Zhao P, Ji S, Zhao Y, Du M, Wu B, Wang C, Yang X. The molecular feature of abnormal
fetal neuromuscular development after maternal use of telbivudine or tenofovir during pregnancy in rodent model.
Life Sci 2023;
334:122177. [PMID:
37852574 DOI:
10.1016/j.lfs.2023.122177]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2023] [Revised: 10/11/2023] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 10/20/2023]
Abstract
AIMS
Maternal treatment with nucleoside analogues such as telbivudine (LdT) and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) has been applied worldwide. However, administration of LdT or TDF during pregnancy may affect the fetal neuromuscular development. We conducted the current study to investigate the histological pathology and transcriptomic changes pertaining to the neuromuscular system of the newborn exposed to LdT or TDF during pregnancy in rodent model.
MAIN METHODS
Pregnant C57/BL6 mice were randomly divided into three arms and administered either with LdT solution (0.1 ml, 78 mg/kg/d), TDF solution (0.1 ml, 39 mg/kg/d) or normal saline solution (0.1 ml). Pups in each arm were weighed and sacrificed after birth. Both sides of quadriceps femoris muscle of the newborn were obtained. The histological observation was conducted under light microscope. The transcriptional profiling was analyzed with RNA sequencing (RNA seq).
KEY FINDINGS
Four types of morphological abnormalities of the newborn neuromuscular system, being clusters of rhabdomyoblasts, skeletal muscle fibrosis, rhabdomyolysis and necrosis and immature muscle fiber bundles, were noted in both LdT group and TDF group. Moreover, both groups showed significantly decreased gross cross-sectional area of muscle fiber and significantly increased percentage of muscle lesion area. RNA seq identified a total of 164 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) essential to fetal neuromuscular development. These DEGs were involved in calcium regulation, phospholipid activity, muscle cell development, the functioning of mitochondria/endoplasmic reticulum/lysosome/cytoskeleton, the regulation of arachidonic acid and the development of nervous system.
SIGNIFICANCE
Our findings suggest maternal administration of LdT or TDF lead to abnormal neuromuscular development in offspring mice. Further study should be encouraged to investigate the down-stream signaling pathways.
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