondialdehyde content of 6‐OHDA group was increased by 10.6%–38.6% (P < 0.05) at E3–E9. The results demonstrated the regulation of pregnancy‐dependent adaptations in the spleen through the sympathetic nerve activity. Anat Rec,, 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.