title: Does prenatal restraint stress change the craniofacial growth pattern of rat offspring?
abstract: A major and frequently encountered condition underlying the long-term programming effects of the intrauterine environment is exposure to stress. Gestational stress is an environmental factor that induces physical and behavioral alterations in offspring. Seventy female virgin Wistar rats were mated with one male rat for a maximum of four times, after which 52 pregnant rats were divided into two groups. In the experimental group the rats were exposed to restraint stress during pregnancy, whereas the control group did not receive the stress protocol. One male litter was randomly chosen from the offspring of each rat with 8-13 pups. A total of 40 male rat offspring were available for analysis. Thirty-one linear and angular measurements were analyzed in both study groups to investigate whether prenatal restraint stress changes the craniofacial growth pattern of rat offspring. In the prenatally stressed group, anterior cranial base length and viscerocranium measures were significantly increased compared with the control group, whereas cranial width, mandibular dimensions, and posterior cranial height and length remained unchanged. Furthermore, the prenatally stressed group showed backward rotation of the midface and decreased flattening of the cranial vault. It was concluded that prenatal chronic stress can induce alterations in the craniofacial growth pattern by promoting endochondral growth in the cranial base and nasal septum.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Tabriz University of Medical Science, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Naser A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Aminabadi
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthodontics, Faculty of Dentistry, Tabriz University of Medical Science, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Ahmad
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Behroozian
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatric Dentistry, Faculty of Dentistry, Tabriz University of Medical Science, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Elham
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Talatahari
authors.affiliation: Department of Endodontic and Medical Nanotechnology, Faculty of Dentistry and Advanced Medical Sciences, Tabriz University of Medical Science, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Mohammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Samiei
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Center, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Saeed
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sadigh-Eteghad
authors.affiliation: Dental and Periodental Research Centre, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
authors.forename: Sajjad
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shirazi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D019465:Craniofacial Abnormalities; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013315:Stress, Psychological
keywords: bone development; cone beam computed tomography; craniofacial abnormalities; prenatal injuries; stress/physiological