title: Low activity of the ahr gene in the ahr dd C57BL congenic mice does not prevent the depression of birth rates observed as result of cigarette smoke exposure.
abstract: The ahr gene product is a ligand-activated transcription factor which regulates the expression of a number of enzymes involved in the metabolism of aryl hydrocarbons and mediates the effects of dioxins on tumour promotion. We have assessed the cigarette smoke induced depression of the reproductive capacities in the ahr dd C57BL congenic mice and its crosses with C57BL ahr bb mice. The in vivo exposure of animals to toxic concentrations of cigarette smoke during the period of pairing and the early pregnancy was shown by us to affect the reproduction. The transmission of the ahr b and ahr d alleles was assessed by genotyping the STR polymorphism at D12Mit2 locus linked with the ahr gene. Following the exposure to cigarette smoke the changes in the reproductive capacity of the studied mice have been assessed in relation to the presence of the ahr d allele by measurements of the changes in the rates of conceptions, abortions, births and the number of newborns per female after pairings differing in ahr gene alleles and in the expected ahr d allele frequencies in the progeny. The results indicates that the low activity ahr d allele may decrease the abortive effects of cigarette smoke exposure, but does not confer resistance to the depression of births rates following this exposure.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Human Genetics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Poznań. pawlakal@man.poznan.pl
authors.forename: A L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Pawlak
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Strauss
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Florek
mesh_terms: D000022:Abortion, Spontaneous / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000235:genetics; D000818:Animals; D001723:Birth Rate; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D015870:Gene Expression; D051379:Mice; D020297:Mice, Congenic; D008810:Mice, Inbred C57BL; D010641:Phenotype; D011247:Pregnancy; D018336:Receptors, Aryl Hydrocarbon / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D018336:Receptors, Aryl Hydrocarbon