Objective To evaluate the effects of acrylonitrile exposure in first trimester on myocardial ischemiareperfusion injury in adult rat offsprings.
Methods Sprague-Dawley rats (5 males and 12 females) were randomized into control group, and low, mid and high acrylonitrile groups. After mating and confirming pregnancy, female rats were exposed to acrylonitrile in different concentrations in first trimester (from day 1 to 7). The male offsprings were raised in normal condition. At age of 3 months, the hearts of offsprings were isolated and perfused in a Langendorff apparatus. Data were recorded after heart returning to beat and 60 min of myocardial ischemia followed by reperfusion respectively, including heart rate (HR), coronary flow (CF), left ventricular end-diastolic pressure (LVEDP), left ventricular systolic pressure (LVSP), (dp/dt)max, (dp/dt)min and the left ventricular (LV) in farct size.
Results The basal heart functional parameters, heart rate and coronary flow were not different between the control group and the acrylonitrile-exposure groups after returning to heart beat (P>0.05). But after ischemia-reperfusion injury, the data were significantly lower in the acrylonitrile groups than in the control group (P<0.05, P<0.01), especially in the mid dose group (P<0.05, P<0.01). The weight proportion of myocardial infarction to whole heart was larger in the acrylonitrile groups (P<0.05).
Conclusion Acrylonitrile exposure in first trimester increases susceptibility to myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury in the offsprings. Moreover, heart function worsening and arrhythmogenesis increasing could be resulted from the maternal rats exposed to higher level of acrylonitrile.
DownLoad: