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Reproductive disorders in female rats after prenatal exposure to betamethasone

2017; Wiley; Volume: 37; Issue: 9 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1002/jat.3457

1099-1263

Cibele dos Santos Borges, Tainá Louise Pacheco, Marina Trevizan Guerra, Aline Lima de Barros, Patrícia Villela e Silva, Gabriela Missassi, Katiussia Pinho da Silva, Janete Aparecida Anselmo-Franci, André Sampaio Pupo, Wilma De Grava Kempinas,

Reproductive System and Pregnancy

Abstract Betamethasone is the drug of choice for antenatal treatment, promoting fetal lung maturation and decreasing mortality. Previous studies in rats reported male programming and alteration in sperm parameters and sexual behavior following intrauterine betamethasone exposure. The impact on the female reproductive development is not known. In this study, rat female offspring was assessed for sexual development, morphophysiology of the reproductive tract and fertility after maternal exposure to 0.1 mg kg −1 of betamethasone or vehicle on gestational days 12, 13, 18 and 19. The treatment promoted reduction of litter weight on postnatal day 1, morphological masculinization in females, delay in the age of puberty onset, reduction in estrus number, increase in estrous cycle length and increase in luteinizing hormone serum levels and uterus weight. The females from the betamethasone group showed an increase of myometrial uterine area and decrease in endometrial uterine area. These animals also performed less lordosis during the sexual behavior test and showed impaired reproductive performance. The uterus showed higher contraction in the treated group as shown by a pharmacological assay. In conclusion, prenatal betamethasone exposure in rats promoted female masculinization, altered sexual development and reproductive parameters. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.