Abstract
Disruption of the maternal environment during pregnancy is a key contributor to offspring diseases that develop in adult life. To explore the impact of chronodisruption during pregnancy in primates, we exposed pregnant capuchin monkeys to constant light (eliminating the maternal melatonin rhythm) from the last third of gestation to term. Maternal temperature and activity circadian rhythms were assessed as well as the newborn temperature rhythm. Additionally we studied the effect of daily maternal melatonin replacement during pregnancy on these rhythms. Ten pregnant capuchin monkeys were exposed to constant light from 60% of gestation to term. Five received a daily oral dose of melatonin (250 µg kg/body weight) at 1800 h (LL+Mel) and the other five a placebo (LL). Six additional pregnant females were maintained in a 14∶10 light:dark cycles and their newborns were used as controls (LD). Rhythms were recorded 96 h before delivery in the mother and at 4–6 days of age in the newborn. Exposure to constant light had no effect on the maternal body temperature rhythm however it delayed the acrophase of the activity rhythm. Neither rhythm was affected by melatonin replacement. In contrast, maternal exposure to constant light affected the newborn body temperature rhythm. This rhythm was entrained in control newborns whereas LL newborns showed a random distribution of the acrophases over 24-h. In addition, mean temperature was decreased (34.0±0.6 vs 36.1±0.2°C, in LL and control, respectively P<0.05). Maternal melatonin replacement during pregnancy re-synchronized the acrophases and restored mean temperature to the values in control newborns. Our findings demonstrate that prenatal melatonin is a Zeitgeber for the newborn temperature rhythm and supports normal body temperature maintenance. Altogether these prenatal melatonin effects highlight the physiological importance of the maternal melatonin rhythm during pregnancy for the newborn primate.
Highlights
Disruption of the mother’s environment is a key contributor to offspring diseases and conditions that account for approximately one third of the global burden of disease in both developed and developing countries [1]
Most physiological functions present 24-h rhythms driven by a system of biological clocks comprising a master clock located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus of the hypothalamus, (SCN) and peripheral circadian clocks located in most tissues of the body
On a previous study [21] we demonstrated that constant light exposure during pregnancy effectively suppressed the maternal plasma melatonin rhythm in the capuchin monkey [21]
Summary
Disruption of the mother’s environment is a key contributor to offspring diseases and conditions that account for approximately one third of the global burden of disease in both developed and developing countries [1]. In this context, disturbance of the temporal organization of physiology and behavior (chronodisruption) accompanying shift work is associated with increased risk of miscarriage, preterm delivery and low birth weight [2,3,4]; both strong predictors of chronic disease later in life [5,6]. There is limited information on the effects of chronodisruption in the circadian system in pregnant primates or on its effect on the offspring
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