Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Infants delivered from preeclamptic pregnancies frequently exhibit developmental programming which leads to foetal growth restriction and foetal haematological abnormalities. Diabetes is recognised as a predisposing factor for preeclampsia (PE). Hyperglycaemia, a characteristic feature of pregestational type 2 diabetes, has been associated with the pathogenesis of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), a condition associated with disrupted foetal haematological pathways. Prediabetes pre-empts the onset of type 2 diabetes and is characterised by moderately elevated blood glucose levels, which have been shown in prediabetic models to induce erythrocyte dysfunction. However, the precise relationship between prediabetes and the development of preeclampsia or associated foetal complications remains to be fully elucidated. Accordingly, this study aims to investigate prediabetes as a risk factor for preeclampsia and its effects on selected haematological markers in Sprague Dawley rat pups. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Male and female pups born from normal, L-NAME preeclamptic and HFHC diet-induced prediabetic dams were immediately collected and weighed. The pups were then carefully returned to the dams for further development. On day 21, the pups were weaned and separated into males and females. Thereafter, the pups were sacrificed using a guillotine and blood and plasma was collected for haematological and biochemical analysis. RESULTS: Pups born from prediabetic and preeclamptic dams exhibited significantly lower birth weights than those born from normal pregnancies. Moreover, pups born from prediabetic and preeclamptic dams exhibited dysregulation of red blood cell (RBC) count, granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF), erythropoietin (EPO) levels, glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations compared to those delivered from normal dams. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest prediabetes caused dysregulation of haematological parameters in offspring and may be a predisposing factor for the development of preeclampsia in pregnancy. Therefore, strict monitoring of prediabetes during pregnancy may reduce the risk of preeclampsia and resultant foetal morbidity and mortality.