[Effect of prenatal heroin exposure on p-ERK1/2 expression in the prefrontal lobe cortex, hippocampus and nucleus accumbens in mice].
OBJECTIVE
To study the expression of phosphorylated-ERK1/2(p-ERK1/2)MAPK in the prefrontal lobe cortex (PFC), hippocampus (HP) and nucleus accumbens (Acb) in mice exposed to heroin in the uterus, and elucidate whether ERK MAPK signal transduction pathway participates in neurobehavioral teratogenicity induced by maternal heroin abuse.


METHODS
Animal model was established by subcutaneous administration of diacetylmorphine (10 mg/kg.d) to pregnant BALB/c mice on embryonic days 9-18, and their offspring were assigned to heroin and normal saline groups according to the maternal treatment. P-ERK1/2 expression in the PFC, HP and Acb were detected by RT-PCR and Western blot.


RESULTS
The heroin group had body weights similar to the normal saline group after birth. There were no significant differences in the p-ERK1/2 expression in the PFC, HP and Acb between the two groups.


CONCLUSIONS
Prenatal exposure to 10 mg/kg heroin altered neither the body weight nor the general development in mice. The ERK1/2 MAPK signal pathway might not be involved in the neurobehavioral teratogenicity induced by prenatal heroin exposure.
Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, Key Laboratory of Environment and Gene Related to Disease of Ministry of Education, Xi'an Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Xi'an 710061, China.
Ying
Y
Wang
Peng-Bo
PB
Zhang
Kan
K
Li
D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D048049:Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases / Q000235:genetics*; D005260:Female; D005333:Fetus / Q000187:drug effects*; D003932:Heroin / Q000633:toxicity*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology; D020935:MAP Kinase Signaling System / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D009714:Nucleus Accumbens / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000201:enzymology
D003932:Heroin; D048049:Extracellular Signal-Regulated MAP Kinases