QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text (PDF) Purchase Article View Shopping Cart Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Vojnik, C. Articles by Hurley, L. S. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Vojnik, C. Articles by Hurley, L. S.

Abnormal Prenatal Lung Development Resulting from Maternal Zinc Deficiency in Rats¹

Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis, California 95616

The effect of maternal zinc deficiency during gestation on fetal lung development was studied. Sprague-Dawley rats were fed from the day of mating (day zero) a zinc deficient diet (0.4 ± 0.1 ppm zinc) ad libitum, or a zinc supplemented control diet (100 ppm zinc) either ad libitum or with restricted intake. Fetuses were removed by cesarean section on days 17 to 21 of gestation. Fetuses of zinc deficient dams had smaller lungs both in absolute weight and relative to body weight on all days than did either ad libitum-fed or restricted-intake controls. On days 20 and 21 of gestation, concentration of fetal lung lecithin and phosphatidylethanolamine was lower in zinc deficient fetuses than in control groups, indicating a reduced production of pulmonary surfactant. The lecithin to sphingomyelin ratio of amniotic fluid was lower in zinc deficient rats than in controls on days 19, 20, and 21 of gestation. On days 18 through 21 of gestation, fetal lung DNA concentration in zinc deficient fetuses was lower than in controls, but there were no differences in fetal lung zinc concentration. Histological examination of lungs from zinc deficient fetuses at term showed air spaces that were slightly collapsed with smaller lumina of the alveolar ducts than in controls.

KEY WORDS: • lung development • zinc deficiency • phospholipids • pregnancy

¹ Supported in part by NIH research grant HD-01743 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Manuscript received 12 August 1976.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				G. Devereux, S. W. Turner, L. C. A. Craig, G. McNeill, S. Martindale, P. J. Harbour, P. J. Helms, and A. Seaton Low Maternal Vitamin E Intake during Pregnancy Is Associated with Asthma in 5-Year-Old Children Am. J. Respir. Crit. Care Med., September 1, 2006; 174(5): 499 - 507. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]