title: Prenatal nicotine exposure does not cause Purkinje cell loss in the developing rat cerebellar vermis.
abstract: Smoking by pregnant women poses a potential risk on the unborn child because nicotine can easily be transported from the maternal to the fetal physiological system. Our previous studies have shown that developing brains are sensitive to nicotine-induced cell loss if nicotine was administered during the brain growth spurt (early postnatal) in a rat model system. The purpose of this study was to examine whether nicotine exposure prenatally (first two trimesters equivalent in rats) would lead to Purkinje cell loss in the developing cerebellar vermis. Pregnant female rats were subcutaneously implanted with 0 (placebo), 15 (NIC 15), or 25 (NIC 25) mg nicotine pellets (21-day time released) on gestational day (GD) 0. An additional control group receiving no implantation was also introduced (normal). One pup from each litter was sacrificed on postnatal day (PD) 10 and the cerebellar vermis was processed for stereological cell counting of Purkinje cells. No significant effects of prenatal nicotine treatment were found in the forebrain, cerebellum, and brainstem weights. Similarly, the assessments of volume, Purkinje cell number, and Purkinje cell density found no significant differences among all treatment groups. Taken together, the current and a previous finding, it suggests that there is a temporal window of vulnerability to nicotine-induced Purkinje cell loss in the developing cerebellar vermis.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Anatomy and Medical Neurobiology, College of Medicine, Texas A&M University System Health Science Center, 1426 Reynolds Medical Building, College Station, TX 77843-1114, USA. wjchen@tamu.edu
authors.forename: Wei-Jung A
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Russell B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Edwards
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D001921:Brain / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D002452:Cell Count; D016923:Cell Death / Q000187:drug effects*; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000196:embryology; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004343:Drug Implants / Q000008:administration & dosage; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009538:Nicotine / Q000633:toxicity*; D018722:Nicotinic Agonists / Q000633:toxicity*; D009929:Organ Size; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D011689:Purkinje Cells / Q000187:drug effects*; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D004343:Drug Implants; D018722:Nicotinic Agonists; D009538:Nicotine