Maternal voluntary exercise mitigates oxidative stress and incidence of congenital heart defects in pre-gestational diabetes.

ABSTRACT: Women with pre-gestational diabetes have a higher risk of producing children with congenital heart defects (CHDs), caused predominantly by hyperglycemia-induced oxidative stress. In this study, we evaluated if exercise during pregnancy could mitigate oxidative stress and reduce the incidence of CHDs in the offspring of diabetic mice. Female mice were treated with streptozotocin to induce pre-gestational diabetes, then mated with healthy males to produce offspring. They were also given access to running wheels 1 week before mating and allowed to exercise voluntarily until E18.5. Heart morphology, gene expression, and oxidative stress were assessed in foetal hearts. Maternal voluntary exercise results in a significantly lower incidence of CHDs from 59.5% to 25%. Additionally, diabetes-induce

SUBMITTER: Saiyin T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6653048 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature