Abstract

It has been proven that exposure to some drugs even before gestation had transgenerational effects. To investigate the changes which induced by parental morphine exposure before gestation; mainly the anxiety-like behavior, Corticotropin Releasing Factor (CRF) level in the CSF and plasma, CRF Receptor 1 (CRFR1), and the level of protein kinase C (PKC-α) were evaluated in the male offspring.Male and female Wistar rats were exposed to morphine for 21 following days. Ten days after last drug exposure, animals were prepared for mating in 4 distinct groups as follow: drug-naïve female and male (used as control), drug-naïve female and morphine-abstinent male, drug-naïve male and morphine-abstinent female, and morphine abstinent male and female. Offspring were subjected to assess anxiety-like behavior (using elevated plus maze test). CSF and plasma were gathered, and the CRF level was evaluated by ELISA. Using real-time PCR, the CRFR1 level in the brain was evaluated.Results showed that anxiety-like behavior increased in the offspring of morphine-abstinent parent(s) compared with the control group. CRF level in the plasma and CSF also increased in the litter of morphine-abstinent parent(s). CRFR1 mRNA level was upregulated in the brain of offspring with one and/or two morphine-abstinent parent(s). Furthermore, the level of PKC-α was decreased in the brain of offspring which had one and/or two morphine-abstinent parent(s).Taken together, our findings indicated that morphine exposure even before gestation induced transgenerational effects via dysregulation of HPA axis which results in anxiety in the adult male offspring.

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