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ISSN 2522-9028 (Print)
ISSN 2522-9036 (Online)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15407/fz

Fiziologichnyi Zhurnal

is a scientific journal issued by the

Bogomoletz Institute of Physiology
National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine

Editor-in-chief: V.F. Sagach

The journal was founded in 1955 as
1955 – 1977 "Fiziolohichnyi zhurnal" (ISSN 0015 – 3311)
1978 – 1993 "Fiziologicheskii zhurnal" (ISSN 0201 – 8489)
1994 – 2016 "Fiziolohichnyi zhurnal" (ISSN 0201 – 8489)
2017 – "Fiziolohichnyi zhurnal" (ISSN 2522-9028)

Fiziol. Zh. 2017; 63(2): 17-24


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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