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Effects of prenatal aflatoxin B1 exposure on behaviors of rat offspring
T Kihara1, T Matsuo, M Sakamoto
1First Department of Anatomy, Kinki University School of Medicine, Osakasayama, Osaka, Japan.
Insights
Prenatal exposure to aflatoxin B1 (AFB) in rats delayed early development, impaired motor skills, and reduced learning abilities. Early gestational exposure to AFB had more significant effects on offspring behavior than later exposure.
Area of Science:
- Toxicology
- Developmental Neuroscience
- Behavioral Science
Background:
- Aflatoxin B1 (AFB) is a common mycotoxin with known toxic effects.
- Understanding the impact of prenatal exposure on offspring development is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the behavioral effects of prenatal aflatoxin B1 exposure in Jcl:Wistar rat offspring.
- To assess the impact of exposure timing during gestation on behavioral outcomes.
Main Methods:
- Pregnant rats were exposed to AFB during specific gestational periods (days 11-14 or 15-18).
- Offspring were evaluated using a battery of behavioral tests from preweaning to adulthood, including cliff avoidance, geotaxis, swimming, rotarod, open field, learning, and reproduction tests.
Main Results:
- Prenatal AFB exposure significantly impaired cliff avoidance responses and swimming direction in preweaning offspring.
- Adult offspring exposed to AFB showed deficits in locomotor coordination (rotarod test) and avoidance learning.
- Early gestational exposure (days 11-14) resulted in more pronounced behavioral deficits compared to later exposure (days 15-18).
Conclusions:
- Prenatal aflatoxin B1 exposure negatively impacts offspring development, leading to delayed early responses, impaired motor coordination, and reduced learning capacity.
- The timing of gestational exposure is a critical factor, with earlier exposure causing more severe behavioral consequences.
Abstract:
The effects of prenatal aflatoxin B1 (AFB) exposure on eight behavioral parameters in Jcl:Wistar rat offspring were assessed. Pregnant rats were injected subcutaneously with 0.3 mg/kg/day of AFB dissolved in dimethylsulfoxide on days 11-14 (Group A) or 15-18 (Group B) of gestation. Controls received the vehicle similarly on days 11-18 of gestation. Before weaning, the offspring were examined using the cliff avoidance response (5 days of age), the negative geotaxis reflex (7 days), and swimming development (6, 8, and 10 days). After weaning, animals were examined using the rotarod test (5 weeks of age), the open field test (6 weeks), a conditioned avoidance learning test (14 weeks), an underwater T-maze test (15 weeks), and a reproduction test (16 weeks). The preweaning offspring in the AFB-A group showed significantly lower success rates than controls in cliff avoidance responses. In swimming development, the offspring in the AFB-A group had significantly lower scores than controls for swimming direction. In the rotarod test, the AFB-A group remained on the rod for a significantly shorter time than the controls at 15 rpm on both the first and second trial days. The avoidance performance of the rats in AFB-A and AFB -B groups was significantly poorer than that of controls. These results indicate that prenatal exposure to AFB produced a delay of early response development, impaired locomotor coordination, and impaired learning ability in the offspring of rats exposed to AFB during middle pregnancy, and the early gestational exposure appears to produce more effects than latter exposure.