Effect of Acipimox on Plasma Lipids and Glucose/Insulin in Pregnant Rats

To determine how a reduction in maternal hypertriglyceridemiaduring late pregnancy may affect glucose/insulin relationships,pregnant and virgin rats were orally treated with acipimox, a potentantilipolytic agent. In 20-day pregnant rats receiving 80 mg of acipimox,plasma triglycerides (TG), free fatty acids (FFA), and glyceroldecreased more than in virgin rats shortly after the drug (up to7 hours), when compared with animals treated with distilled water,whereas plasma glucose level was unaffected by the treatment ineither group of rats. When acipimox was given every 12 hours fromday 17 to day 20 of pregnancy, plasma TG, FFA, and glycerol levelsprogressively increased, whereas they either decreased or did notchange in virgin rats receiving the same treatment, with no effect inplasma glucose levels in either group. Fetal body weight was lowerthan in controls in 20-day pregnant rats that received acipimox for3 days. On day 20 of pregnancy, 3 hours after receiving acipimoxor distilled water, rats received a 2 g glucose/kg oral load and it wasfound that the change in plasma glucose was similar in both groups,whereas the increase in plasma insulin was greater in pregnant ratstreated with acipimox. However, no difference was found in eithervariable after the oral glucose load in virgin rats receiving acipimoxor distilled water. No differences in plasma glucose levels werefound after intravenous (IV) administration of insulin in pregnantrats treated or not treated with acipimox. In conclusion, presentresults show that administration of acipimox during the last daysof gestation inhibited lipolysis and decreased fetal weight. Over ashort period of time, in pregnant rats, reductions of plasma FFAand TG after acipimox treatment improved the glucose-inducedinsulin release, but did not seem to have any effect in peripheralinsulin resistance.