Early life stress and disruption of the ageing trajectory in female rats: Insights into the origins and mechanisms underlying the risk of hypertension.

Danuzia Ambrozio-Marques, Loralie Mei Guay, Alicia A Koogler, Tim D Ostrowski, Aline M Arlindo de Souza, Kathryn Sandberg, Richard Kinkead

Research Center of the Québec Heart & Lung Institute, Université Laval, Québec, Canada.Research Center of the Québec Heart & Lung Institute, Université Laval, Québec, Canada. · pubmed

Paper

Abstract

Menopause increases the risk of hypertension in women, yet the factors contributing to this important change remain unclear. Because early life stress has persistent and sex-specific consequences on health, we hypothesized that ageing reveals the latent effects of neonatal maternal separation (NMS) on cardiovascular homeostasis in female rats. Following birth, rats were either subjected to NMS (3 h/day from postnatal days 3 to 12) or raised under standard conditions (CTRL). Cardiovascular and neuroendocrine functions were evaluated at three distinct ages: young adult (12 weeks), middle-age (35 weeks) and old (64 weeks). Measurements included hormonal profile (multiplex assay), mean arterial blood pressure (MAP; tail cuff method), activity of the plasma angiotensin-converting enzymes (ACE and ACE2), and activation of the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN; FosB immunolabelling). Age-related decline in 17β-oestradiol (E

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Research summary

The paper claims that early life stress disrupts cardiovascular homeostasis in aging female rats, potentially increasing the risk of hypertension. This research is relevant as it explores the long-term effects of early life stress on aging and cardiovascular health, which are critical factors in understanding the mechanisms of aging and age-related diseases.

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