AJP - Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, Vol 264, Issue 3 597-R600, Copyright © 1993 by American Physiological Society
Intrauterine growth retardation and fetal losses are caused by epidermal growth factor deficiency in mice
Y. Kamei, O. Tsutsumi, Y. Kuwabara and Y. Taketani
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Japan.
The plasma concentration of epidermal growth factor (EGF) in female mice
increases during pregnancy. Sialoadenectomy (surgical removal of the
submandibular glands) on day 13 of gestation attenuates the rise in plasma
EGF and significantly reduces the percent of live pups on day 19 of
pregnancy to 80% compared with 95% for the control animals. EGF replacement
therapy given to the sialoadenectomized mice successfully prevented this
reduction in the percent of live pups on day 19. The average weight of the
live fetuses from sialoadenectomized mothers was significantly lower than
those from the control mothers, i.e., 1.00 +/- 0.14 (SD) g vs. 1.13 +/-
0.07 g. The administration of anti-EGF antiserum to the sialoadenectomized
mice further affected fetal viability; only 70% of the pups were alive on
day 19, with a mean weight of 0.93 +/- 0.15 g. The mean weight of the fetal
body and that of the liver caused by sialoadenectomy were similarly
reduced, but the brain was not affected, which shows that the growth
retardation was asymmetrical. These findings suggest that EGF plays a
physiological role in fetal growth and that EGF deficiency may be a cause
of asymmetrical intrauterine growth retardation, which might be due to
uteroplacental dysfunction.
