Alterations in stress-induced prolactin release in adult female and male rats exposed to stress, in utero

doi:10.1016/0031-9384(89)90240-0

Physiology & Behavior

Volume 45, Issue 5, May 1989, Pages 1073-1076

https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-9384(89)90240-0 Get rights and content

Abstract

Prenatal stress alters the endocrine as well as the behavioral responses of rodents. Because of the reductions in both estradiol-induced and ether-induced prolactin (Prl) release reported in prenatally-stressed (P-S) rats, we were interested in whether prenatal stress might also modify the prolactin response of male and female rats to a moderate stressor in adulthood, viz., restraint stress. Timed-mated Sprague-Dawley females were exposed to a daily regimen of heat and restraint stress from days 15–22 of gestation. Control animals remained undisturbed throughout pregnancy. In adulthood, half of the male and female P-S and Control offspring were stressed by placing them in a Plexiglas restraint tube for 60 min (restraint stressed; S; referred to as P-SS and CS, respectively). The remaining half of the P-S and Control animals were left undisturbed (these were nonrestrained; NR; referred to as P-SNR and CNR, respectively). Blood samples (decapitation) were then collected from all animals and plasma was assayed for Prl content. P-SNR and CNR males did not differ in baseline Prl levels, nor did P-SNR and CNR females. Following the restraint stress in adulthood, P-SS males as well as PSS females exhibited significantly less of an increase in Prl relative to CS males and CS females, respectively. In addition, baseline Prl levels differed between the sexes, with females—regardless of prenatal condition—having higher plasma Prl levels than males. These sex differences were no longer evident following restraint stress. These data, in combination with other work in P-S animals in the areas of Prl release and stress responses, demonstrate that prenatal stress renders the rat less hormonally (Prl) responsive to stress, with the effect being more pronounced in the female.

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Prosocial effects of prolactin in male rats: Social recognition, social approach and social learning
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The present study tested the effects of PRL on social behavior in male rats. While basal PRL levels in females are approximately double those in males (Kinsley et al., 1989), PRL has biological relevance in both males and females (Drago and Lissandrello, 2000). Furthermore, OT promotes social behavior in males.
Prolactin (PRL) and oxytocin (OT) are pituitary hormones essential for lactation, but also promote sexual behavior. OT stimulates social behaviors, such as recognition, approach, and learning, but less is known about PRL in these behaviors. Since PRL and OT have complementary functions in reproduction, we hypothesized that PRL increases social recognition, approach, and learning. Male Long-Evans rats received ovine PRL (oPRL; 0.5, 2.0 or 5.0 mg/kg), the PRL antagonist bromocriptine (0.1, 3.0 or 5.0 mg/kg) or saline 20 mins before testing for recognition of familiar vs. unfamiliar stimulus males. Saline controls preferred the unfamiliar male (p < 0.05), while bromocriptine blocked this preference. oPRL did not increase preference. To measure social approach, we determined if PRL restores approach 2 h after defeat by an aggressive male. Defeated rats avoided the aggressive male. 2 mg/kg oPRL, before or after defeat, restored approach towards the aggressive male (p < 0.05). In non-defeated rats, oPRL or 3 mg/kg bromocriptine had no effect. To determine if PRL increases social learning, we tested social transmission of food preference. Rats choose between two unfamiliar flavors, one of which they have previously been exposed to through interaction with a demonstrator rat. Vehicle controls preferred chow with the demonstrated flavor over the novel flavor. oPRL-treated rats were similar. Bromocriptine-treated rats failed to show a preference. When tested one week later, only oPRL-treated rats preferred the demonstrated flavor. The results suggest that PRL is required for social recognition and learning, and that increasing PRL enhances social memory and approach, similar to OT.
Short communication: Effect of maternal heat stress in late gestation on blood hormones and metabolites of newborn calves
2016, Journal of Dairy Science
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It is unknown if the altered PRL and cortisol responses by maternal heat stress can persist into maturity. In rats, adult offspring born to dams that experienced a combination of heat and restraint stress during the late gestation have a reduced PRL response following restraint stress compared with controls (Kinsley et al., 1989), indicating a persistent effect on stress responses at maturity after prenatal stress. Whether a similar phenomenon occurs in the calf born to a cow that experiences heat stress during late gestation is unknown, but this phenomenon may have important implications in offspring performance due to the important roles of cortisol and PRL in immune function, metabolism, and lactation.
Maternal heat stress alters immune function of the offspring, as well as metabolism and future lactational performance, but its effect on the hormonal and metabolic responses of the neonate immediately after birth is still not clear. The objective of this study was to investigate the blood profiles of hormones and metabolites of calves born to cows that were cooled (CL) or heat-stressed (HS) during the dry period. Within 2 h after birth, but before colostrum feeding, blood samples were collected from calves [18 bulls (HS: n = 10; CL: n = 8) and 20 heifers (HS: n = 10; CL: n = 10)] born to CL or HS dry cows, and hematocrit and plasma concentrations of total protein, prolactin, insulin-like growth factor-I, insulin, glucose, nonesterified fatty acid, and β-hydroxybutyrate were measured. Compared with CL, HS calves had lower hematocrit and tended to have lower plasma concentrations of insulin, prolactin, and insulin-like growth factor-I. However, maternal heat stress had no effect on plasma levels of total protein, glucose, fatty acid, and β-hydroxybutyrate immediately after birth. These results suggest that maternal heat stress desensitizes a calf’s stress response and alters the fetal development by reducing the secretion of insulin-like growth factor-I, prolactin, and insulin.
Epigenetic changes brought about by perinatal stressors: A brief review of the literature
2012, Journal of Pharmacological and Toxicological Methods
Citation Excerpt :
Similarly, prenatally stressed females display reductions in maternal and aggressive behavior, fertility and fecundity (Herrenkohl, 1979; Kerchner, Malsbury, Ward, & Ward, 1995; Kinsley, Mann, & Bridges, 1988b; Kinsley & Svare, 1988; Kinsley, Mann, & Bridges, 1988a). Further, as a consequence of prenatal stress, both sexes display alterations in estradiol-induced (Kinsley & Bridges, 1987) and stress-induced prolactin secretion (Kinsley, Mann, & Bridges, 1989), nitric oxide synthases activity (Miller, Mueller, Gifford, & Kinsley, 1999), as well as a differential sensitivity to opiates (Insel, Kinsley, Mann, & Bridges, 1990; Kinsley et al., 1988a). It is, however, the marked reductions in male-typical sexual behavior that are the most prevalent, the most striking, and the best documented of the many effects on behavior and physiology of exposure to stress in utero primarily in rodents.
Introduction: Numerous studies employing various animal models have found that perinatal stress, encountered in utero during sensitive developmental stages or shortly after birth, disrupts both sexual differentiation and sexual behavior in offspring. The biochemical, cellular, genetic and epigenetic events which are involved in the organismal response to perinatal stress are currently under investigation. Methods, Results and Discussion: In this review, the reader is introduced to perinatal stressors as a toxicological phenomenon, and several recently characterized epigenetic responses to said stressors are discussed.
Effects of gestational stress and neonatal handling on pain, analgesia, and stress behavior of adult mice
2003, Physiology and Behavior
Stressors presented during the late prenatal and early postnatal periods can have long-term effects on offspring behavior, due to the sensitive periods in the formation of brain circuitry associated with early development. This study investigated the long-term effects of prenatal (restraint during the last week of gestation) and postnatal (daily handling for 14 days postnatal) stress, alone and in combination, on adulthood pain behavior, analgesic responses to stress and morphine, and on behavioral indices of stress reactivity. We found that all of the adult responses measured were altered by perinatal manipulations. Nociceptive thresholds were increased by prenatal or by postnatal stress in males and females; application of both stressors in combination negated these effects. Elevations in morphine analgesia were also observed in animals undergoing either perinatal stressor, but not in those who received both stressors. Behavioral and analgesic responses to stress were consistent with previous observations of reduced stress responsiveness following neonatal handling, with some sex-specific findings. Male and female handled subjects exhibited decreases in stress behavior, and both groups of female handled subjects (regardless of prenatal stress [PS] condition) exhibited decreases in stress-induced analgesia (SIA). Males, on the other hand, exhibited decreases in SIA only if they were prenatally stressed (regardless of handling condition). Thus, prenatal and postnatal stressors have differing effects on the neural circuitry underlying pain, pain inhibition, and stress behavior.
Effects of maternal stress on anxiety levels, macrophage activity, and Ehrlich tumor growth
2001, Neurotoxicology and Teratology
The present study analyzed the effects of maternal stress on behavior and immune function of mice. Pregnant mice received a daily footshock (0.4 mA) from gestational day 15 (GD 15) to GD 19. Experiments were performed on male offspring aged 2 months. The following results were obtained for offspring from dams stressed during pregnancy: (1) decreased locomotor activity observed in the open-field central zone; (2) decreased number of entries into the open arms of the plus-maze and decreased time spent in the exploration of these arms; (3) decreased macrophage spreading and phagocytosis, but no changes in macrophage NO₂⁻ production; (4) increased growth of both the ascitic and solid forms of Ehrlich tumor. These changes were unrelated to differences in gestational parameters and did not reflect altered maternal–pup interactions or nutritional factors. The observed data provide experimental evidence that maternal stress alters stress/anxiety levels, macrophage activity and Ehrlich tumor growth at the same time and in the same litter. The data were discussed in the light of possible neuroendocrine–immune system interactions.
Changes in the hormonal concentrations of pregnant rats and their fetuses following multiple exposures to a stressor during the third trimester
1999, Neurotoxicology and Teratology
Human and animal studies indicate that stress during pregnancy can exert long-term effects on the development of the offspring, effects that appear to be mediated in part by the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis. In this experiment changes in levels of a variety of HPA and other hormones in both pregnant rats and their fetuses were investigated. Trunk blood was collected from pregnant females and fetuses following repeated 45-min presentations of restraint, bright lights, and heat during the third trimester. In addition, testes were harvested from the male fetuses. Hormone concentrations were determined by radioimmunoassay. Pregnant females had elevated titers of plasma corticosterone, aldosterone, and ACTH for approximately 15 min following termination of the stressor. No differences were found for β-endorphin or prolactin. Fetuses showed a pattern of changes in plasma corticosterone and aldosterone that was similar to that of pregnant females, but no effect was observed for fetal ACTH titers. These results are consistent with a role of the HPA axis in the effects of gestational stress. Testicular levels of CRF on gestational day 21 were lower in fetuses of stressed females than in those of nonstressed females. The reduced levels of testicular CRF suggest that CRF may be involved in the altered pattern of sexual differentiation of males stressed during gestation.

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Brief communicationAlterations in stress-induced prolactin release in adult female and male rats exposed to stress, in utero

Abstract

Brain Res.

Brain Res.

Life Sci.

Physiol. Behav.

Horm. Behav.

Physiol. Behav.

Physiol. Behav.

Brain Res.

Brain Res.

Neurosci. Biobehav. Rev.

Physiol. Behav.

Physiol. Behav.

Brain Res.

The effects of neurotransmitter receptor antagonists on ether induced prolactin release in ovariectomized, estrogen-treated rats

Brief communication
Alterations in stress-induced prolactin release in adult female and male rats exposed to stress, in utero