Sex-dependent expression of brain medullary MAP and PI3 kinases in adult sheep with antenatal betamethasone exposure.

Antenatal betamethasone (BM) therapy for women in jeopardy of premature delivery accelerates the lung development in preterm infants and reduces infant mortality rates, but may induce early programming events with chronic cardiovascular consequences. In a sheep model of fetal programming, BM-exposed (BMX) offspring as adults exhibit elevated mean arterial pressure (MAP), decreased baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) for the control of heart rate and insulin resistance accompanied by dysregulation of the brain renin-angiotensin (Ang) system (RAS). However, the status of signaling mechanisms in the brain dorsomedial medulla (DMM) of the BMX sheep that comprise both the mitogen activated protein kinase (MAPK) and phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) cellular pathways is unknown.