Maternal Nicotine Exposure During Lactation Alters Craniofacial Development

Abstract

Maternal exposure to nicotine has been linked to increased incidence of craniofacial abnormalities in infants. One of the craniofacial anomalies is craniosynostosis, which results from the premature fusion of the calvarial sutures. In the US, incidence of craniosynostosis is 1:1800–2500 births and often requires neurosurgical intervention to allow for normal brain growth. As the use of nicotine is increasing among young population specially through vape/electronic cigarettes use, we feel the need to investigate the effects of maternal nicotine on craniofacial development. We aim to determine the most critical period along pregnancy and lactation where maternal nicotine exposure could cause craniofacial anomalies and how does nicotine affect cranial sutures and other craniofacial structures. We compared the widths of coronal, sagittal, and posterior interfrontal sutures in offspring after maternal nicotine exposure during pregnancy only, lactation only, and pregnancy + lactation. Using Micro‐CT scans for cephalometric measurements, our preliminary data shows that maternal exposure to nicotine during lactation affects coronal suture development evidenced by decrease suture width and incidence of fusion in PN day 15 mice. We plan future experiments using histomorphometry and immunohistochemistry to better understand how sutural tissue and cells are affected by maternal nicotine exposure.Support or Funding InformationThis study was supported by research grants from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research[R03DE026192 (JC), F31DE026684 (ED)], National Institutes of Health National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences [UL1 TR000062]Plastic Surgery Foundation [Pilot Award 512114].