Effect of prenatal stress and forced swimming acute stress on adult rat's skeletal muscle and liver MDA levels

Abstract

The study of stress physiological consequences has gained importance since last five decades. Accordingly, prenatal stress is a contributing factor on mammal gestation, causing adaptive disturbances during offspring adult life. The aim of this study was to analyze the physiological effects of prenatal stress rats on some skeletal muscle and liver parameters after forced swimming (FS) exposition. Pregnant Wistar rats were stressed by immobilization (IMO) during the two last week of pregnancy and male offspring raised in bioterium standard conditions until 90 days old. Corticosterone (COR), glycemia and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were studied in all experimental group: Control animals, forced swimming stressed rats and prenatal stressed animals rats with and without FS stress. The results show that in basal conditions COR and glycemia levels were increased in prenatal stressed animals. After an acute exposition to FS, COR significantly increased in prenatal stress and control groups (without prenatal stress). Glycemia levels had similar values in all experimental conditions; however, hepatic MDA levels showed a significant increase in prenatal stressed rats and the effect was maintained in FS animals. MDA values analyzed in grooved muscle were higher in prenatal stressed groups, but after FS acute stress, MDA levels increased in control animals too. In conclusion, IMO prenatal stress causes a change in the regulation of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA), reflected in high basal levels of plasmatic COR and hyperglycemia. Moreover, it causes a hyper sensibility to acute stressors caused in post birth life. Also, prenatal stress produces oxidative stress in liver cells while FS stimulates this process in grooved voluntary muscle.