Pregnancy and lactation modulate maternal splenic growth and development of the erythroid lineage in the rat and mouse
Juan J. Bustamante A B E , Guoli Dai C and Michael J. Soares A B D FA Institute of Maternal–Fetal Biology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KA 66160, USA.
B Division of Cancer and Developmental Biology, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KA 66160, USA.
C Department of Pharmacology, Toxicology, and Therapeutics, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KA 66160, USA.
D Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Kansas Medical Center, Kansas City, KA 66160, USA.
E Present address: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Texas A&M Health Science Center, Irma Lerma Rangel College of Pharmacy, Kingsville, TX 78363, USA.
F Corresponding author. Email: msoares@kumc.edu
Reproduction, Fertility and Development 20(2) 303-310 https://doi.org/10.1071/RD07106
Submitted: 7 July 2007 Accepted: 3 December 2007 Published: 24 January 2008
Abstract
Maternal physiology changes dramatically during the course of gestation and lactation to meet the needs of the developing fetus and newborn. In the present study, we examined the influence of pregnancy and lactation on growth and erythroid gene expression patterns of the maternal spleen. Holtzman Sprague-Dawley rats and CD-1 mice were killed at various stages of gestation and post partum. We observed pregnancy dependent increases in spleen weight and spleen DNA content in both the rat and mouse. In the rat, spleen size was greatest at the end of pregnancy and regressed post partum. In contrast, mouse spleen size peaked by gestational Day 13 and regressed to its non-pregnant weight before parturition. Pregnancy dependent changes in the size of the spleen were primarily due to an increase in red pulp. Maternal spleen expression of erythroid-associated genes (erythroid Krüppel-like factor, erythroid 5-aminolevulinate synthase-2, β-major globin) was influenced by pregnancy and lactation. A pregnancy dependent increase in erythroid progenitors was also observed. In summary, the demands of pregnancy and lactation cause marked adaptations in the maternal spleen. The maternal spleen increases in size and exhibits an expansion of the erythroid lineage.
Additional keywords: erythropoiesis, spleen.
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Mr Adam Alt and Ms Mary Jane Peal for their technical assistance. The authors thank Joyce Slusser for her assistance with the flow cytometry analysis. This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (HD20676, HD39878, HD48861, HD49503, HD55523) and the Hall Family Foundation.
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