Nonaka K, Sasaki Y, Yanagita K, Watanabe Y, Matsumoto T, Nakata M
Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Kyushu University Faculty of Dentistry, Fukuoka, Japan.
J Assist Reprod Genet. 1994 Aug;11(7):359-66. doi: 10.1007/BF02214142.
The maternal effect is one of the important factors in mammalian growth in conjunction with the genetic effect. The present study investigated the prenatal maternal effect of a dam on the intrauterine craniofacial growth of a mouse fetus using embryo transfer and cephalometry. DDD/Qdj strain mouse embryos were transferred to four strains of recipient female mice (DDD/Qdj, C3H/Qdj, C57BL/Qdj, and DBA/1J Sea). Just after parturition cephalometric observation of the newborn offspring, which developed in the uteri of the four strains of dams, was performed and then the craniofacial size of the newborn offspring was calculated on the lateral cephalogram. Statistical analyses were performed to examine the correlation between the dam's weight and the craniofacial size of the newborn offspring, to test the significance of the effect of the dam's strain on the craniofacial size of the newborn offspring, and to evaluate the interstrain difference of the intrauterine craniofacial growth of the mouse fetuses.
It was disclosed that there were a direct relation between the dam's weight and the craniofacial size of the newborn offspring, a significant effect of the dam's strain on the craniofacial size of the newborn offspring, and a significant interstrain difference in the craniofacial size of the newborn offspring after eliminating the effects of litter size and gestation period on the craniofacial size of the newborn offspring (DDD/Qdj > C3H/Qdj = C57BL/Qdj > DBA/1J Sea).
Thus, it could be concluded that the four strains of dams affected differently the intrauterine craniofacial growth of the DDD/Qdj strain fetuses through each uterine condition, indicating that the dam's weight played an important role as one of the prenatal maternal effects on the intrauterine craniofacial growth of mouse fetuses.
母体效应是与遗传效应共同影响哺乳动物生长的重要因素之一。本研究利用胚胎移植和头影测量法，探究了母鼠对小鼠胎儿子宫内颅面生长的产前母体效应。将DDD/Qdj品系小鼠胚胎移植到四种品系的受体雌性小鼠（DDD/Qdj、C3H/Qdj、C57BL/Qdj和DBA/1J Sea）体内。在分娩后，对在这四种品系母鼠子宫内发育的新生后代进行头影测量观察，然后在侧位头影图上计算新生后代的颅面大小。进行统计分析，以检验母鼠体重与新生后代颅面大小之间的相关性，测试母鼠品系对新生后代颅面大小的影响的显著性，并评估小鼠胎儿子宫内颅面生长的品系间差异。
结果表明，母鼠体重与新生后代颅面大小之间存在直接关系，母鼠品系对新生后代颅面大小有显著影响，在消除窝仔数和妊娠期对新生后代颅面大小的影响后，新生后代的颅面大小存在显著的品系间差异（DDD/Qdj > C3H/Qdj = C57BL/Qdj > DBA/1J Sea）。
因此，可以得出结论，这四种品系的母鼠通过各自的子宫条件对DDD/Qdj品系胎儿的子宫内颅面生长产生不同影响，表明母鼠体重作为产前母体效应之一，对小鼠胎儿子宫内颅面生长起着重要作用。
