KEY POINTS Older pregnant women have a greater risk of operative delivery, still birth and post-term induction. This suggests that maternal age can influence the timing of birth and processes of parturition. We have found that increasing maternal age in C57BL/6J mice is associated with prolongation of gestation and length of labour. Older pregnant mice also had delayed progesterone withdrawal a...

Malarial infection in nonimmune pregnant women is a major risk factor for pregnancy failure. The biological mechanisms that underlie malaria-associated fetal loss, however, are poorly understood. Plasmodium chabaudi AS infection during early pregnancy results in midgestational embryonic loss in naive C57BL/6 mice. To define the immunopathogenesis of this malaria-induced pregnancy compromise, cy...

Smoking is associated with multiple adverse pregnancy outcomes, including fetal growth restriction. The objective of this study was to determine whether cigarette smoke exposure during pregnancy in a mouse model affects the functional properties of maternal uterine, mesenteric, and renal arteries as a possible mechanism for growth restriction. C57Bl/CJ mice were exposed to whole body sidestream...

Pregnancy is associated with hyperphagia, increased adiposity and multiple neuroendocrine adaptations. Maternal adipose tissue secretes rising amounts of interleukin 6 (IL6), which acts peripherally modulating metabolic function and centrally increasing energy expenditure and reducing body fat. To explore the role of IL6 in the central mechanisms governing dam's energy homeostasis, early, mid a...

Previous studies have shown that a diet high in polyunsaturated fatty acids increases mammary tumor incidence in adult and pregnant mice and rats and in the female offspring. The present study investigated whether a high-fat diet alters the number of estrogen receptor (ER) binding sites and protein kinase C (PKC) activity in the mammary gland of these animals. In the female offspring, the effec...

Phase II enzymes, including Ugts, Sults, and Gsts, are critical for the disposition and detoxification of endo- and xenobiotics. In this study, the mRNA and protein expression of major phase II enzymes, as well as key regulatory transcription factors, were quantified in livers of time-matched pregnant and virgin control C57BL/6 mice on gestation days (GD) 7, 11, 14, 17, and postnatal days (PND)...

background: pregnancy is one of the changer agents for defensive cells, however it is unknown the effect of the ethanolic extract of the salvia officinalis on the uterine natural killer cells population in the pregnant mice that needs to be investigated. objective: the aim of this study was to determine the effect of the ethanolic extract of the salvia officinalis on the uterine natural killer ...

We investigated the pregnancy-induced changes in macrophage activity which are important in the expression of host defense against infections. Several macrophage functions were examined by using Listeria monocytogenes. In pregnant mice, prolonged survival and enhanced in vivo elimination of bacteria were observed in the early phase of primary infection. Functions of peritoneal macrophages, incl...

Background: Parturition depression is an important physiological problem, and several attempts have been made to ascertain this phenomenon. Natural monoterpenes like α-pinene numerous beneficial properties, but no studies done on their antidepressant potential in postpartum animals. Objectives: This study aimed determine the effects of prenatal administration antidepressant-like behavior mice f...

Among the various exogenous agents inducing developmental anomalies in higher mammals, administration of chemicals to pregnant animals may be a suitable means for the detection of the mechanism of teratogenesis. Sinclair ('50) recognized an abnormality of the nervous system of embryos after treatment of pregnant mice of an albino stock for several days from 7-8th day of gestation, with ethyl-ur...