Abstract
The environment of a pregnant mother has a life-long impact on later life of offspring. Maternal stress is known to cause low birth weight and programs several physiological dysfunctions in offspring. However, the direct effects of maternal stress on the developing fetus remain largely unknown. The present study focused on the effect of chronic maternal stress on the developmental program and its molecular mechanisms. Pregnant mice were given 6-hour immobilization stress every day from 8.5 days post coitum. Fetal body weight was significantly decreased by maternal stress throughout development. Importantly, developmental events were retarded in the stressed fetuses. Around embryonic day 13.5 (E13.5), the developmental increment of somite numbers was delayed, although this difference recovered by E15.5. Limb bud formation and regression of interdigital webbing were also retarded by approximately 0.5 days. Subsequently, transcriptomes of developing limbs were analyzed by cDNA microarrays. Approximately, one-tenth of detected transcripts were significantly influenced by maternal stress. Q-PCR AQ analyses further demonstrated that the expression of a subset of limb development-associated genes, including Igf1, Aldh1a2, and Acta1, was changed in the stressed fetus. In conclusion, our findings suggest that maternal stress can retard limb and somite development in mice, with profound impacts on the developmental genetic program of limb.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 194-204 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Stress |
| Volume | 14 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 2011 Mar 1 |
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Keywords
- developmental retardation
- embryonic development
- environmental programing
- gene expression
- growth retardation
- Maternal stress
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Behavioral Neuroscience
- Endocrine and Autonomic Systems
- Physiology
- Psychiatry and Mental health
- Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology
Cite this
Maternal stress retards fetal development in mice with transcriptome-wide impact on gene expression profiles of the limb. / Choe, Han Kyoung; Son, Gi Hoon; Chung, Sooyoung; Kim, Myungjin; Sun, Woong; Kim, Hyun; Geum, Dongho; Kim, Kyungjin.
In: Stress, Vol. 14, No. 2, 01.03.2011, p. 194-204.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Maternal stress retards fetal development in mice with transcriptome-wide impact on gene expression profiles of the limb
AU - Choe, Han Kyoung
AU - Son, Gi Hoon
AU - Chung, Sooyoung
AU - Kim, Myungjin
AU - Sun, Woong
AU - Kim, Hyun
AU - Geum, Dongho
AU - Kim, Kyungjin
PY - 2011/3/1
Y1 - 2011/3/1
N2 - The environment of a pregnant mother has a life-long impact on later life of offspring. Maternal stress is known to cause low birth weight and programs several physiological dysfunctions in offspring. However, the direct effects of maternal stress on the developing fetus remain largely unknown. The present study focused on the effect of chronic maternal stress on the developmental program and its molecular mechanisms. Pregnant mice were given 6-hour immobilization stress every day from 8.5 days post coitum. Fetal body weight was significantly decreased by maternal stress throughout development. Importantly, developmental events were retarded in the stressed fetuses. Around embryonic day 13.5 (E13.5), the developmental increment of somite numbers was delayed, although this difference recovered by E15.5. Limb bud formation and regression of interdigital webbing were also retarded by approximately 0.5 days. Subsequently, transcriptomes of developing limbs were analyzed by cDNA microarrays. Approximately, one-tenth of detected transcripts were significantly influenced by maternal stress. Q-PCR AQ analyses further demonstrated that the expression of a subset of limb development-associated genes, including Igf1, Aldh1a2, and Acta1, was changed in the stressed fetus. In conclusion, our findings suggest that maternal stress can retard limb and somite development in mice, with profound impacts on the developmental genetic program of limb.
AB - The environment of a pregnant mother has a life-long impact on later life of offspring. Maternal stress is known to cause low birth weight and programs several physiological dysfunctions in offspring. However, the direct effects of maternal stress on the developing fetus remain largely unknown. The present study focused on the effect of chronic maternal stress on the developmental program and its molecular mechanisms. Pregnant mice were given 6-hour immobilization stress every day from 8.5 days post coitum. Fetal body weight was significantly decreased by maternal stress throughout development. Importantly, developmental events were retarded in the stressed fetuses. Around embryonic day 13.5 (E13.5), the developmental increment of somite numbers was delayed, although this difference recovered by E15.5. Limb bud formation and regression of interdigital webbing were also retarded by approximately 0.5 days. Subsequently, transcriptomes of developing limbs were analyzed by cDNA microarrays. Approximately, one-tenth of detected transcripts were significantly influenced by maternal stress. Q-PCR AQ analyses further demonstrated that the expression of a subset of limb development-associated genes, including Igf1, Aldh1a2, and Acta1, was changed in the stressed fetus. In conclusion, our findings suggest that maternal stress can retard limb and somite development in mice, with profound impacts on the developmental genetic program of limb.
KW - developmental retardation
KW - embryonic development
KW - environmental programing
KW - gene expression
KW - growth retardation
KW - Maternal stress
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=79551626903&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=79551626903&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3109/10253890.2010.529972
DO - 10.3109/10253890.2010.529972
M3 - Article
C2 - 21291317
AN - SCOPUS:79551626903
VL - 14
SP - 194
EP - 204
JO - Stress
JF - Stress
SN - 1025-3890
IS - 2
ER -