title: Fetal oxidative stress mechanisms of neurodevelopmental deficits and exacerbation by ethanol and methamphetamine.
abstract: In utero exposure of mouse progeny to alcohol (ethanol, EtOH) and methamphetamine (METH) causes substantial postnatal neurodevelopmental deficits. One emerging pathogenic mechanism underlying these deficits involves fetal brain production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) that alter signal transduction, and/or oxidatively damage cellular macromolecules like lipids, proteins, and DNA, the latter leading to altered gene expression, likely via non-mutagenic mechanisms. Even physiological levels of fetal ROS production can be pathogenic in biochemically predisposed progeny, and ROS formation can be enhanced by drugs like EtOH and METH, via activation/induction of ROS-producing NADPH oxidases (NOX), drug bioactivation to free radical intermediates by prostaglandin H synthases (PHS), and other mechanisms. Antioxidative enzymes, like catalase in the fetal brain, while low, provide critical protection. Oxidatively damaged DNA is normally rapidly repaired, and fetal deficiencies in several DNA repair proteins, including oxoguanine glycosylase 1 (OGG1) and breast cancer protein 1 (BRCA1), enhance the risk of drug-initiated postnatal neurodevelopmental deficits, and in some cases deficits in untreated progeny, the latter of which may be relevant to conditions like autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Risk is further regulated by fetal nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), a ROS-sensing protein that upregulates an array of proteins, including antioxidative enzymes and DNA repair proteins. Imbalances between conceptal pathways for ROS formation, versus those for ROS detoxification and DNA repair, are important determinants of risk. Birth Defects Research (Part C) 108:108-130, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.|Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Peter G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Wells
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Shama
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bhatia
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Danielle M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Drake
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Lutfiya
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Miller-Pinsler
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D004249:DNA Damage; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian / Q000378:metabolism; D000431:Ethanol / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D047109:Fetal Development / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D005315:Fetal Diseases; D005333:Fetus / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008694:Methamphetamine / Q000009:adverse effects; D051379:Mice; D065886:Neurodevelopmental Disorders / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism / Q000503:physiopathology; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000378:metabolism; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D000431:Ethanol; D008694:Methamphetamine
keywords: DNA damage and repair; autism spectrum disorders; epigenetics; fetal alcohol spectrum disorders; methamphetamine