engleski

Phenotyping the offspring of antihistamine treated pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats

Introduction. Ideally pregnancy should be period with no pharmacologic therapies, but in practice it is occasionally unavoidable. It is important to ensure drug therapy for women suffering from allergies to avoid life threatening situations during pregnancy for both mother and child. A transient histamine- containing neuronal network is present during development of the central nervous system. Its presence coincides with neuronal differentiation. Any disturbance of this system might impede proper neuronal development. The aim of this study was to observe the behavioral phenotype of the offspring from mothers treated with histamine antagonists (antihistamines) during pregnancy. Material and methods. The study included 3 animal groups – each comprised of 6 male and 6 female Sprague-Dawley rats aged 1 month. Rats were offspring of females treated with antihistamines Desloratadine or Bilastine from gestation day 10 till delivery (groups with corresponding names) and offspring of untreated females (control group). To assess phenotype of the rats following behavioral test were performed: activity cage (for recording of spontaneous coordinate activity in rats), open field test (to assay general locomotor activity levels, anxiety, and exploratory behavior), and olfactory assessment (to demonstrate animal's ability to discriminate odorants). Results. No significant differences between animal groups were observed. Discussion and conclusions. At the age of 1 month the offspring from mothers treated with antihistamines did not manifest different phenotype than control animals. Further plan includes repeating the behavioral tests when the rats reach the age of 3 months, and analysis of the brain anatomy using histology and immunohistochemistry. Further research might reveal phenotypic and molecular differences.

histamine antagonists ; Sprague-Dawley rats ; behavior tests ; brain

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