Biomedical subjects

S E Lappi

Publications and source records attributed to S E Lappi.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1995

Beta-adrenergic control of c-fos expression in fetal and neonatal rat tissues: relationship to cell differentiation and teratogenesis.

beta-Adrenergic receptors appear in noradrenergic target tissues well before the arrival of nerve terminals, and are thought to play a role in the control of cell differentiation. We examined the ability of beta-agonists to stimulate expression of the nuclear transcription factor, c-fos, in developing rat liver and heart. This factor has been shown to associated with trophic activation of genes involved in both cell differentiation and cell growth. In response to terbutaline, a beta 2-selective agonist, marked stimulation of c-fos was demonstrated in the liver, which contains beta 2-receptors, on Gestational Day 20, as well as on Postnatal Days 1 and 8. In the heart, which contains predominantly beta 1-receptors, isoproterenol (a non-subtype-selective beta-agonist) was more effective that terbutaline, indicating that either receptor subtype can elicit stimulation of c-fos. In both tissues, the response magnitude increased with age, rather than following changes in receptor number, which increase in the heart but decrease in the liver; the same pattern has been seen for the ability of beta-agonists to promote cell differentiation at the expense of replication; the implication is that ontogenetic changes in post-receptor coupling are much more important than is the number of receptors in determining neurotrophic influences on gene expression and cell development. In keeping with the view that fetal/neonatal beta-adrenergic stimulation of c-fos is related to cell differentiation rather than simply to growth, repeated administration of isoproterenol to neonatal rats did not elicit cardiac hypertrophy, whereas the same treatment did produce hypertrophy in adult rats. The intracellular signaling cascade from beta-receptor to c-fos expression may thus provide one of the basic cellular mechanisms for trophic control of differentiation by biogenic amines, and for the teratologies associated with beta-adrenergic agonist therapy.

Adrenergic beta-Agonists↗

PubMed1995

Loss of neonatal hypoxia tolerance after prenatal nicotine exposure: implications for sudden infant death syndrome.

Maternal cigarette smoking has a high correlation with sudden Infant Death Syndrome, a condition in which cardiorespiratory failure occurs during an hypoxic episode, as in sleep apnea. Pregnant rats were given nicotine infusions of 2 or 6 mg/kg/day throughout gestation, regimens that produce plasma nicotine levels spanning the range in smokers. The day after birth, animals in the high dose group displayed excessive mortality during hypoxic challenge. These animals were found to be deficient in an essential response component, namely adrenomedullary catecholamine release that is required to maintain neonatal cardiac rhythm during hypoxia; the defect was in adrenal cell function rather than in altered innervation or nicotinic receptor desensitization. We also examined brainstem and forebrain noradrenergic mechanisms that are involved in neonatal respiratory control. The nicotine group showed suppressed spontaneous neuronal activity, but were hyperresponsive to hypoxia. As these projections are inhibitory for respiration, the nicotine-induced sensitization would be expected to contribute to respiratory arrest during hypoxia. Prenatal nicotine exposure may thus provide a useful animal model with which to study the physiological mechanisms that underlie Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, while at the same time providing a biological explanation for the association of the syndrome with smoking.

Adrenal Glands↗

PubMed1995

Role of presynaptic input in the ontogeny of adrenergic cell signaling in rat brain: beta receptors, adenylate cyclase and c-fos protooncogene expression.

Neurotransmitters act as trophic factors during brain development, regulating expression of genes that control cellular differentiation. One example of this trophism is the beta adrenergic signaling cascade: activation of beta receptors leads sequentially to increased cyclic AMP (cAMP), augmented expression of the nuclear transcription factor, c-fos, and induction of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), an enzyme obligatory for neuronal development. After neonatal lesioning of noradrenergic nerves with 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA), beta receptors become uncoupled from ODC induction in the cerebellum, a region that undergoes its peak of cell replication/differentiation postnatally. The present study investigates the mechanism for uncoupling of beta receptors from response elements. In the cerebellum, 6-OHDA had minor effects on beta receptor binding capabilities and caused slight supersensitivity of the beta adrenergic response of adenylate cyclase; the latter reflected increased expression of cyclase catalytic subunits, rather than a specific effect on beta receptor coupling. In contrast, the linkage of cAMP to cerebellar c-fos expression showed marked deficiencies in lesioned animals and a corresponding loss of the ability of beta receptors to induce c-fos; accordingly, this is a likely point at which beta adrenergic control of ODC is programmed by neuronal input. A critical period exists for neurotrophic influence: the alterations persisted past the point at which cerebellar norepinephrine levels recovered, and comparable effects did not occur in earlier-developing regions. In the forebrain, for example, neonatal lesions produced receptor upregulation and supersensitivity of c-fos to cAMP stimulation. These results suggest that presynaptic input is vital in programming beta adrenergic responsiveness during a critical period of development, and that interruption of transsynaptic events occurring at this time can lead to lasting alterations in neuronal differentiation and responsiveness.

8-Bromo Cyclic Adenosine Monophosphate↗

PubMed1994

In search of a mechanism for receptor-mediated neurobehavioral teratogenesis by nicotine: catecholamine release by nicotine in immature rat brain regions.

Nicotine disrupts central nervous system development through interactions with nicotinic cholinergic receptors found in immature brain, leading to discoordination of target cell replication and differentiation. However, it is unclear whether the net result is achieved by nicotine's actions on its specific target cells, or indirectly through receptor-mediated release of other neurotransmitters, such as catecholamines, that possess neurotrophic properties. In the current study, developing rats (1, 7, 14 and 21 days old) were challenged acutely with nicotine (0.3 mg/kg) and the release of catecholamines was evaluated in vivo (AMPT method) in three brain regions that differ in nicotinic receptor concentrations. Nicotine did not stimulate catecholamine release at birth, but developed the capacity to do so in parallel with the ontogeny of nicotinic cholinergic receptors in the midbrain+brainstem and in the forebrain. In the cerebellum, which remains poor in nicotinic receptors, no response was obtained at any age. Superimposed on this general pattern, changes in sensitivity to nicotine were also seen that corresponded to ontogenetic changes in endogenous cholinergic tone, suggesting that receptor desensitization occurs normally during developmental stages in which neuronal activity is high. The absence of a catecholamine response to nicotine at birth in the rat indicates that neurobehavioral teratology associated with fetal nicotine exposure does not reflect secondary actions mediated through catecholamines. However, because brain development in the neonatal rat corresponds to fetal stages in man, the onset of these mechanisms may be relevant to human fetal exposure.

Aging↗

PubMed1994

Glucocorticoids enhance intracellular signaling via adenylate cyclase at three distinct loci in the fetus: a mechanism for heterologous teratogenic sensitization?

Although high doses of glucocorticoids are teratogenic, endogenous hormones are necessary for development. Because of the central role of cAMP to control cell differentiation, we examined the dose dependence, tissue selectivity, and critical periods involved in glucocorticoid regulation of fetal intracellular signaling mediated by adenylate cyclase. Pregnant rats were given dexamethasone at doses spanning the threshold for therapeutic effects (0.05, 0.2, and 0.8 mg/kg) on either Gestational Days 11, 12, and 13 or Days 17, 18, and 19. Development of adenylate cyclase was evaluated in cell membrane preparations using basal activity in the absence or presence of GTP, maximal G-protein activation by fluoride, and maximal catalytic subunit stimulation by forskolin-Mn2+. Even at the lowest dose, dexamethasone on gestational days 11 through 13 enhanced fetal adenylate cyclase activity by accelerating development of both the G-protein component and the catalytic subunit. As a result, supersensitivity of the response to beta-adrenergic receptor stimulation by isoproterenol was also produced, even though development of beta-adrenergic receptors was unaffected. Treatment with dexamethasone later in gestation similarly fostered development of both G-protein and catalytic subunit components, with selectivity for liver and heart as opposed to brain. Again, heterologous sensitization to isoproterenol stimulation was demonstrable; in addition, late gestational treatment elevated yet a third signal transduction locus, the beta-adrenergic receptor binding site. These effects are likely contributors to glucocorticoid teratogenesis (high doses) or to more subtle disruption of cell development (low doses); because adenylate cyclase is at the convergence of multiple neuronal, hormonal, and environmental inputs, glucocorticoids may sensitize the cell to heterologous stimuli, lowering the threshold for teratogenesis by other agents.

Adenylyl Cyclases↗

PubMed1994

Role of thyroid status in the ontogeny of adrenergic cell signaling in rat brain: beta receptors, adenylate cyclase, ornithine decarboxylase and c-fos protooncogene expression.

In adulthood, thyroid hormone regulates beta adrenergic responsiveness. We addressed whether similar processes operate in the developing brain, thus playing a role in neurotransmitter control of target cell differentiation. Rats were made hyperthyroid [triiodothyronine (T3)] or hypothyroid [propylthiouracil (PTU)] during the immediate perinatal period, and the development of beta adrenergic signal transduction was evaluated in three brain regions. PTU treatment resulted in an ubiquitous deficit in the number of beta receptor binding sites. Although beta adrenergic stimulation of adenylate cyclase activity was also obtunded by PTU, the effects were much less prominent and were restricted to one region (forebrain); comparison with basal adenylate cyclase and with total enzymatic activity (forskolin stimulation) indicated that the differences in isoproterenol response were at the level of adenylate cyclase expression, rather than in specific receptor coupling. PTU also reduced responsiveness of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), a key enzyme that couples receptors to differentiation, again, changes in receptor-mediated responsiveness reflected alterations in total enzyme activity, rather than effects on receptor coupling. In contrast, measurements of c-fos, a protooncogene that couples cyclic AMP to induction of ODC, showed increased responses to beta adrenergic or cyclic AMP stimulation in PTU-treated animals. The effect of PTU on c-fos responsiveness occurred in the absence of alterations in basal c-fos expression, a situation different from that seen with adenylate cyclase or ODC. T3 administration had only small effects on any of these variables. The role of thyroid hormones thus involves targeting of beta receptors and receptor-mediated stimulation of nuclear transcription factors (c-fos), as well as basal expression of transduction components in the signalling cascade (adenylate cyclase, ODC). The effects of PTU, contrasted with the failure of T3 to enhance development of beta receptors or their transduction components, suggest that thyroid hormone is obligatory for normal development of this pathway, but that endogenous hormone levels are already optimally permissive.

Adenylyl Cyclases↗

PubMed1993

Differential development of cholinergic nerve terminal markers in rat brain regions: implications for nerve terminal density, impulse activity and specific gene expression.

During critical developmental periods, cholinergic activity plays a key role in programming the development of target cells. In the current study, ontogeny of cholinergic terminals and their activity were contrasted in 4 brain regions of the fetal and neonatal rat using choline acetyltransferase activity, which is unresponsive to changes in impulse flow, and [3H]hemicholinium-3 binding, which labels the high-affinity choline transporter that upregulates in response to increased neuronal stimulation. In all 4 regions (cerebral cortex, midbrain + brainstem, striatum, hippocampus) choline acetyltransferase activity increased markedly from late gestation through young adulthood, but generally did so in parallel with the expansion of total membrane protein, reflective of axonal outgrowth and synaptic proliferation. In contrast, [3H]hemicholinium-3 binding was extremely high in late gestation and immediately after birth, declined in the first postnatal week and then rose again into young adulthood. The ontogenetic changes reflected alterations primarily in the number of binding sites (Bmax) and not in binding affinity. Only the latter phase of development of [3H]hemicholinium-3 binding corresponded to the ontogenetic changes in choline acetyltransferase activity; in the hippocampus, there were disparities even in young adulthood, where [3H]hemicholinium-3 binding showed a spike of activity centered around the 5th to 6th postnatal week, whereas choline acetyltransferase did not. Correction of binding for membrane protein development did not eliminate any of the major differences in developmental patterns between the two markers. These results suggest that development of the choline transporter binding site is regulated independently of the outgrowth of the bulk of cholinergic nerve terminals.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aging↗

PubMed1993

Impact of fetal nicotine exposure on development of rat brain regions: critical sensitive periods or effects of withdrawal?

Fetal nicotine exposure evokes alterations in central nervous system structural, neurochemical, and behavioral development. In the current study, the relative importance of critical developmental exposure periods and withdrawal were examined by infusing nicotine to pregnant rats using osmotic minipumps beginning on the fourth day of gestation. Infusions were confined to either the first 8 days (withdrawal on gestational day 13), to nearly all of gestation (withdrawal on gestational day 21), or throughout gestation and continued into the first 2 postnatal weeks. Maternal weight gain was retarded by nicotine, with a hierarchy corresponding to the duration of nicotine exposure. Similarly, fetal and neonatal body weights were unaffected in the group receiving the shortest duration of nicotine exposure, and were less affected by the intermediate infusion regimen than by the longest regimen; brain region weights were reduced significantly only with the longest regimen. Using ODC activity, a sensitive marker for altered brain cell development, we found little change in animals exposed to nicotine in early gestation and undergoing withdrawal on day 13. However, in the groups receiving nicotine through the end of gestation or through gestation and into the postnatal period, ODC activity was significantly elevated. These results indicate that withdrawal from nicotine contributes little, if any, effect either to the growth deficits or to abnormalities of brain cell development. Instead, the most important factor appears to be exposure within the developmental period corresponding to the proliferation of nicotinic receptors and the timing of receptor control of cell replication and differentiation.

Animals↗

PubMed1992

Fetal nicotine exposure ablates the ability of postnatal nicotine challenge to release norepinephrine from rat brain regions.

Exposure of the fetus to nicotine is known to affect the function of noradrenergic pathways in the central nervous system. In the current study, synaptic mechanisms underlying the functional defects were evaluated in the offspring of pregnant rats given nicotine infusions of 2 mg/kg/day throughout gestation, administered by osmotic minipumps. At 30 days postpartum, norepinephrine levels in brain regions of the offspring were significantly reduced. More importantly, acute challenge with either 0.1 mg/kg or 0.3 mg/kg of nicotine evoked significant norepinephrine release from brain regions of control animals, but failed to do so in the fetal nicotine cohort. These results suggest that prenatal exposure to nicotine produces a deficit in subsequent noradrenergic responsiveness, deficits which may participate in behavioral and neuroendocrine abnormalities.

Animals↗

PubMed1992

Altered development of basal and forskolin-stimulated adenylate cyclase activity in brain regions of rats exposed to nicotine prenatally.

Exposure of the fetus to nicotine is known to affect cellular development, synaptogenesis and synaptic activity of a wide variety of neurotransmitter pathways in the central nervous system. In the current study, pregnant rats received nicotine infusions of 6 mg/kg/day throughout gestation, administered by osmotic minipumps. After birth, offspring of the nicotine infused dams displayed marked alterations in membrane-associated adenylate cyclase activity; the regional selectivity correlated both with nicotinic cholinergic receptor concentration and the maturational timetable of each region. In the midbrain and brainstem, which display relatively high receptor concentrations and earliest cell development, basal adenylate cyclase activity in the nicotine group was elevated in the immediate period postpartum, returned to normal by the end of the first month, but then became subnormal in young adulthood. The initial promotion of basal activity was mirrored by forskolin-stimulated activity, suggesting that in this phase, the alterations were occurring at the level of the adenylate cyclase catalytic unit itself. The lack of effect on forskolin stimulation in the later phase, where basal activity was subnormal in the nicotine group, suggests that some alterations in regulatory subunits are responsible for the maturational switch in nicotine's effects on adenylate cyclase. In the cerebellum, where cell replication occurs primarily after birth and receptor concentrations are low, basal adenylate cyclase showed only a deficit in the nicotine group; again, although forskolin stimulation was significantly affected, the actions on basal activity were much more prominent, suggesting defects at the level of G-proteins.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adenylyl Cyclases↗

PubMed1992

Glucocorticoids and the development of neuronal function: effects of prenatal dexamethasone exposure on central noradrenergic activity.

Although glucocorticoids slow the development of most cell types, they have been hypothesized to promote the differentiation of catecholaminergic cells. In the current study, pregnant rats were given dexamethasone on gestational days 17, 18 and 19, and the functional state of noradrenergic synaptic activity was assessed throughout postnatal development by measurements of transmitter levels and turnover, and receptor binding capabilities. Despite growth inhibition caused by dexamethasone, the steroid treatment had little or no effect on transmitter levels or receptor binding and accelerated the maturation of norepinephrine turnover in a regionally selective manner. Effects were most notable in the midbrain and brainstem, where turnover rose to maximum levels 1-2 weeks in advance of controls. Turnover also leveled off prematurely in the dexamethasone group, leading to deficits in the postweaning period and into young adulthood. Although similar patterns were obtained in other, later-developing regions, the effects were less consistent and robust; the smaller effects also extended to dopamine turnover. These results suggest that glucocorticoids have a specific promotional effect on the development of central catecholaminergic activity and that administration of exogenous steroids during critical periods of development can lead to lasting functional abnormalities.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMed1991

Chronic prenatal nicotine exposure sensitizes rat brain to acute postnatal nicotine challenge as assessed with ornithine decarboxylase.

Prenatal exposure to nicotine has been shown to produce postnatal up-regulation of central nervous system nicotinic receptors and to alter subsequent differentiation of neural tissues. In the current study, pregnant rats received nicotine infusions of 6 mg/kg/day throughout gestation, administered by osmotic minipump implants; the postnatal development of cholinergic receptor reactivity was examined through measurements of the ability of acute nicotine administration to stimulate midbrain + brainstem ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity, a key regulatory enzyme in neural cell differentiation and growth. In control rats, the ODC response to nicotine was absent at birth and developed during the second postnatal week in parallel with the known ontogenetic rise of nicotinic receptors. Offspring of the nicotine-infused dams exhibited hyper-reactivity of ODC to postnatal acute nicotine challenge: the response developed earlier than in controls and subsequently the magnitude of the effect was 2-3 times greater. Since the development of cholinergic transmission influences differentiation of target cells, alterations in cholinergic nicotinic receptor mediated responses likely explain the delayed appearance of abnormal cell differentiation associated with prenatal nicotine.

Analysis of Variance↗

PubMed1991

Fetal dexamethasone exposure affects basal ornithine decarboxylase activity in developing rat brain regions and alters acute responses to hypoxia and maternal separation.

Although glucocorticoids are widely used to stimulate fetal/neonatal lung function, they also interfere with cellular development in the central nervous system. Dexamethasone was administered to pregnant rats in late gestation at a dose (0.8 mg/kg) that lies just above the threshold for stimulation of lung surfactant synthesis, and the impact on ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) was evaluated in three brain regions. Dexamethasone treatment produced an initial inhibition of basal ODC activity followed by postnatal elevations, a pattern known to be associated with delays in cell replication and differentiation. Dexamethasone also interfered with the ability of the 1-day-old neonate to turn off ODC acutely in response to a 2-h period of maternal separation; as this response conserves energy in the absence of the dam, the effect of dexamethasone is maladaptive. Additionally, dexamethasone sensitized the neonatal brain to hypoxia: the acute increase of ODC associated with a 2-h exposure to 7% O2 was exacerbated in 8-day-old rats exposed to dexamethasone prenatally. These results suggest that administration of dexamethasone, in doses that promote respiratory competence, delays cell development in the central nervous system and renders the brain more vulnerable to adverse neonatal conditions, such as maternal separation or hypoxia.

Animals↗

PubMed1991

Role of thyroid hormone in the development of beta adrenergic control of ornithine decarboxylase in rat heart and kidney.

The role of thyroid status in the ontogeny of beta adrenergic receptor control of ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) activity was assessed in hearts and kidneys of neonatal rats. Hyperthyroidism induced by administration of tri-iodothyronine on postnatal days 1 to 5 caused a reduction in the ability of isoproterenol to stimulate cardiac ODC but subsequently accelerated the onset of the postweaning peak of the response; the latter effect was even more prominent when tri-iodothyronine administration was given on postnatal days 14 to 18. Hypothyroidism induced by propylthiouracil administration led to persistent subsensitivity of the cardiac ODC response to beta receptor stimulation. Kidney ODC, which does not become subject to beta receptor regulation until after weaning, was resistant to hyperthyroid-induced changes in reactivity, but hypothyroidism still resulted in long-term response deficits. These results suggest that thyroid hormone is permissive for normal development of the beta receptor-ODC link, and that the euthyroid state provides the optimal conditions for maturation of this signal transduction mechanism. The relative resistance of kidney ODC responses to alterations by hyperthyroidism further indicates that the effects of excess hormone can only be expressed when the receptor-enzyme link is already competent. Finally, thyroid status had equivalent effects on the abilities of vasopressin or angiotensin to stimulate ODC, suggesting that the site of thyroid hormone action is at a transduction locus common to several different receptor types.

Age Factors↗

PubMed1991

Dose-dependent glucocorticoid effects on noradrenergic synaptogenesis in rat brain: ontogeny of [3H]desmethylimipramine binding sites after fetal exposure to dexamethasone.

Glucocorticoid administration slows the development of many types of cells, but may selectively accelerate differentiation of catecholaminergic cells. In the current study, pregnant rats were given dexamethasone on gestational days 17, 18 and 19 and noradrenergic synaptogenesis assessed in the offspring by measurements of binding capabilities for [3H]desmethylimipramine (DMI), a radioligand probe for noradrenergic presynaptic terminals. After treatment with 0.05 mg/kg of dexamethasone, a dose that did not suppress body or brain region growth, [3H]DMI was initially enhanced in midbrain + brainstem and in cerebellum; the former region also displayed a secondary phase of augmented [3H]DMI binding during the ontogenetic peak occurring in the second to third postnatal week. At a higher dose (0.2 mg/kg) that elicited moderate growth impairment, fetal dexamethasone exposure produced biphasic effects on [3H]DMI binding: initial enhancement was still apparent in cerebral cortex and cerebellum, but there were subsequent deficits in binding and the peak in midbrain + brainstem was shifted to later stages. At the highest dose (0.8 mg/kg), profound growth impairment was evident and only the cerebellum showed unequivocal evidence of enhanced [3H]DMI binding. All changes were associated with alterations in the maximum [3H]DMI binding capacity (Bmax) not in the binding affinity (Kd). These results suggest that low doses of dexamethasone that do not suppress general growth, enhance noradrenergic synaptogenesis in a regionally-selective and age-selective manner; at higher, growth-suppressing doses, this effect is intermixed with general delays in maturation, likely contributing to the variable effects of glucocorticoids on neurobehavioral development.

Animals↗

PubMed1990

Dual control of DNA synthesis by alpha- and beta-adrenergic mechanisms in normoxic and hypoxic neonatal rat brain.

To examine how catecholamines influence cell replication in the developing brain, we examined regional [3H]thymidine incorporation into DNA after acute challenge with an alpha-adrenergic blocking agent (phenoxybenzamine) or a beta-blocker (propranolol). Phenoxybenzamine inhibited DNA synthesis in 1-day-old rat pups but the effect was less pronounced at 8 days; regional differences corresponded to transient expression of alpha-receptors and their subsequent maturational decline. Propranolol given at 1 day of age exerted a regionally selective, promotional effect on DNA synthesis; in contrast, at 8 days, propranolol inhibited DNA synthesis in all brain regions. Propranolol, but not phenoxybenzamine, also exacerbated the reduction in DNA synthesis caused by neonatal hypoxia, and again the effect was limited to the 1-day-old group. These results indicate that catecholamines exert a dual action on DNA synthesis; the effects are dependent upon maturational profiles of specific receptor populations which are either transiently expressed or which couple to cell replication only during a critical period.

Animals↗

PubMed1990

Fetal terbutaline exposure causes selective postnatal increases in cerebellar alpha-adrenergic receptor binding.

beta-Adrenergic agonists used in therapy of premature labor and asthma cross the placenta and can affect development of the fetal nervous system. In the current study, pregnant rats were given 10 mg/kg of terbutaline on gestational days 17, 18 and 19 and adrenergic receptor binding capabilities examined in brain regions of the offspring. Despite the absence of body or brain growth impairment, selective increases were seen postnatally in cerebellar alpha 1- and alpha 2-receptor subtypes, whereas the same receptor populations were decreased by small amounts in cerebral cortex and midbrain + brainstem. beta-Adrenergic receptors showed little or no change in any region. The regional and subtype selectivity are compatible with primary deficits in the development of noradrenergic projections to the cerebellum identified in previous studies and provide further evidence that therapeutic use of beta-adrenergic agonists may produce neurobehavioral teratology.

Animals↗

PubMed1990

Prenatal nicotine exposure impairs beta-adrenergic function: persistent chronotropic subsensitivity despite recovery from deficits in receptor binding.

Gestational exposure to nicotine has been shown to interfere with biochemical markers of development of central and peripheral noradrenergic activity. The current study examines the development and function of cardiac beta-adrenergic receptors in the offspring of pregnant rats given nicotine infusions of 6 mg/kg/day from gestational days 4 through 20, administered by subcutaneously implanted osmotic minipumps. Prenatal nicotine exposure delayed the development of beta-adrenergic receptor binding capabilities, as assessed with [125I]pindolol in membrane preparations from heart and kidney. The deficits in receptor binding were associated with marked subsensitivity of chronotropic responses to administration of a beta-adrenergic agonist, isoproterenol. Although the effects on receptor binding resolved after weaning, functional deficiencies in responsiveness to isoproterenol or to preganglionic electrical stimulation of sympathetic nerves to the heart persisted into adulthood. These results indicate that prenatal exposure to nicotine produces long-term alterations in adrenergic responsiveness of sympathetic target tissues.

Aging↗