Behavioral and neurobiological studies on the male progeny of maternal rats exposed to chronic unpredictable stress before pregnancy

Li, Haihong; Zhang, Lei; Zeman, Florian; Lin, Linyun; Wu, Cairu; Huang, Qingjun

doi:10.1016/j.neulet.2009.12.017

Cited by 37 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Similar to our findings, other studies utilizing pair feeding or sham pair feeding controls in fetal alcohol exposure models have observed effects of the PF conditions on both the HPA axis and the neuroimmune system that overlap with the effects observed in AF conditions (Boschen et al, 2016;Glavas et al, 2007). In addition, preconception stress and diet alterations have been shown to affect offspring (Leshem and Schulkin, 2012;Li et al, 2010;McGowan et al, 2008). However, there was no effect of the PF condition on other measures of stress vulnerability, including stress-related gene expression, protein levels, immune stress response, or gene methylation (discussed below), as PF animals did not differ from AD control animals in these studies.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Preconception Alcohol Increases Offspring Vulnerability to Stress

Jabbar

Chastain

Gangisetty

et al. 2016

Neuropsychopharmacol

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The effect of preconception drinking by the mother on the life-long health outcomes of her children is not known, and therefore, in this study using an animal model, we determined the impact of preconception alcohol drinking of the mother on offspring stress response during adulthood. In our preconception alcohol exposure model, adult female rats were fed with 6.7% alcohol in their diet for 4 weeks, went without alcohol for 3 weeks and were bred to generate male and female offspring. Preconception alcohol-exposed offsprings' birth weight, body growth, stress response, anxiety-like behaviors, and changes in stress regulatory gene and protein hormone levels were evaluated. In addition, roles of epigenetic mechanisms in preconception alcohol effects were determined. Alcohol feeding three weeks prior to conception significantly affected pregnancy outcomes of female rats, with respect to delivery period and birth weight of offspring, without affecting maternal care behaviors. Preconception alcohol negatively affected offspring adult health, producing an increased stress hormone response to an immune challenge. In addition, preconception alcohol was associated with changes in expression and methylation profiles of stress regulatory genes in various brain areas. These changes in stress regulatory genes were normalized following treatment with a DNA methylation blocker during the postnatal period. These data highlight the novel possibility that preconception alcohol affects the inheritance of stress-related diseases possibly by epigenetic mechanisms.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 88%

Preconception Alcohol Increases Offspring Vulnerability to Stress

Jabbar

Chastain

Gangisetty

et al. 2016

Neuropsychopharmacol

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“…Repeated stress of male rats on a elevated platform prior to mating led to a reduction in stress reactivity in male offspring29. Chronic unpredictable stress of female rats before pregnancy was associated with high risk of depression in male progeny30. Furthermore, restraint of mice during pregnancy led to increased anxiety in offspring9.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although several recent studies suggest that paternal stress before breeding alters offspring HPA axis regulation and behavior in mice28 and rats29, effects of maternal adult stress prior to pregnancy on offspring behavior have rarely been reported1430. Furthermore, while Saavedra-Rodríguez and Feig13 reported that chronic social instability during adolescence led to increased anxiety-like behavior of F1 mouse offspring, others observed that paternal stress exposure in newborn mice, throughout puberty or in adulthood resulted in reduced HPA stress axis responsivity28 or improved behavioral flexibility31 in offspring.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Parental life events cause behavioral difference among offspring: Adult pre-gestational restraint stress reduces anxiety across generations

Kong

Wang

et al. 2016

Sci Rep

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While effects of gestational, neonatal or adolescent stress on psychological alterations in progeny have been extensively studied, much less is known regarding the effects of adult pre-gestational life events on offspring behavior. Although full siblings often display behavioral differences, whether the different parental life events prior to different pregnancies contribute to these behavioral differences among siblings is worth studying. In this study, male and female adult mice were restrained for 60 days before mating with unstressed or stressed partners. F1 offspring were examined for anxiety or mated to generate F2. Both F1 females and males from restrained mothers and/or fathers showed significantly reduced anxiety and serum cortisol and increased mRNA levels of glucocorticoid receptor and brain-derived neurotrophic factor compared to control offspring from unstressed parents. Similar behavioral and molecular changes were also observed in F2 females and males. Although restraint of adolescent mice reduced anxiety in F1 of both sexes, social instability of them increased anxiety predominantly in F1 females. Thus, adult pre-gestational restraint reduced offspring’s anxiety across generations; different stressors on parents may cause different phenotypes in offspring; individual behaviors can depend on adult life experiences of parents.

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“…Sucrose consumption test. Anhedonia, an important symptom of depression was assessed by two-bottle procedure [17]. Rats were allowed to habituate to 1% sucrose solution and tap water for 3 days (training period), with the positions of bottles being changed several times.…”

Section: Assessment Of Uterine Weightsmentioning

confidence: 99%