Transient intrauterine hypotension: Effect on newborn rat brain

Intrauterine perfusion failure can cause cerebral malformations. We investi gated the effect of transient maternal hypotension on newborn rat brain by inducing hypovolemic hypotension for 2.5 h during early embryonic day 7 (E7 ) or late (E15) gestation in pregnant rats. We found an increase in the num ber of TUNEL-positive cells within the periventricular germinative matrix i n pups subjected to early gestational hypotension and within the cerebral c ortex in those subjected to late gestational hypotension in comparison to s ham control animals. These results suggest that episodic maternal hypovolem ic hypotension may affect the fetal brain, and apoptotic mechanisms may med iate this effect.