Magnesium sulfate ameliorates maternal and fetal inflammation in a rat model of maternal infection.

OBJECTIVE Magnesium sulfate is proposed to have neuroprotective effects in the offspring. We examined the effects of maternal magnesium sulfate administration on maternal and fetal inflammatory responses in a rat model of maternal infection. STUDY DESIGN Pregnant rats were injected with saline, Gram-negative bacterial endotoxin lipopolysaccharide or lipopolysaccharide with magnesium sulfate (pre- and/or after lipopolysaccharide) to mimic infection. Maternal blood, amniotic fluid, fetal blood, and fetal brains were collected 4 hours after lipopolysaccharide and assayed for tumor necrosis factor, interleukin-6, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, and growth-related oncogene-KC. In addition, the effect of magnesium sulfate on cytokine production by an astrocytoma cell line was assessed. RESULTS Lipopolysaccharide administration induced tumor necrosis factor, interleukin-6, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, and growth-related oncogene-KC expression in maternal and fetal compartments. Maternal magnesium sulfate treatment significantly attenuated lipopolysaccharide-induced multiple proinflammatory mediator levels in maternal and fetal compartments. CONCLUSION Antenatal magnesium sulfate administration significantly ameliorated maternal, fetal, and gestational tissue-associated inflammatory responses in an experimental model of maternal infection.