Loading…

Prenatal dexamethasone exposure alters brain monoamine metabolism and adrenocortical response in rat offspring

K. Muneoka, M. Mikuni, T. Ogawa, K. Kitera, K. Kamei, M. Takigawa and K. Takahashi Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kagoshima University Faculty of Medicine, Japan. In this study, it has been clearly demonstrated that prenatal dexamethasone treatment (Dex; 0.05 mg/kg on gestational days 17, 18, and 19...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of physiology. Regulatory, integrative and comparative physiology integrative and comparative physiology, 1997-11, Vol.273 (5), p.1669-R1675
Main Authors: Muneoka, Katsumasa, Mikuni, Masahiko, Ogawa, Tetsuo, Kitera, Katsuki, Kamei, Kenji, Takigawa, Morikuni, Takahashi, Kiyohisa
Format: Article
Language:English
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:K. Muneoka, M. Mikuni, T. Ogawa, K. Kitera, K. Kamei, M. Takigawa and K. Takahashi Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kagoshima University Faculty of Medicine, Japan. In this study, it has been clearly demonstrated that prenatal dexamethasone treatment (Dex; 0.05 mg/kg on gestational days 17, 18, and 19) resulted in the significant reductions of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) turnover in four brain regions, including the neocortex, hippocampus, hypothalamus, and midbrain + pons-medulla (M + P-M) but not in the striatum in the offspring at 3 and 14 wk of life, as well as dopamine turnover in the hypothalamus. [3H]paroxetine binding densities were increased in the hypothalamus and M + P-M at 14 wk of life, which corresponded to increased 5-HT contents in both regions. On the other hand, significantly lower norepinephrine contents in the neocortex and hippocampus were observed in the Dex group compared with the control group at 14 wk of life. In addition, the exposure to new environmental condition elevated blood corticosterone levels and enhanced behavioral activities to a greater extent in the Dex group than in controls at 7 wk of life, suggesting that elevated glucocorticoid levels during the pregnancy mimicked prenatal mild stress, producing developmental alterations in brain monoamine metabolism, endocrine response, and behavior in adult offspring.
ISSN:0363-6119
1522-1490
DOI:10.1152/ajpregu.1997.273.5.r1669