Number of nephrons, renal hemodynamics, and glomerular morphometry were assessed in rats submitted to a multideficient diet which was developed from a basic regional diet consumed in a Brazilian region of sugarcane cultivation. We evaluated three groups of male Wistar rat offspring: (1) from dams fed a standard diet throughout ...

This work aimed to investigate the effect of food preservatives (sodium benzoate and sodium nitrite) on biochemical aspects of mother rats and survival of their offspring. Fifty pregnant albino rats (Sprague Dauley strain) were divided into 5 groups (10 rats each) and kept individually in wire cages. The first group ...

Maternal reproductive effects in Wistar rats exposed to 0, 50, or 300 ppm styrene for 6 h/day during gestational days 6 to 20 were evaluated. Their offspring were observed postnatally for neurochemical changes, growth, and physical landmarks of development. Mothers exposed to styrene were compared with pair-fed and ad-lib-fed controls ...

In rat pups, blockade of fatty acid oxidation by administration of 2-mercaptoacetate (MA) produces an increase in independent ingestion by 12 days of age. In contrast, administration of methyl palmoxirate (MP) fails to increase intake or to alter oxidation of fatty acids in young rats due to the high proportion ...

The present study was designed to assess the effect of maternal undernutrition, during gestation and lactation, on the neuroendocrine [hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)]-immune axis response to endotoxin (LPS) administration. For this purpose, 21-day-old male rats from both well-nourished (WN) and undernourished (UN) mothers were examined 2 h after injection (i.p.) of vehicle ...

The reproductive effects of the administration of 4-chloro-2-methylphenoxyacetic acid (MCPA) to rats were evaluated through two generations, from prior to mating, throughout mating, to gestation and lactation. MCPA was administered in the diet at doses of 0, 50, 150, or 450 ppm to 25 male and female immature rats (F0 ...

Exposing growing oMtla-oGH transgenic mice with the regulatable metallothionein promotor to elevated growth hormone (GH) for three weeks after weaning enhances bone length and adipocyte differentiation. The objective of the present study was to investigate the consequences of highly elevated GH exposure during fetal and early postnatal growth periods on ...

AIMS: Low birthweight in humans has been shown to lead to increased resting pulse rate in adult life, suggesting possible increased sympathoadrenal activity. The hypothesis that early growth restriction is associated with permanent alterations in catecholamine metabolism was tested. METHODS: Circulating catecholamine concentrations (by radioimmunoassay) and adipocyte adrenoceptor expression from ...

This study was designed to compare in rats the effects of dietary fish oil and olive oil during pregnancy and lactation on offspring development, fatty acid profile and vitamin E concentration. From d 0 of pregnancy, female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into two groups that were fed purified diets that ...

Epidemiological studies have indicated that susceptibility of human adults to hypertension and cardiovascular disease may result from intrauterine growth restriction and low birth weight induced by maternal undernutrition. Although the 'foetal origins of adult disease' hypothesis has significant relevance to preventative healthcare, the origin and biological mechanisms of foetal programming ...

Di-(C(7)-C(9) alkyl) phthalate (D79P) and di-(C(9)-C(11) alkyl) phthalate (D911P), based on high-normality linear oxo-alcohols, have been assessed for their impact upon reproductive performance in Sprague-Dawley rats. Rats were continuously exposed to either D79P or D911P at dietary levels of 0%, 0.1%, 0.5%, or 1.0% over two generations. Selected F(0) offspring ...

Lactating rats were fed with free access to an 8% protein-restricted diet (PR); the control group was fed a 23% protein diet (C). An energy-restricted (pair-fed) group was given the same food as the animals in the control group, but the amounts of food consumed by both PF and PR ...

Previous studies of dietary docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22:6n-3) effects on neurodevelopment have focused mainly on effects on the visual system; these studies may be confounded by effects on the retina rather than on neural pathways. Auditory brainstem conduction times (ABCTs) provide an alternate measure of central neural development. We conducted ...

Intermittent umbilical cord compression with resultant fetal hypoxia can have a negative impact on fetal growth and development. Insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) and their binding proteins (IGFBPs) are the most important regulators of fetal growth. In preterm (107-108 days of gestation) and near-term (128-131 days of gestation) ovine fetuses, we ...

The choice of a dosing route for in vivo toxicological tests is often dictated by practical constraints. Reproduction studies are particularly challenging in this regard since the determination of no-effect levels and allowable daily intakes from reproduction data encompasses exposure of the dam to the test xenobiotic prior to pregnancy, ...

Lactating female rodents are aggressive against intruders when they are rearing and protecting pups. In prairie voles, Microtus ochrogaster, females exhibit a dramatic increase in citrulline immunoreactivity (citrulline-IR) in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN), but not in control regions of the brain, in association with maternal aggression. Citrulline is an indirect ...

Maternal protein deficiency during pregnancy is associated with changes in glucose tolerance and hypertension in the offspring of rats. In this study the growth of rat fetuses was examined when the dams were fed diets containing 18% casein, 9% casein or 8% casein supplemented with threonine. The extra threonine was ...

Environmental factors and diet are generally believed to be accelerators of obesity and hypertension, but they are not the underlying cause. Our animal model of obesity and hypertension is based on the observation that impaired fetal growth has long-term clinical consequences that are induced by fetal programming. Using fetal undernutrition ...

Nonylphenol ethoxylates are used in the production of surfactants and are found in numerous manufactured substances. para-Nonylphenol (NP) is a suspected endocrine disruptor, exhibiting estrogen-like activity and might cause alterations with developmental exposure. To evaluate such effects, pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats consumed diets containing 0 (n = 11), 25 (n = ...

The present study assesses the potential of arecoline alkaloid, by direct exposure in lactating dams and translactational exposure in neonates, to modulate the efficacy of clocimum oil as a blocking agent in chemopreventive pathway. Clocimum oil (25 or 50 microl/dam/day) induced a significant increase in the hepatic levels of phase ...

A distillate of light catalytic reformed naphtha (CAS number 64741-63-5, LCRN-D) administered by inhalation was tested for reproductive and developmental toxicity in Sprague-Dawley rats, following a modified OECD Guideline 421, Reproductive/Developmental Toxicity Screening protocol. LCRN-D was administered as a vapor, 6 h/d, 7 d/wk at target concentrations of 0, 750, ...

The phytoestrogen genistein, the principal isoflavone in soybeans, has adverse effects on animal reproduction. As adult physiology and behavior are sensitive to perturbation by developmental estrogens, exposure to genistein during development may produce behavioral alterations as well. Pregnant rats were fed soy-free diets containing 0, 25, 250, or 1250 ppm ...

In previous work, mouse lines were selected for eight generations for resistance (R) or susceptibility (S) to endophyte-infected fescue toxicosis using depression in postweaning gain caused by a toxin-containing diet as the selection criterion. Characterizing biological changes associated with resistance or susceptibility in those mice might suggest genetic or therapeutic ...

Followlng regular use, acute cessation of caffeine is associated with a characteristic withdrawal syndrome. Despite this, caffeine remains popular with its consumers. The aim of this study was to examine the physiologic and psychologic effects of small caffeine doses, administered in the form of a market-leading soft drink, on healthy ...

Mated Wistar rats, 25/group, were exposed to polymeric methylenediphenyl diisocyanate (MDI) aerosol of respirable size for 6 h/day, on gestational days (gd) 6 through 15, at 0, 1, 4, and 12 mg/m3. Maternal clinical signs, body weights, and feed and water consumption were measured throughout gestation. At scheduled sacrifice on ...

The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that increasing maternal dietary 18:3n-3 by decreasing the 18:2n-6/18:3n-3 ratio will increase the 18:3n-3 and 22:6n-3 content of the whole body, liver, skin (epidermis, dermis, and subcutaneous tissue), epididymal fat pads, and muscles (arms and legs) of 2-wk-old rat pups. ...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the influence of caffeine and theophylline on the development of dental caries in rats. Six Wistar dams (spf), mutans streptococci free, were obtained, each with six male pups. The dams were infected by Streptococcus sobrinus 6715 and divided into three groups which ...

The cumulative effects of the long-term consumption of the Regional Basic Diet (RBD) of Northeast Brazil on gestational and lactational performances were assessed in three consecutive generations of Sprague Dawley rats (n = 1,334). The animals were distributed into three groups: RBD (8% predominantly vegetable-based proteins), Control (8% casein) and ...

Type II I-compounds (indigenous DNA adducts) denote a class of bulky oxidative DNA lesions that are detectable by 32P-postlabeling and represent useful biomarkers of DNA damage induced by oxidative stress. Their levels are increased in tissue DNA under pro-oxidant conditions, for example, as previously shown, in newborn rat organs. Here ...

Four groups of 12 pregnant Wistar rats each were fed with rations containing 0, 0.01, 0.015 and 0.02% of monocrotaline (MCT) from day 6 to 21 of gestation. Liver weights of the dams from the three experimental groups were significantly lower than those from the control group. Serum levels of ...

Knowing early nutritional status have been shown to be an important factor in determining the activity level of rats later in life, we studied offspring of dams which had received 50, 70 or 700 mg/kg of 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) during nursing. Neonatal tissues and the stomach content (milk) were examined ...

Maternal nutrition has been identified as a factor determining fetal growth and risk of adult disease. In rats, the feeding of a low protein diet during pregnancy retards fetal growth and induces hypertension in the resulting offspring. Rat models of low protein feeding have been extensively used to study the ...

Certain chlorine-substituted sugars with chemical similarities to sucralose have been demonstrated previously to diminish or inhibit sperm glycolysis and fertility in the rat ([Ford]). In order to investigate this potential for sucralose, epididymal spermatozoa were recovered from rats exposed in vivo to oral doses of one of three of these ...

A low birth weight is a new risk factor for the development of premature atherosclerosis. The effect of intrauterine undernutrition on hypercholesterolemia in later life was studied in an experimental model using the Prague Hereditary Hypercholesterolemic (PHHC) rat. Compared to animals in the control group (Wistar rats), animals with an ...

Taking advantage of the fast and accurate X-ray scattering techniques recently developed in our laboratory, we tackled the study of the structural alterations induced in myelin by malnutrition. Our work was performed on sciatic and optic nerves dissected from rats fed with either a normal or a low-protein caloric diet, ...

Epidemiological studies suggest that retarded growth before birth is associated with increased plasma total and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol concentrations in adult life. Thus perturbations of prenatal growth may permanently alter cholesterol metabolism. To determine directly whether restriction of prenatal nutrition and growth alters postnatal cholesterol homeostasis, the plasma cholesterol ...

The amelioration of fetal alcohol effects on the postnatal development of the Purkinje cell by exogenous L-thyroxine was investigated in the neonatal rat. Time-pregnant rats were divided into three groups. Group A (n = 6) received 35% liquid ethanol diet; Group B (n = 6) was fed a liquid diet ...

Phocid seals are one of the few groups of mammals capable of sustaining the energetic demands of lactation entirely through body nutrient stores while fasting. Lactation performance of the female in turn influences the rate and pattern of pup growth. We examined variation in and patterns of milk composition and ...

Increasing evidence from human epidemiological studies suggests that poor growth before birth is associated with postnatal growth retardation and the development of cardiovascular disease in adulthood. We have shown previously that nutritional deprivation in the pregnant rat leads to intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), postnatal growth failure, changes in the endocrine ...

Hooded seals (Cystophora cristata) lactate for 3.6 days during which females simultaneously fast and transfer large amounts of energy to their pups through fat-rich milk. Pups grow rapidly, principally due to blubber deposition. Lipoprotein lipase (LPL), the primary enzyme responsible for tissue uptake of triglyceride fatty acids, may strongly influence ...

In humans, low birth weight is associated with nonfatal stroke, cardiovascular disease and diabetes at adulthood. The aim of this study was to investigate in rats the effect of early protein restriction, inducing low birth weight, on brain and endocrine pancreas vascularization at birth and to study if such alterations ...

Mother-pup interaction, as well as other behavioral reactions were studied during the lactation period in 24 litters of Wistar rats and their dams fed either a 16% (control - C; 12 litters) or a 6% (malnourished - M; 12 litters) protein diet. The diets were isocaloric. Throughout lactation there was ...

Phytosterol esters (PE) are intended for use as a novel food ingredient with plasma cholesterol lowering activity which works by inhibiting the absorption of cholesterol from the gut. Although PE are naturally present in the normal diet, the levels are insufficiently large to ensure lowering of plasma cholesterol levels. Therefore ...

Monensin, a growth-promoting agent and coccidiostat used in veterinary medicine, was studied in terms of its effects on the development of female rats and their offspring when added to the diet. Young female rats received 100 or 300 ppm monensin mixed with powdered chow diet until adulthood, when they were ...

RATIONALE: A neutral stimulus repeatedly paired with administration of a drug may elicit a conditioned response. This process, termed pharmacological classical conditioning, may be important in the understanding of placebo effects. OBJECTIVE: The unconditioned response to caffeine is increased physiological and psychological arousal. The present study investigated whether stimuli associated ...

A nutritionally-regulated compensatory growth regimen imposed during a growing period from prepuberty to gestation can significantly affect mammary development and subsequent lactation performance. The objectives of this study were as follows: 1) to determine whether a compensatory nutrition regimen enhances lactation potential for the first and second lactation cycles and ...

We studied the effects of maternal proteic desnutrition on the neurons of the myenteric plexus of the jejunum of rats from Rattus norvegicus species. It was used litters of female rats which received diet with normal proteic level during gestation and lactation (group NN), normal diet during gestation and hypoproteic ...

The objective of this study was to investigate if increasing maternal dietary linolenic acid (18:3n-3) content, by decreasing the 18:2n-6 to 18:3n-3 ratio, could increase the docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3) content in phospholipids of neuronal cells of rat pups at 2 weeks of age. Sprague-Dawley dams at parturition were fed semipurified ...

From parturition, lactating Wistar rats were given 20% alcohol in drinking water and fed a solid diet ad lib (group AL). Pair-fed (PF) and control (C) rats were fed solid diet and given water ad lib (C). All animals were sacrificed on the 12th day of lactation. Ethanol treatment decreased ...

A number of hematological, immunological, and biochemical parameters were measured in Peromyscus leucopus pups born from dams exposed to a single dose (300 mg/kg body weight) of Aroclor 1254. To increase the chances of uncovering even modest consequences of the exposure, in one protocol the pups were weaned at 3 ...