Effects of Maternal Under-nutrition on the Coronary
Arterioles in Sheep Fetuses
S Rehan*, AS Qureshi and R Hussain1
Department of Anatomy,
University of Agriculture, Faisalabad; 1University
College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, The Islamia University of
Bahawalpur-63000, Pakistan *Corresponding author:drsarmadpk@yahoo.com
Abstract
The maternal
nutritional status during pregnancy and even before conception may lead to
cardiovascular risk in luminal diameters. In present study, effects of maternal under-nutrition on the wall
thickness, wall thickness to luminal diameter ratio and related parameters of
coronary arterioles of sheep fetuses were investigated. One group was raised on high diet and the other on low
maintenance diet. The tissue samples were taken from ventricular myocardium,
fixed in neutral buffered formaldehyde solution and processed by using paraffin
tissue preparation techniques. Round arterioles were selected from different
microscopic fields of the prepared tissue sections. The coronary arterioles were
measured with image analysis software, Image J®. Live weight of
well-nourished sheep (68.7±3.67 kg) and birth weight of lambs (6.55±0.43 kg) was
significantly increased as compared to undernourished sheep (56.8±3.04 kg) and
lambs (5.85±0.65 kg), respectively. Intima media thickness (IMT) of coronary
arterioles was significantly higher in undernourished sheep fetuses (11.51±0.54
µm) than well-nourished sheep fetuses (10.21±0.64 µm). IMT to luminal diameter
ratio was also significantly higher in undernourished group fetuses (0.59±0.08
µm) than well-nourished group fetuses (0.35±0.12 µm). However, perimeter of
coronary arterioles was significantly reduced in fetuses of undernourished sheep
(124.22±7.38 µm) than fetuses (153.10±7.38 µm) obtained from well-nourished
sheep. The results revealed that maternal under-nutrition increases the IMT and
decreases the diameter and perimeter of coronary arterioles in sheep fetuses.