Behavioral and hormonal effects of prenatal and maternal separation stresses in postpartum rats

Öztürk, Duygu Murat; Sayıner, Fatma Deniz; Çorumlu, Elif Polat; Ulupinar, Emel

doi:10.1080/03630242.2022.2100563

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…The restriction of movement/immobilization in animal experiments is frequently used to evaluate the physiological and psychological effects of stress since it is easily controllable and applicable (Xu et al, 2002; Zaidi et al, 2017). Corticosterone and corticotropin‐releasing hormone (CRH) serum levels are frequently measured to detect whether the applied method creates stress (King et al, 2017; Murat Öztürk et al, 2022). The previous studies on various stress sources have investigated the maternal and fetal effects of stress by several methods.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prenatal immobility stress: Relationship with oxidative stress, inflammation, apoptosis, and intrauterine growth restriction in rats

Kaya

Okuyan

Erboğa

et al. 2023

Birth Defects Research

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BackgroundPrenatal stress is a significant risk factor affecting pregnant women and fetal health. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the effect of immobility stress at different periods of pregnancy on oxidative stress, inflammation, placental apoptosis and intrauterine growth retardation in rats.MethodsFifty adult virgin female Wistar albino rats were used. Pregnant rats were exposed to 6 h/day immobilization stress in a wire cage at different stages of pregnancy. Groups I and II (Day 1–10 stress group) were sacrificed on the 10th day of pregnancy, and Group III, Group IV (10–19th‐day stress group), and Group V (1–19th‐day stress group) were sacrificed on the 19th day of pregnancy. Inflammatory cytokines, including interleukin‐6 (IL‐6) and interleukin‐10 (IL‐10), serum corticotropin‐releasing hormone (CRH), and corticosterone levels were measured by enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. Malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT) levels in the placenta were spectrophotometrically measured. Histopathological analyses of the placenta were evaluated by hematoxylin and eosin staining. Tumor necrosis factor‐alpha (TNF‐α) and caspase‐3 immunoreactivity in placenta tissues were determined by the indirect immunohistochemical method. Placental apoptosis was determined by the TUNEL staining method.ResultsWe found that the immobility stress during pregnancy significantly increased serum corticosterone levels. Our results showed that the immobility stress diminished the number and weight of fetuses in rats compared to the non‐stress group. The immobility stress caused significant histopathological changes in the connection zone and labyrinth zone and increased placental TNF‐α and caspase‐3 immunoreactivity and placental apoptosis. In addition, immobility stress significantly increased the levels of pro‐inflammatory IL‐6 and MDA and caused a significant decrease in the levels of antioxidant enzymes such as SOD, CAT, and anti‐inflammatory IL‐10.ConclusionsOur data suggest that immobility stress causes intrauterine growth retardation by activating the hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal axis and deteriorating placental histomorphology and deregulating inflammatory and oxidative processes.

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