The impact of maternal obesity on in vivo uterine contractile activity during parturition in the rat

Muir, Ronan; Khan, Raheela; Shmygol, Anatoly; Quenby, Siobhan; Elmes, Matthew

Abstract

Maternal obesity is associated with increased risk of prolonged and dysfunctional labor and emergency caesarean section. To elucidate the mechanisms behind the associated uterine dystocia, a translational animal model is required. Our previous work identified that exposure to a high-fat, high-cholesterol (HFHC) diet to induce obesity down-regulates uterine contractile associated protein expression and causes asynchronous contractions ex vivo. This study aims to investigate the impact of maternal obesity on uterine contractile function in vivo using intrauterine telemetry surgery. Virgin female Wistar rats were fed either a control (CON, n=6) or HFHC (n=6) diet for 6 weeks prior to conception, and throughout pregnancy. On Day 9 of gestation, a pressure-sensitive catheter was surgically implanted aseptically within the gravid uterus. Following 5 days recovery, intrauterine pressure (IUP) was recorded continuously until delivery of the 5th pup (Day 22). HFHC induced obesity led to a significant 1.5-fold increase in IUP (p=0.026) and fivefold increase in frequency of contractions (p=0.013) relative to CON. Determination of the time of labor onset identified that HFHC rats IUP (p=0.046) increased significantly 8h prior to 5th pup delivery, which contrasts to CON with no significant increase. Myometrial contractile frequency in HFHC rats significantly increased 12 h prior to delivery of the 5th pup (p=0.023) compared to only 3h in CON, providing evidence that labor in HFHC rats was prolonged by 9h. In conclusion, we have established a translational rat model that will allow us to unravel the mechanism behind uterine dystocia associated with maternal obesity.

Citation

Muir, R., Khan, R., Shmygol, A., Quenby, S., & Elmes, M. (2023). The impact of maternal obesity on in vivo uterine contractile activity during parturition in the rat. Physiological Reports, 11(5), Article e15610. https://doi.org/10.14814/phy2.15610

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jan 21, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Mar 2, 2023
• Publication Date: 2023-03
• Deposit Date: Feb 8, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Mar 2, 2023
• Journal: Physiological Reports
• Electronic ISSN: 2051-817X
• Publisher: Wiley
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 11
• Issue: 5
• Article Number: e15610
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.14814/phy2.15610
• Keywords: Dysfunctional labor, dystocia, in vivo myometrial contractile activity, labor, maternal obesity, myometrial contractile function, parturition, telemetry surgery
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/17077612
• Publisher URL: https://physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.14814/phy2.15610