title: Maternal nicotine exposure during gestation and lactation induces kidney injury and fibrosis in rat offspring.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Maternal tobacco smoke exposure adversely affected fetal kidney development. Nicotine stimulates epithelial-mesenchymal transition and connective tissue growth factor (CTGF) expression in the renal epithelium. We hypothesized that maternal nicotine exposure would induce kidney fibrosis and involve CTGF in newborn rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nicotine was administered to pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats at a dose of 6 mg/kg/d from gestational days 7-21 and gestational day 7 to postnatal day 14. A control group was injected with normal saline. Neonatal kidney tissues underwent histological analysis, collagen measurement, and western blot analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Tubular injury scores and total collagen contents were significantly higher in rats born to nicotine-treated dams than in rats born to normal saline-treated dams on postnatal days 7 and 21. Masson's trichrome staining further verified the presence of kidney fibrosis. Prenatal and/or postnatal nicotine exposure increased CTGF expression on postnatal days 7 and 21.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Maternal nicotine exposure during gestation and lactation induces neonatal kidney fibrosis, and CTGF may be involved in the pathogenesis of kidney fibrosis. These results may be relevant to premature low-birth-weight infants who are conveyed a high risk of developing chronic kidney disease and exposed to breast milk of smoking mothers during the neonatal period.
authors.affiliation: 1] Department of Pediatrics, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan [2] Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Chung-Ming
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hsiu-Chu
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Chou
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Wan Fang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Liang-Ti
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Huang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D003094:Collagen / Q000737:chemistry; D055513:Connective Tissue Growth Factor / Q000378:metabolism; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D005355:Fibrosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D007668:Kidney / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D018811:Maternal Exposure; D009538:Nicotine / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000737:chemistry; D009929:Organ Size; D011247:Pregnancy; D011270:Pregnancy, Animal; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects
chemical_list: C526316:CCN2 protein, rat; D055513:Connective Tissue Growth Factor; D009538:Nicotine; D003094:Collagen