Kamei Y, Tsutsumi O, Kuwabara Y, Taketani Y
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Japan.
Am J Physiol. 1993 Mar;264(3 Pt 2):R597-600. doi: 10.1152/ajpregu.1993.264.3.R597.
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.
雌性小鼠在怀孕期间血浆表皮生长因子（EGF）浓度会升高。在妊娠第13天进行涎腺切除术（手术切除下颌下腺）会减弱血浆EGF的升高，并使妊娠第19天的活仔百分比显著降低至80%，而对照动物为95%。对接受涎腺切除术的小鼠进行EGF替代疗法成功预防了妊娠第19天活仔百分比的这种降低。接受涎腺切除术的母亲所生的活胎儿的平均体重显著低于对照母亲所生的胎儿，即1.00±0.14（标准差）克对1.13±0.07克。对接受涎腺切除术的小鼠注射抗EGF抗血清进一步影响了胎儿的存活率；妊娠第19天只有70%的幼仔存活，平均体重为0.93±0.15克。涎腺切除术导致的胎儿身体和肝脏的平均重量同样降低，但大脑未受影响，这表明生长迟缓是不对称的。这些发现表明EGF在胎儿生长中发挥生理作用，并且EGF缺乏可能是不对称性宫内生长迟缓的一个原因，这可能是由于子宫胎盘功能障碍所致。
