title: Chronic prenatal nicotine exposure alters enkephalin mRNA regulation in the perinatal rat adrenal medulla.
abstract: Prenatal exposure to nicotine significantly increases enkephalin mRNA levels in the rat adrenal medulla prenatally, and postnatally the normal up-regulation is obliterated. This may lead to a disturbed modulation or regulation of catecholamine release in the adrenal and may be one factor contributing to the attenuated capacity of nicotine-treated pups to survive severe hypoxia. We speculate that this may be part of the mechanism underlying the relation between maternal smoking and sudden infant death syndrome.
authors.affiliation: Department of Women and Child Health, Karolinska Institute, Astrid Lindgren Children's Hospital, Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Theodoric
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Ronny
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wickström
authors.forename: Hans
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Holgert
mesh_terms: D000313:Adrenal Medulla / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000196:embryology* / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D004745:Enkephalins / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000187:drug effects; D009538:Nicotine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018722:Nicotinic Agonists / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D004745:Enkephalins; D018722:Nicotinic Agonists; D012333:RNA, Messenger; D009538:Nicotine; D014446:Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase