Autonomic and Renal Alterations in the Offspring of Sleep-Restricted Mothers During Late Pregnancy

Abstract

OBJECTIVES:Considering that changes in the maternal environment may result in changes in progeny, the aim of this study was to investigate the influence of sleep restriction during the last week of pregnancy on renal function and autonomic responses in male descendants at an adult age.METHODS:After confirmation of pregnancy, female Wistar rats were randomly assigned to either a control or a sleep restriction group. The sleep-restricted rats were subjected to sleep restriction using the multiple platforms method for over 20 hours per day between the 14th and 20th day of pregnancy. After delivery, the litters were limited to 6 offspring that were designated as offspring from control and offspring from sleep-restricted mothers. Indirect measurements of systolic blood pressure (BPi), renal plasma flow, glomerular filtration rate, glomerular area and number of glomeruli per field were evaluated at three months of age. Direct measurements of cardiovascular function (heart rate and mean arterial pressure), cardiac sympathetic tone, cardiac parasympathetic tone, and baroreflex sensitivity were evaluated at four months of age.RESULTS:The sleep-restricted offspring presented increases in BPi, glomerular filtration rate and glomerular area compared with the control offspring. The sleep-restricted offspring also showed higher basal heart rate, increased mean arterial pressure, increased sympathetic cardiac tone, decreased parasympathetic cardiac tone and reduced baroreflex sensitivity.CONCLUSIONS:Our data suggest that reductions in sleep during the last week of pregnancy lead to alterations in cardiovascular autonomic regulation and renal morpho-functional changes in offspring, triggering increases in blood pressure.

Effect of Maternal Sleep, Physical Activity and Screen Time during Pregnancy on the Risk of Childhood Respiratory Allergies: a Sex-specific Study

“…Previous studies exploring the effect of lifestyle during pregnancy on the long-term health of children largely focused on the neurological and behavioral development. [29][30][31][32] A rodent model found that maternal lack of sleep in the third trimester can impair autonomic responses in male offspring with a long-term effect. 29 Cohort data among 83,884 mother-child pairs from ve countries revealed that maternal cellphone use during pregnancy increased the risk of hyperactivity in their offspring.…”

“…[29][30][31][32] A rodent model found that maternal lack of sleep in the third trimester can impair autonomic responses in male offspring with a long-term effect. 29 Cohort data among 83,884 mother-child pairs from ve countries revealed that maternal cellphone use during pregnancy increased the risk of hyperactivity in their offspring. 30 Another two prospective studies found that adequate physical activity during pregnancy could promote language development in children.…”

Effect of Maternal Sleep, Physical Activity and Screen Time during Pregnancy on the Risk of Childhood Respiratory Allergies: a Gender-specific Study

“…26-29 A rodent model found that lacking of sleeping in the third trimester can impair autonomic responses in male offspring with a long-term effect. 26 Cohorts data from 83,884 mother-child pairs from five countries revealed that maternal cellphone use during pregnancy increased the risk of hyperactivity in their offspring. 27 Another two prospective studies found that adequate physical activity during pregnancy could promote language development in children.…”

Effects of sleep restriction during pregnancy on lipids and glucose homeostasis of female offspring submitted to ovariectomy

“…This technique of SR is based on the muscle atony that accompanies paradoxical sleep. [9][10][11] The SR was carried out between the 14th and 20th days of pregnancy, because this is a critical period of development 8,9,11 and susceptible to changes in the maternal environment.…”

“…7,8 Experimental data have shown that male offspring from SR mothers presented neurological, 8 cardiovascular and renal alterations. [9][10][11] However, few studies evaluated the effects of SR during pregnancy on female offspring.…”