Programming effects of short prenatal exposure to cortisol

Abstract

Recent studies have linked fetal exposure to a suboptimal intrauterine environment with adult hypertension. The aims of this study were two-fold: 1) to see whether cortisol treatment administered to the ewe for 2 days at 27 days of gestation (term ∼ 150 days) resulted in high blood pressure in offspring; 2) to study the effect of the same treatment on gene expression in the brain at 130 days of gestation and in lambs at 2 months of age. Mean arterial pressure was significantly higher in the adult female and male offspring of sheep treated with cortisol than in the control group (females: 89±2 mmHg vs. 81±2; P<0.05 and males: 102±4 mmHg vs. 91±3; P±0.05). Prenatal cortisol treatment led to up..