Table 2.
Relative organ weights
| Sex and dose | P1 | P2 | P21 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heart | Male | Vehicle | 0.57 ± 0.03 | 0.63 ± 0.03 | 0.74 ± 0.02 |
| Low | 0.59 ± 0.03 | 0.72 ± 0.03 | 0.80 ± 0.02 | ||
| High | 0.63 ± 0.03 | 0.76 ± 0.03* | 0.81 ± 0.03 | ||
| Female | Vehicle | 0.58 ± 0.03 | 0.63 ± 0.03 | 0.80 ± 0.02 | |
| Low | 0.62 ± 0.03 | 0.74 ± 0.03 | 0.77 ± 0.02 | ||
| High | 0.60 ± 0.03 | 0.68 ± 0.03* | 0.77 ± 0.02 | ||
| Dose effect | n.s | P = 0.002 | n.s. | ||
| Sex effect | n.s. | n.s. | n.s. | ||
| Lung | Male | Vehicle | 0.18 ± 0.07 | 2.15 ± 0.09 | 1.07 ± 0.05 |
| Low | 0.19 ± 0.07 | 2.05 ± 0.08 | 1.13 ± 0.04 | ||
| High | 0.16 ± 0.08 | 2.02 ± 0.10 | 1.11 ± 0.05 | ||
| Female | Vehicle | 0.18 ± 0.07 | 2.06 ± 0.09 | 1.13 ± 0.05 | |
| Low | 0.18 ± 0.07 | 1.98 ± 0.10 | 1.09 ± 0.05 | ||
| High | 0.19 ± 0.07 | 1.85 ± 0.09 | 1.13 ± 0.04 | ||
| Dose effect | n.s. | n.s. | n.s. | ||
| Sex effect | n.s. | n.s. | n.s. | ||
| Liver | Male | Vehicle | 4.15 ± 0.09 | 3.86 ± 0.12 | 3.63 ± 0.05 |
| Low | 3.81 ± 0.09* | 3.94 ± 0.10 | 3.56 ± 0.04 | ||
| High | 3.67 ± 0.10* | 3.95 ± 0.13 | 3.44 ± 0.06* | ||
| Female | Vehicle | 4.22 ± 0.09 | 3.79 ± 0.12 | 3.62 ± 0.05 | |
| Low | 3.83 ± 0.09* | 4.29 ± 0.13* | 3.58 ± 0.05 | ||
| High | 3.72 ± 0.09** | 3.82 ± 0.12* | 3.53 ± 0.04 | ||
| Doses effect | P < 0.001 | P = 0.04 | P = 0.025 | ||
| Sex effect | n.s. | n.s. | n.s. | ||
| Spleen | Male | Vehicle | 0.18 ± 0.01 | 0.25 ± 0.01 | 0.35 ± 0.01 |
| Low | 0.16 ± 0.01 | 0.26 ± 0.01 | 0.33 ± 0.01 | ||
| High | 0.15 ± 0.01 | 0.26 ± 0.02 | 0.32 ± 0.01 | ||
| Female | Vehicle | 0.16 ± 0.01 | 0.21 ± 0.01 | 0.33 ± 0.01 | |
| Low | 0.16 ± 0.01 | 0.21 ± 0.02 | 0.33 ± 0.01 | ||
| High | 0.17 ± 0.01 | 0.18 ± 0.01 | 0.33 ± 0.01 | ||
| Dose effect | n.s. | n.s. | n.s. | ||
| Sex effect | n.s. | P < 0.001 | n.s. | ||
| Kidney | Male | Vehicle | 0.86 ± 0.02 | 0.95 ± 0.02 | 1.14 ± 0.01 |
| Low | 0.83 ± 0.02 | 0.95 ± 0.02 | 1.15 ± 0.01 | ||
| High | 0.79 ± 0.03 | 0.99 ± 0.02 | 1.14 ± 0.01 | ||
| Female | Vehicle | 0.85 ± 0.02 | 0.94 ± 0.02 | 1.20 ± 0.01 | |
| Low | 0.86 ± 0.02 | 0.98 ± 0.02 | 1.19 ± 0.01 | ||
| High | 0.88 ± 0.02 | 0.92 ± 0.02 | 1.20 ± 0.01 | ||
| Dose effect | n.s. | n.s. | n.s. | ||
| Sex effect | n.s. | n.s. | P < 0.001 | ||
Effect of prenatal betamethasone on organ weights (percentage of body weight) (means ± s.e.m., n = 7–10 per sex per dose per time point). Symbols used for post hoc differences
*
P < 0.05 compared to vehicle
**
P < 0.001 compared to vehicle. No significant interactions (sex × dose) were found, except for the P2 kidney (P = 0.045).