MODULATION OF PUBERTY TERMS AND SEXUAL BEHAVIOR OF RATS AFTER PRENATAL EXPOSURE TO METHYLDOPA, PHENIBUT AND STRESS
A.G. Reznikov, A.A. Limareva
State Institution “V.P. Komissarenko Institute of Endocrinology and Metabolism of National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine”, Kyiv
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15407/fz63.02.017
Abstract
We studied the effect of prenatal administration of methyldopa
(400 mg/kg bw per day), a norepinephrine synthesis inhibitor,
phenibut (100 mg/kg bw per day), a GABA agonist, and
immobilization stress on the background of phenibut on the
time of puberty and sexual behavior of male and female rats.
Drugs were administered orally to pregnant rats during the last
week (15-21 days) of pregnancy. In experiments with prenatal
stress, pregnant animals were immobilized for one hour every
day during the same period of the pregnancy. Some of them
received phenibut 30 min before stressing. Administration
of phenibut to non-stressed pregnant animals resulted in
acceleration of maturation. Administration of methyldopa
or phenibut resulted in disorders of sexual behavior of the
male and female offspring. However, phenibut weakened
demasculinizing and feminizing effects of prenatal stress on
the sexual behavior of males, as evidenced by normalization of
the duration of the latent periods and intromissions, the number
of mountings with intromission and fewer lordosis reactions.
Phenibut administered partially restored the timing of puberty
in these animals. The findings suggest the involvement of
noradrenergic and GABA-ergic mechanisms in the prenatal
programming of sexual behavior of animals, as well as the
possibility of preventing sexual disorders in adults, prenatally
stressed rats by activating the GABA-ergic receptor. Based
on these results and previous studies, the concept of dualistic
effects of hormonal and pharmacological neurotropic drugs
used during pregnancy was suggested. According to the
concept, noradrenergic and GABA-ergic mechanisms can have
both damaging or protective effect on the reproductive health
of offsprings and their ability to respond to stress.
Keywords:
prenatal programming; prenatal stress; puberty; sexual behavior; phenibut; methyldopa; rats.
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