Long-term effects of fetal ethanol exposure on pituitary-adrenal response to stress.
Pregnant female rats were fed either a 5.0-5.5% w/v ethanol-containing liquid diet ad lib or pair-fed the isocaloric control diet during gestation weeks 2 and 3. At 75-105 days of age, female offspring of the ethanol-treated dams showed significantly greater corticosterone responses than pair-fed- or normally-derived offspring to the stress of cardiac puncture or of noise and shaking, while pituitary-adrenal responses to exposure to a novel environment, cold or 2-3 days of fasting were normal. Adrenal sensitivity to ACTH in dexamethasone-suppressed adult offspring was unaffected by the prenatal treatment. The results demonstrate that fetal ethanol exposure enhances adult pituitary-adrenal responses to certain stressors, including alcohol as demonstrated previously, and suggest that the long-term effects may be mediated by developmental actions of alcohol on central neural mechanisms involved in the regulation of this neuroendocrine system.
D000428:Alcohol Drinking; D000818:Animals; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000097:blood*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000097:blood; D005260:Female; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System / Q000187:drug effects*; D008297:Male; D010913:Pituitary-Adrenal System / Q000187:drug effects*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013312:Stress, Physiological / Q000097:blood*
D000431:Ethanol; D003345:Corticosterone