Fig. 8

Fasting during the active phase increased placental LPS, inflammation, altered morphology, and reduced antioxidants. a Representative images of H&E-stained placental sections for tissue morphology analysis (5 pregnant rats per group, including 5 female and 5 male fetuses). The area below the blue line represented the labyrinth zone, while the region between the red and blue lines represented the basal zone. b Analysis of placental junction zone, labyrinth area, and the labyrinth/junction zone ratio. c Placental LPS levels. d Placental integrity gene mRNA levels: left for females, right for males—genes from left to right: ZO-1, Cldn1, Ocln. e–h Placental inflammatory factors (TLR 4, TNF-α, IL-6, IL-1β, NLRP3, iNOS) mRNA levels and antioxidant capacity (T-AOC and GSH). (ND group: n = 7, IF group: n = 6) e Placental inflammatory factor mRNA levels in female fetuses. f Placental antioxidant levels in female fetuses. (g) Placental inflammatory factors in male fetuses. h Placental antioxidant levels in male fetuses (T-AOC, GSH). Results in panels b–h were presented as mean ± SEM. "ns" indicated p > 0.05 (no statistical difference), and asterisks (*) denoted statistical significance: *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001, ****p < 0.0001