| Abstract: | Objective To investigate the effects of prenatal exposure to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on blood pressure and body weight of offspring in rats. Methods Sixteen healthy pregnant rats were randomly divided into two groups. The rats in LPS group were injected intraperitoneally with LPS (0.79 mg·kg-1) at the 8th, 10th, 12th day of gestation. Those in the control group were only treated with NS. After delivery, all offspring were weighed and blood pressure was measured by tail-cuff method once every two weeks from the 6th to 24th week. In the 15th week, their food intakes were weighed every day. At the end of the 24th week, the rats were put to death by decapitation. Abdominal adipose tissues were taken to weigh, and serum level of leptin was detected by RIA. Results The offspring with prenatal LPS exposure showed increased systemic arterial pressure, heavier body weight, elevated food intake, increased adipose tissue weight and increased circulating leptin compared with controls. Conclusions Prenatal exposure to LPS leads to increases in blood pressure and body weight in rats. |
