title: A longitudinal study of hair cortisol concentrations in Macaca nemestrina mothers and infants.
abstract: Cortisol is a well-known glucocorticoid that can be used as a biomarker of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical activity. To explore basal cortisol physiology during pregnancy and infancy in Macaca nemestrina monkeys, hair was collected from a convenience sample of 22 healthy mother-infant dyads. Adult females were housed in pairs as part of a small breeding colony at the Washington National Primate Research Center and infants were reared in a specialized nursery. Maternal samples were collected from females during a pregnancy-detection ultrasound and immediately following labor and delivery. Infant samples were collected at birth, 20 days, 4, 6, 8, and 10 months of age. Hair cortisol concentrations (HCCs) were determined using an enzyme immunoassay in washed and ground hair samples. Like human mothers, macaque HCCs rose during pregnancy (paired t = 5.8, df = 16, P < 0.001). Maternal HCCs at pregnancy-detection (114.2 ± 12.07 picogram/milligram [pg/mg]) were highly predictive of maternal HCCs at delivery (144.8 ± 13.60 pg/mg), suggesting a trait-like quality (r = 0.90, P < 0.001). When maternal HCCs were viewed on a continuum, the absolute rise in cortisol over the course of pregnancy was significantly related to newborn HCCs (r = 0.55, P = 0.02). Infant birth HCCs (1,027.43 ± 97.95 pg/mg) were seven times higher than maternal HCCs at delivery (paired t = 19.1, df = 16, P < 0.001). Higher birth HCCs were strongly associated with larger decreases in infant hair cortisol until 6 months of postnatal age when infant HCCs converged on values indistinguishable from adults. Overall, study results demonstrate a marked degree of fetal cortisol exposure during the latter part of gestation and suggest that the rise in maternal cortisol over pregnancy may play an influential role on HCCs in the newborn.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Massachusetts, Seattle, Washington.|Center on Human Development and Disability, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.|Washington National Primate Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
authors.forename: Kimberly S
authors.initials: KS
authors.lastname: Grant
authors.affiliation: Washington National Primate Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
authors.forename: Julie M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Worlein
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Jerrold S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Melinda A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Novak
authors.affiliation: Washington National Primate Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
authors.forename: Rose
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kroeker
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts.
authors.forename: Kendra
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rosenberg
authors.affiliation: Washington National Primate Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kenney
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Massachusetts, Seattle, Washington.|Center on Human Development and Disability, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.|Washington National Primate Research Center, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington.
authors.forename: Thomas M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Burbacher
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D006197:Hair / Q000737:chemistry*; D006854:Hydrocortisone / Q000032:analysis*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008254:Macaca nemestrina; D009035:Mothers; D011247:Pregnancy
chemical_list: D006854:Hydrocortisone
keywords: cortisol; fetal exposure; hair; infant macaque; pregnancy