Gene Dysregulation in the Adult Rat Paraventricular Nucleus and Amygdala by Prenatal Exposure to Dexamethasone.

ABSTRACT: Fetal programming is the concept that maternal stressors during critical periods of fetal development can alter offspring phenotypes postnatally. Excess glucocorticoids can interact with the fetus to effect genetic and epigenetic changes implicated in adverse developmental outcomes. The present study investigates how chronic exposure to the synthetic glucocorticoid dexamethasone during late gestation alters the expression of genes related to behavior in brain areas relevant to the regulation and function of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. Pregnant Wistar Kyoto rats received subcutaneous injections of dexamethasone (100 μg/kg) daily from gestational day 15-21 or vehicle only as sham controls. The amygdala and paraventricular nucleus (PVN) were micro-punched to extract mRNA for reve

SUBMITTER: Rivet TR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9316520 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature