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. 2009 May;48(3):272-8.

Changes in blood parameters and coagulation-related gene expression in pregnant rats

Yoshinaka Urasoko  1 , Xi Jun He, Tomonori Ebata, Yuichi Kinoshita, Junichi Kobayashi, Masahiro Mochizuki, Masamichi Ikeya
Affiliations

Changes in blood parameters and coagulation-related gene expression in pregnant rats

Yoshinaka Urasoko et al. J Am Assoc Lab Anim Sci. 2009 May.

Abstract

The present study examined changes in maternal blood parameters, particularly those related to blood coagulation, as well as alterations in blood coagulation-related gene expression in the liver during gestation in rats. Fibrinogen concentration and platelet count increased as pregnancy progressed whereas prothrombin time and overall activity of vitamin-K-dependent coagulation factors decreased before delivery, suggesting a physiologic response to prevent prolonged bleeding at parturition. Conversely, compared with values for nonpregnant rats, activated partial thromboplastin time was prolonged before delivery and antithrombin time was significantly higher during fetal organogenesis and thereafter, indicating a mechanism to prevent the development of deep tissue thrombosis in dams. DNA microarray analysis revealed no differences in coagulation-related gene expression in the liver on gestation day 13 between pregnant and nonpregnant rats, whereas the gene expression of various fibrinogen-related factors, coagulation factors II and X, and the anticoagulation factor-related factor leuserpin 2 were increased on gestational day 19. In addition, changes similar to those reported previously in pregnant rats were confirmed. The data obtained from the present study can be used as background data for effective evaluation of reproductive toxicology in rats, and they suggest that the rat is a useful animal model for investigating the mechanisms of disorders in the blood coagulation system that can occur during late pregnancy in women.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Parameters, methods, and units of measure for hematology.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Parameters, methods, and units of measure for blood biochemistry.
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Changes in blood coagulation-related parameters in pregnant rats. Data are presented as differences from the levels in nonpregnant rats. *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01 compared with value from control group.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Changes in blood coagulation-related parameters in pregnant rats. Data are presented as differences from the levels in nonpregnant rats. *, P < 0.05; **, P < 0.01 compared with value from control group. PLT, platelet count; PT, prothrombin time; TBT, overall activity of vitamin-K–dependent coagulation factors; APTT, activated partial thromboplastin time; ATIII , antithrombin time.
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