title: Exposure to nicotine increases dopamine receptor content in the mesocorticolimbic pathway of rat dams and offspring during lactation.
abstract: Nicotine exposure causes the release of dopamine from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) to the nucleus accumbens (NAc). We have previously shown that maternal exposure to nicotine during lactation causes hyperleptinemia in dams and pups, and leptin is known to decrease dopamine release from the VTA. Here we evaluated whether maternal exposure to nicotine during lactation causes changes in dopamine and leptin signaling pathways at the end of exposure and after 5days of withdrawal in the: VTA, NAc, arcuate nucleus (ARC) and dorsal striatum (DS). On postnatal day (PN) 2, lactating Wistar rats were implanted with minipumps releasing nicotine (NIC; 6mg/kg/day, s.c.) or saline (C) for 14days. Offspring were tested in the elevated plus maze (EPM) and open field on PN14 or PN20, and euthanized on PN15 or PN21. Entries into the open arms and head dips in the EPM were reduced in NIC pups at P20. At weaning (PN21), NIC dams had: lower tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), higher OBRb and SOCS3 contents in VTA; lower TH, higher D1R, D2R and DAT contents in NAc; higher TH content in DS; and higher D2R and SOCS3 contents in ARC. On PN15, NIC offspring had higher D1R, D2R and lower DAT contents in NAc, while on PN21, they had lower DAT in DS, and lower pSTAT3 content in ARC. We evidenced that postnatal nicotine exposure induces relevant changes in the brain reward system of dams and pups, possibly associated with changes in leptinemia and increased offspring anxiety-like behavior.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Endocrine Physiology, Biology Institute, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: C R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Pinheiro
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Endocrine Physiology, Biology Institute, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Biology Institute, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Manhães
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Endocrine Physiology, Biology Institute, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Biology Institute, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Fraga
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Biology Institute, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Claudio-Neto
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Endocrine Physiology, Biology Institute, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Biology Institute, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Younes-Rapozo
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Biology Institute, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: B M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Lotufo
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Endocrine Physiology, Biology Institute, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
authors.forename: E G
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Moura
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Endocrine Physiology, Biology Institute, State University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Electronic address: pclisboa@uerj.br.
authors.forename: P C
authors.initials: PC
authors.lastname: Lisboa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001111:Arcuate Nucleus of Hypothalamus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D003342:Corpus Striatum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D007774:Lactation; D008297:Male; D018811:Maternal Exposure; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000187:drug effects*; D009538:Nicotine / Q000494:pharmacology*; D009714:Nucleus Accumbens / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D017447:Receptors, Dopamine D1 / Q000378:metabolism*; D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2 / Q000378:metabolism*; D017557:Ventral Tegmental Area / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D017447:Receptors, Dopamine D1; D017448:Receptors, Dopamine D2; D009538:Nicotine
keywords: Behavior; Dopamine; Lactation; Nicotine; Reward system