title: Prenatal dexamethasone prevents early and long-lasting neuroendocrine and behavioral effects of maternal stress on male offspring.
abstract: The hypothesis on the mediating role of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) hormone secretion in neuroendocrine, neurochemical and behavioral alterations generated by prenatal stress in male rat offspring was tested in this study with dexamethasone (Dex) used for suppression of HIPA stress responses. Pregnant dams were being restrained daily for 1 h over the last week of gestation. In male offspring this resulted in attenuation of sex-specific pattern of the protein fractions (on the 5th postnatal day), steroid aromatase activity (on the 10th postnatal day) in the brain preoptic area, and in a decrease of male copulatory behavior, hypothalamic noradrenaline and plasma corticosterone responses to an acute stress, an increase in HPA responses to noradrenergic stimulation and other effects in adulthood. All those changes were prevented with prenatal Dex in a dose of 0.1 mg/kg b.w. injected 30 min prior to restraining pregnant dams. As such, HPA hormone secretion mediates alterations of programming of brain development induced by prenatal stress.
authors.affiliation: VP Komisarenko Institute of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Kyiv.
authors.forename: A G
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Reznikov
authors.forename: N D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Nosenko
authors.forename: L V
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Tarasenko
authors.forename: P V
authors.initials: PV
authors.lastname: Sinitsyn
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Lymareva
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001141:Aromatase / Q000378:metabolism; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects*; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D002395:Catecholamines / Q000378:metabolism; D003907:Dexamethasone / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D007030:Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D010913:Pituitary-Adrenal System / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D051381:Rats; D012149:Restraint, Physical; D012726:Sexual Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications*
chemical_list: D002395:Catecholamines; D005938:Glucocorticoids; D003907:Dexamethasone; D001141:Aromatase