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Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Calgary Health Sciences Center, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 4N1
Fewell, James E., and Patricia A. Tang. Pregnancy
alters body-core temperature response to a simulated open field in rats. J. Appl. Physiol. 82(4):
1406-1410, 1997.
Exposure of a rat to a novel environment (e.g.,
a simulated open field) induces a transient increase in body-core
temperature, which is often called stress-induced hyperthermia.
Although pregnancy is known to influence thermoregulatory control, its
effect on stress-induced hyperthermia is unknown. Therefore, 24 Sprague-Dawley rats (8 nonpregnant and 16 pregnant) were studied to
test the hypothesis that pregnancy would alter the development of
stress-induced hyperthermia after exposure to a simulated open field.
Body-core temperature index increased significantly after exposure to a
simulated open field in nonpregnant and gestation
day-10 rats but not in gestation day-15 and
day-20 rats. Thus our data provide
evidence that pregnancy influences the body-core temperature response
of rats exposed to a simulated open field in a gestation-dependent
fashion. The functional consequences as well as the mechanisms involved
remain to be determined.
stress-induced hyperthermia; thermoregulation
NUMEROUS PHYSIOLOGICAL changes occur during the
maternal adaptation to pregnancy. In rats, these changes include
reversible alterations in thermoregulatory control. For example,
baseline 24-h body-core temperature
(Tbc) in rats decreases as
gestation advances and then increases around the time of parturition
(13). Furthermore, there are different thermoregulatory responses to cold (15) and to pyrogens such as bacterial endotoxin (20), interleukin
(IL)-1 Exposure of a rat to a novel environment induces a transient increase
in Tbc of ~1.5°C (7). This
response is often called stress-induced hyperthermia. Several
laboratories have provided evidence that stress-induced hyperthermia
results from a regulated thermoregulatory response and shares some
common mechanisms with fever in response to bacterial pyrogens (5, 29).
Considering this and the aforementioned information on pregnancy and
fever in response to pyrogens, the present experiments have been
carried out to test the hypothesis that pregnancy would alter the
Tbc response to a simulated open
field in rats.
Experiments were carried out on 8 nonpregnant and 16 pregnant
Sprague-Dawley rats (aged 8-11 wk) undergoing their first
pregnancy (Charles River Breeding Laboratories, St. Constant, Quebec,
Canada). The rats were housed individually in Plexiglas cages at 22 ± 1°C in a 12:12-h light-dark cycle, with lights on from 0700 to 1900. To familiarize the animal with the investigator, rats were
handled at least three times before an experiment. All animals had
continuous access to food (Lab Diet 5001) and tap water.
(IL-1
; Ref. 28), and prostaglandin (PG) E1
(PGE1; Ref. 30) in near-term
pregnant rats compared with those observed in nonpregnant rats.
Tbc index increased significantly
after exposure to a simulated open field in nonpregnant and gestation
day-10 rats but was not different from
that observed during a home-cage experiment on days
15 and 20 of gestation
(Fig. 1). On being placed into the center
of the simulated open field, all rats moved to a wall of the box,
circled the perimeter once or twice, and then settled in a corner where
they usually stayed for the duration of the experiment. There was no
effect of pregnancy on this behavior.
In nonpregnant animals, exposure to a simulated open field produced a
rapid increase in Tbc of
~0.9°C that peaked at 20 min. Tbc was significantly increased
above control level at 10 min after exposure to a simulated open field
and continued to be elevated for ~80 min (Fig.
2). In day
10 gestation rats, exposure to a simulated open field
produced a more gradual increase in
Tbc of ~0.7°C that peaked at
60 min. Tbc was increased by 10 min but remained elevated for the duration of our recordings (i.e.,
~180 min). On day 15 of gestation,
Tbc was elevated only at 40 min after exposure to a simulated open field; and on day
20 of gestation, Tbc did not change after exposure
to a simulated open field. During a sham experiment,
Tbc was elevated only in
nonpregnant rats (Fig. 3). The magnitude of
the response as well as the duration of the response, however, were
attenuated compared with that observed during an open field experiment.
No changes in Tbc occurred during a home-cage experiment in any of the groups (Fig.
4).
Our experiments provide new and important information about the maternal adaptation to pregnancy in rats. A novel finding in our study was that pregnancy altered the Tbc response of rats after exposure to a simulated open field; this response was gestation dependent.
Exposure of a rat to a novel stimulus (whether it be restraint,
handling, a loud noise, or a novel environment) causes a rise in
Tbc (see Ref. 22 for recent
review). After exposure to a novel environment, an increase in
Tbc occurs, which is often called stress-induced hyperthermia. This increase is thought to result from a
regulated thermoregulatory response because it occurs when the animals
are studied in a cold environment as well as when they are studied in a
warm environment (4, 6, 19), and it is accompanied by activation of
heat-producing (27) and heat-conserving mechanisms (5, 6). Although the
mechanisms that initiate stress-induced hyperthermia are not clear,
prostaglandins (5, 29) and endogenous opioids (3, 25) appear to play
important roles in mediating the
Tbc response, and glucocorticoids
appear to play an important role in modulating (21, 23) the
Tbc response. Circulating
interleukin-1 (IL-1) does not appear to be involved in mediating
stress-induced hyperthermia, as Long et al. (18) and Watkins et al.
(32) have shown that neither an intraperitoneal injection of antiserum
against IL-1
- nor a subcutaneous injection of recombinant human
IL-1
-receptor antagonist alters the
Tbc response of rats after
exposure to a novel environment. Interestingly, Watkins et al. have
recently shown that subdiaphragmatic vagotomy blocks stress-induced
hyperthermia in rats after their exposure to a novel environment.
Although our experiments were not designed to investigate the mechanism of the attenuated stress-induced hyperthermic response near term of pregnancy in rats after their exposure to a simulated open field, there are a number of possibilities. Corticosterone, which appears to modulate stress-induced hyperthermia after exposure to a novel environment (21, 23), is elevated from day 18 of gestation through to parturition in the rat (12). Glucocorticoids (e.g., corticosterone) are antipyretic (10, 11) and are known to stimulate the production of lipocortin-1, a calcium-dependent phospholipid-binding protein, which inhibits phospholipase A2, a key enzyme involved in the synthesis of PG (14).
Alternatively, a pregnancy-related activation of an endogenous antipyretic system may have regulated the attenuated Tbc response on exposure to a simulated open field near the term of pregnancy. Arginine vasopressin, which functions as an endogenous antipyretic substance in the central nervous system (16), is elevated in plasma (17) and in a number of hypothalamic nuclei in rats near term of pregnancy (9, 17). Ruwe et al. (26) have shown that administration of arginine vasopressin into the ventral septal area of the rat reduces the increase in Tbc evoked by the intracerebroventricular (icv) injection PGE2. Furthermore, we have recently shown that the Tbc response to icv administration of PGE1 is attenuated in near-term pregnant rats compared with nonpregnant rats (30). Thus it is possible that a pregnancy-related activation of this endogenous antipyretic system may have regulated the Tbc response on exposure to a simulated open field in our experiments.
Finally, Shibata and Nagasaka (27) have shown that nonshivering thermogenesis in brown adipose tissue serves as an important thermoregulatory effector organ for heat generation during stress-induced hyperthermia in rats. A number of investigations, however, have demonstrated that the thermogenic capacity and activity of brown adipose tissue are decreased late in gestation as well as throughout lactation in rodents (2, 31). Thus it is possible that an altered brown adipose tissue response may have forced the attenuated stress-induced hyperthermic response on exposure to a simulated open field near term of pregnancy in our rats. These possible mechanisms require further investigation.
Regardless of the mechanism of the altered stress-induced hyperthermic response on exposure to a simulated open field near term of pregnancy in rats, what are the possible consequences for the fetus? From the standpoint of oxygen supply and demand, it may be of advantage to the fetus for the mother not to develop stress-induced hyperthermia for several reasons. One reason is that stress-induced hyperthermia may cause circulatory adjustments such that blood flow from internal body organs, including the uterus and placenta, shifts toward thermogenic organs (e.g., brown adipose tissue). Under conditions of maximal stimulation, brown adipose tissue, which usually represents <1% of body weight, can receive up to 60% of the cardiac output (24). A decrease in uteroplacental blood flow can compromise placental gas exchange, with a resulting decrease in fetal oxygen supply. Another reason is that during stress-induced hyperthermia, fetal Tbc, which is normally 0.4-0.8°C higher than maternal Tbc (1), would most likely increase in parallel with the rise in maternal Tbc with a resulting increase in oxygen demand secondary to the temperature coefficient of metabolism (i.e., Q10). A moderate increase in Tbc during the latter part of gestation may be detrimental to the fetus not only by increasing oxygen demand but also by causing a rightward shift of the oxyhemoglobin dissociation curve, thereby decreasing oxygen affinity and hemoglobin oxygen saturation. Furthermore, in conditions in which fetal oxygen availability is severely limited (e.g., asphyxia during birth), an increase in Tbc may exacerbate neuronal injury (8) and increase perinatal morbidity and mortality.
The authors thank Dr. Francine G. Smith for critical review of this manuscript.
Address for reprint requests: J. E. Fewell, Heritage Medical Research Bldg., Univ. of Calgary, 3330 Hospital Dr., NW, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2N 4N1 (E-mail: fewell{at}acs.ucalgary.ca).
Received 16 August 1996; accepted in final form 19 December 1996.
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