Perinatal morphine but not buprenorphine affects gestational and offspring neurobehavioral outcomes in mice

Abstract

Within the national opioid epidemic, there has been an increase in the number of infants exposed to opioids in utero. Additionally, opioid agonist medications are the standard of care for women with opioid use disorder during pregnancy. Buprenorphine (BUP), a partial µ -opioid receptor agonist, has been successful in improving gestational and neonatal outcomes. However, in utero exposure has been linked to childhood cognitive and behavioral problems. Therefore, we sought to compare offspring cognitive and behavioral outcomes after prenatal exposure to a clinically relevant low dose of BUP compared to morphine (MO), a full µ -opioid receptor agonist and immediate metabolite of heroin. We used a mouse model to assess gestational and offspring outcomes. Mouse dams were injected once daily s.c. with saline (SAL, n = 12), MO (10 mg/kg, n = 15), or BUP (0.1 mg/kg, n = 16) throughout pre-gestation, gestation, and lactation until offspring were weaned on postnatal day (P)21. Offspring social interaction and exploratory behavior were assessed, along with executive function via the touchscreen 5 choice serial reaction time task (5CSRTT). We then quantified P1 brain gene expression in the frontal cortex and amygdala (AMG). Perinatal MO but not BUP exposure decreased gestational weight gain and was associated with dystocia. In adolescent offspring, perinatal MO but not BUP exposure increased social exploration in males and grooming behavior in females. In the 5CSRTT, male MO exposed offspring exhibited increased impulsive action errors compared to male BUP offspring. In the AMG of P1 MO exposed offspring, we observed an increase in gene expression of targets related to activity of microglia. Importantly, both MO and BUP caused acute hyperlocomotion in the dams to a similar degree, indicating that the selected doses are comparable, in accordance with previous dose comparisons on analgesic and reward efficacy. These data suggest that compared to MO, low dose BUP improves gestational outcomes and has less of an effect on the neonatal offspring brain and later adolescent and adult behavior.