Enrichment of maternal environment protects the offspring through changes in the amniotic fluid.

SCHANDER, JULIETA AYLEN; CORREA, FERNANDO; AISEMBERG, JULIETA; MARVALDI, CAROLINA; DE LA CRUZ, FERNANDA; WOLFSON, MANUEL LUIS; JENSEN, FEDERICO; FRANCHI, ANA MARIA

Mar del Plata

Congreso; REUNIÓN ANUAL DE SOCIEDADES DE BIOCIENCIA 2019; 2019

SAIC

Maternal lifestyle affects both pregnancy outcome and maternal health. We previouslydemonstrated that the exposition to an enriched environment (EE), a non-invasive stimulus ofthe sensory pathway combined with voluntary physical activity, prevented from preterm birthinduced by the administration of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in a mouse model.Furthermore, mothers exposed to EE presented less perinatal death when compared tocontrol environment (CE, standard cages) and EE also reverted some of the deleterious effectsof the LPS during development.The amniotic fluid (AF) exerts several functions during pregnancy. It protects the fetuses by notonly cushioning it from outside pressures but also having immunological functions.The aim was to analyze physiological changes in the AF, associated to the protective effects ofthe EE on the offspring exposed to LPS. Animals were housed in EE (or CE) cages during 6weeks and then mated with CE males. On day 15 of pregnancy, LPS was administered and 8hlater, amniotic fluid was collected to evaluate several cytokines expression and cellular profileby flow cytometry.We found higher levels of IL-10, an anti-inflammatory cytokine, in AF from EE exposed femaleswhen compared to controls (p<0.05). It was not modified in any group by LPS treatment. Incontrast, LPS induced a significant increase of IL-6 levels (p<0.05) (a pro-inflammatorycytokine) in AF from both groups. However, it was 3.6 times higher in CE exposed group whencompared to EE. Furthermore, IL-22, involved in protective response against inflammation,was significantly increased by LPS in both groups (p<0.05), but it was 6.7 times higher in EEgroup. We analyzed the presence of B cells in the AF and found a higher percentage of thispopulation in EE exposed mice compared to controls (p<0.05).Our results suggest that the enrichment of maternal environment modulates the AFcomponents and response to systemic LPS-administration, protecting the offspring.