Exposure to threshold doses of nicotine in utero: I. Neuroendocrine response to restraint stress in adult male offspring.

摘要: Gravid female rats were injected subcutaneously with saline or nicotine (3.0 mg/kg and 0.05 mg/kg, bid) from day 4 to 20 of gestation left undisturbed. In adult 120-day old male offspring, the ACTH, corticosterone prolactin concentrations before, during (15, 30, 45 60 minutes) after (30, 60, 90 120 one hour restraint stress studied. Baseline (non-stress) each hormone comparable among groups. As compared controls, ACTH significantly higher at 30 minutes in high-dose (HN) animals, average concentration also being HN rats. Neither regimen affected response any time-point. The was reduced group as stress. During recovery, group, lower LN no differences found for either prolactin. results indicate that exposure a gestation, very low-dose well, produced functional alterations offspring manifested by abnormal neuroendocrine responses However, between controls sometimes great non-injected controls. Thus, conclusions drawn about long-term effects prenatal on responsivity must be tempered influence repeated injection procedure.