Several factors can modulate the link between fetal disruptions and later-life illnesses. The main objective of this thesis was to determine, in a mouse model, the impact of prenatal stressor timing and offspring sex on prepubertal metabolic and mental health outcomes. C57BL/6 dams in the first or second trimester of pregnancy experienced a restraint stressor or were left undisturbed. Pups were weighed daily until postnatal day (PND) 21, at which time fat distribution was measured. Anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors were tested on PND19-20 in open field, elevated plus maze, splash and tail suspension tests. Second trimester stressed males gained more weight and had increased fat deposits surrounding the kidneys. Although anxiety- and depressive-like behaviors were not apparent in prenatally stressed offspring of either sex, females stressed in utero exhibited a hyperactive phenotype. This work is the first to show sex- and trimester-specific consequences of early pregnancy stressors in prepubertal offspring.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uottawa.ca/oai:ruor.uottawa.ca:10393/40971 |
| Date | 11 September 2020 |
| Creators | Osborne, Natasha |
| Contributors | Audet, Marie-Claude, Blier, Pierre |
| Publisher | Université d'Ottawa / University of Ottawa |
| Source Sets | Université d’Ottawa |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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