Dysregulation of Glucocorticoid Receptor Homeostasis and Glucocorticoid-Associated Genes in Umbilical Cord Endothelial Cells of Diet-Induced Obese Pregnant Sheep

Maternal obesity (MO) is associated with offspring cardiometabolic diseases that are hypothesized to be partly mediated by glucocorticoids. Therefore, we aimed to study fetal endothelial glucocorticoid sensitivity in an ovine model of MO. Rambouillet/Columbia ewes were fed either 100% (control) or 150% (MO) National Research Council recommendations from 60 d before mating until near-term (135 days gestation). Sheep umbilical vein and artery endothelial cells (ShUVECs and ShUAECs) were used to study glucocorticoid receptor (GR) expression and function in vitro. Dexamethasone dose-response studies of gene expression, activation of a glucocorticoid response element (GRE)-dependent luciferase reporter vector, and cytosolic/nuclear GR translocation were used to assess GR homeostasis. MO significantly increased basal GR protein levels in both ShUVECs and ShUAECs. Increased GR protein levels did not result in increased dexamethasone sensitivity in the regulation of key endothelial gene expression such as endothelial nitric oxide synthase, plasminogen activator inhibitor 1, vascular endothelial growth factor, or intercellular adhesion molecule 1. In ShUVECs, MO increased GRE-dependent transactivation and FKBP prolyl isomerase 5 (FKBP5) expression. ShUAECs showed generalized glucocorticoid resistance in both dietary groups. Finally, we found that ShUVECs were less sensitive to dexamethasone-induced activation of GR than human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). These findings suggest that MO-mediated effects in the offspring endothelium could be further mediated by dysregulation of GR homeostasis in humans as compared with sheep.