Swimming Exercise Protocol and Care Methods for Pregnant Rats

Summary

Here, we present a protocol to delineate rat breeding methods, swimming training procedures, and post-breeding nursing protocols for pregnant rats after training. This protocol provides an animal model for studying the effects of maternal exercise during pregnancy on offspring and its underlying mechanisms.

Abstract

The developmental origins of health and disease concept highlights the impact of early environments on chronic non-communicable diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. Studies using animal models have investigated how maternal factors such as undernutrition, overnutrition, obesity, and exposure to chemicals or hypoxia affect fetal development and offspring health, leading to issues like low birth weight, high blood pressure, dyslipidemia, and insulin resistance. Given the increasing prevalence of overweight and obesity among reproductive-age women, effective interventions are critical. Maternal exercise during pregnancy has emerged as a key intervention, benefiting both mother and offspring and reducing the risk of disease. This study compares the differences of three exercise models on pregnant rats: voluntary wheel running, motorized treadmills, and swimming. Swimming is the most beneficial option due to its safe and controlled intensity levels. This protocol details the rat breeding methods, swimming training during pregnancy, and post-breeding nursing protocols. This model, suitable for various rat and mouse species, is useful for studying the benefits of maternal exercise on offspring health and intergenerational wellness.

Introduction

The Developmental Origins of Health and Disease (DOHaD) concept emerged over the last two decades, which has shown that environmental influences during early development affect the risk of later pathophysiological processes associated with chronic non-communicable disease (NCD), especially diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and some types of cancer¹. During the most plastic phase of fetal development, where offspring are exposed to the intrauterine environment, the gene and environment interaction and uteroplacental perfusion are crucial factors of fetal reprogramming². Previous studies have predominantly utilized animal ....

Protocol

All methods described here have been approved by the animal ethical committee at Beijing Sport University and carried out in compliance with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) guidelines and the Chinese animal protection laws and institutional guidelines.

1. Mating and feeding rats

1. Purchase specific pathogen-free (SPF) rated 10-week-old Wistar female rats and 11-week-old Wistar male rats.
2. Implement adaptive feeding: Feed the Wistar rats ad libitu.......

Discussion

This study aims to establish a feasible exercise program for pregnant rats, including detailed rat mating methods, swimming training protocols, and research methods to evaluate physiological indicators in fetuses. We have developed a prenatal swimming exercise training model through practice, with corresponding solutions to potential issues that may arise in the protocol (Table 1). This protocol will make it more practical and assist researchers in establishing prenatal exercise models.

Materials

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
Caliper	Mitutoyo Measuring Instruments (Shanghai) Co., Ltd	530-101 N15	Fetus dissect
Circular water bucket	Naliya	N/A	Rat swimming
Experimental Surgical Instrument	Shenzhen RWD Life Technology Co., LTD	SP0001-G	Fetus dissect
Glass Microscope Slides	Jiangsu Shitai experimental equipment Co., LTD	80312-3161	Vaginal smear
Glass petri dish	Merck Life Technologies	BR455751-10EA	Offspring rearing
Hairdryer	Panasonic	EH-WNE5H	Post-swimming care
Information Card	Zhongke Life Science	SS3	Rat mating
Isoflurane	Shenzhen RWD Life Technology Co., LTD	R510-22-10	Fetus dissect
Light microscope	Olympus	IX71-F22PH	Vaginal smear
Mating cage	Zhongke Life Science	SS3	Rat mating
Medical Absorbent Cotton	Hongxiang Sanitary Materials Co., LTD	N/A	The pregnant rats are anticipating giving birth
Rodent Anesthesia Machine, Gas Anesthesia	Shenzhen RWD Life Technology Co., LTD	R500IE	Fetus dissect
Rodent breeding feed	Beijing Huafukang Biotechnology Co., LTD	1032	Pregnant rat feeding
Rodent maintenance feed	Beijing Huafukang Biotechnology Co., LTD	1022	Offspring rearing
Rodent sunflower seeds	Jolly	JP241	Nutritional supplement
Soundproof cotton	Kufu Medical Instrument	N/A	The pregnant rats are anticipating giving birth
Sterile Cotton Swab (2 mm diameter)	Kufu Medical Instrument	N/A	Vaginal smear
Sterile gauze	Kufu Medical Instrument	N/A	Fetus dissect
Stroke-physiological Saline Solution (0.9% NaCl)	Shandong Hualu Pharmaceutical Co., LTD	N/A	Vaginal smear
Thermometer	Beekman organism	N/A	The monitoring of rat swimming
Towels	Grace	N/A	Post-swimming care
Transparent plastic container	Naliya	N/A	Swimming adaptive training
Ultraviolet light	Merck Life Technologies	Z169633-1EA	Post-swimming care
Water heater	Haier	EC6001-Q6S	Rat swimming
Weight Scale	Electronlc Acale	JM.A10001	Body weight measurement
Wistar Rats	Vital river Laboratory Animal Technology Co., LTD	N/A	Experiment