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Vertical transmission of acquired ulcer susceptibility in the rat
Science (New York, N.Y.)
|June 6, 1980
Insights
Early life stress in rats, specifically premature pup separation, heightens vulnerability to gastric erosions. This susceptibility is transmitted prenatally to offspring, impacting their stress response.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Gastroenterology
- Developmental Psychology
Background:
- Early life stress is a known risk factor for various health issues.
- Restraint stress can induce gastric erosions in rodents.
- Parental separation is a common model for early life stress.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the long-term effects of premature separation on stress-induced gastric erosions.
- To determine if susceptibility to gastric erosions is transmitted across generations.
- To identify whether prenatal or postnatal factors are responsible for transmitting this susceptibility.
Main Methods:
- Prematurely separating rat pups from dams.
- Exposing adult rats to restraint stress.
- Conducting cross-fostering experiments with F1 progeny.
Main Results:
- Premature separation significantly increased susceptibility to restraint-induced gastric erosions in adult rats.
- The F1 progeny of separated females also exhibited increased susceptibility.
- Cross-fostering indicated prenatal factors, not postnatal environment, transmitted this heightened susceptibility.
Conclusions:
- Early life stress can induce lasting changes in stress susceptibility.
- Susceptibility to gastric erosions can be transmitted epigenetically across generations.
- Prenatal environment plays a critical role in mediating the intergenerational transmission of stress vulnerability.
Abstract:
Premature separation of rat pups from their dams greatly increases their susceptibility to restraint-induced gastric erosions. When prematurely separated female rats grow to adulthood and mate with stock males, their normally reared F 1 progeny also have increased susceptibility to restraint-induced erosions. Cross-fostering studies show that prenatal rather than postnatal factors transmit this susceptibility to the F 1 progeny.