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[The influence of interfered circadian rhythm on pregnancy and neonatal rats.] [Article in Chinese]

CHEN Wen-Jun, SHENG Wen-Jie, GUO Yin-Hua, TAN Yong^*

The First Clinical Medical School of Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine，Nanjing 210023，China

Abstract

The aim of this study was to observe the influence of interfered circadian rhythm on pregnancy of rats and growth of neonatal rats, and to explore the relationship between the interfered circadian rhythm and the changes of melatonin and progesterone. Continuous light was used to inhibit melatonin secretion and therefore the interfered circadian rhythm animal model was obtained. The influence of interfered circadian rhythm on delivery of pregnant rats was observed. Serum was collected from rats during different stages of pregnancy to measure the concentrations of melatonin and progesterone. In order to observe the embryo resorption rate, half of pregnant rats were randomly selected to undergo a laparotomy, and the remainder was used to observe delivery and assess the growth of neonatal rats after delivery. The results showed that the interfered circadian rhythm induced adverse effects on pregnancy outcomes, including an increase of embryo resorption rate and a decrease in the number of live births; inhibited the secretion of melatonin along with decreased serum progesterone level; prolonged the stage of labor, but not the duration of pregnancy; and disturbed the fetal intrauterine growth and the growth of neonatal rats. The results suggest that interfered circadian rhythm condition made by continuous light could make adverse effects on both pregnant rats and neonatal rats. The results of our study may provide a way to modulate pregnant women’s circadian rhythm and a possibility of application of melatonin on pregnant women.

Key words: interfered circadian rhythm; continuous light; melatonin; pregnant rats; neonatal rats

Received: 2015-03-05　　Accepted: 2015-04-28

Corresponding author: 谈勇　　E-mail: xijun1025@163.com

Citing This Article：

CHEN Wen-Jun, SHENG Wen-Jie, GUO Yin-Hua, TAN Yong. [The influence of interfered circadian rhythm on pregnancy and neonatal rats.] [Article in Chinese]. Acta Physiol Sin 2015; 67 (5): 521-526 (in Chinese with English abstract).