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Published on: November 20, 2015
Prenatal lipopolysaccharide exposure affects maternal behavior and male offspring sexual behavior in adulthood
Maria M Bernardi1, Thiago B Kirsten, Suzana M Matsuoka
1Department of Pathology, Neuroimmunomodulation Research Group, School of Veterinary Medicine, Paulista University, São Paulo, Brazil.
Insights
Prenatal exposure to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in rats impaired maternal behavior and led to reduced sexual function in male offspring. This suggests LPS exposure may disrupt brain sexual development programming.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Reproductive Science
Background:
- Prenatal exposure to inflammatory agents can impact offspring neurodevelopment and behavior.
- Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) is a potent endotoxin that triggers inflammatory responses.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the effects of prenatal lipopolysaccharide (LPS) exposure on maternal behavior in rats.
- To assess the physical development and adult sexual behavior of male offspring following prenatal LPS exposure.
Main Methods:
- Pregnant rats received LPS injections on gestation day 21.
- Maternal behavior, general activity, pup development, organ weights, and adult male sexual behavior were evaluated.
Main Results:
- LPS-exposed dams exhibited reduced maternal care and activity, with increased perinatal mortality and smaller litters.
- Male offspring showed decreased birth weight and reduced testis weight, with impaired sexual behavior, including fewer ejaculations.
- Anogenital distance and testis descent timing were unaffected by prenatal LPS exposure.
Conclusions:
- Prenatal LPS exposure on gestation day 21 acts as an imprinting factor.
- This exposure interferes with the brain's sexual determination programming in offspring.
Objective:
This study investigates the effects of prenatal lipopolysaccharide (LPS) exposure on the maternal behavior of pregnant rats and the physical development and sexual behavior of their male offspring in adulthood.
Methods:
For two experiments, pregnant rats were injected with LPS (250 microg/kg, i.p.) on gestation day (GD) 21. In the first experiment, the maternal behavior (postnatal day, PND, 6) and the dam's open-field general activity (PND7) were evaluated. In the second experiment, the maternal pre- and postnatal parameters, the pup's development, the offspring's sexual behavior in adulthood, and the pup's organ weights were assessed.
Results:
Compared to the control group, the LPS-treated dams presented reduced maternal behavior, decreased general activity, a smaller body weight difference between GD21 and PND1, a greater number of perinatal deaths, and smaller litters. For the male pups, LPS treatment resulted in a decreased body weight on PND2, whereas the anogenital distance and the day of testis descent were not modified. The male sexual behavior was impaired by prenatal LPS. Particularly the number of ejaculating animals was reduced. The testis weight was also lower in the prenatally LPS-treated rats than in the control rats.
Conclusion:
We propose that prenatal LPS exposure on GD21 acts as an imprinting factor that interferes with the programming of brain sexual determination in offspring.
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