Neonatal rat age, sex and strain modify acute antioxidant response to ozone.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the third leading cause of death in the US and its impact continues to increase in women. Oxidant insults during critical periods of early life appear to increase risk of COPD through-out the life course. To better understand susceptibility to early life exposure to oxidant air pollutants we used Fisher (F344), Sprague-Dawley (SD) and Wistar (WIS) male and female neonatal rat pups to assess: (A) if strain (i.

Toxicological assessments of rats exposed prenatally to inhaled vapors of gasoline and gasoline-ethanol blends.

The primary alternative to petroleum-based fuels is ethanol, which may be blended with gasoline in the United States at concentrations up to 15% for most automobiles. Efforts to increase the amount of ethanol in gasoline have prompted concerns about the potential toxicity of inhaled ethanol vapors from these fuels. The well-known sensitivity of the developing nervous and immune systems to ingested ethanol and the lack of information about the neurodevelopmental toxicity of ethanol-blended fuels prompted the present work.

Toxicological outcomes in rats exposed to inhaled ethanol during gestation.

Recent legislation has encouraged replacing petroleum-based fuels with renewable alternatives including ethanol, which is typically blended with gasoline in the United States at concentrations up to 10%, with allowances for concentrations up to 85% for some vehicles. Efforts to increase the amount of ethanol in gasoline have prompted concerns about the potential toxicity of inhaled ethanol vapors from these fuels. The well-known sensitivity of the developing nervous and immune systems to ingested ethanol, and the lack of information about its toxicity by inhalation prompted the present work on its potential developmental effects in a rat model.

Elevated blood pressure in offspring of rats exposed to diverse chemicals during pregnancy.

Adverse intrauterine environments have been associated with increased risk of later cardiovascular disease and hypertension. In an animal model using diverse developmental toxicants, we measured blood pressure (BP), renal nephron endowment, renal glucocorticoid receptor (GR) gene expression, and serum aldosterone in offspring of pregnant Sprague Dawley rats exposed to dexamethasone (Dex), perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), atrazine, perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), arsenic, or nicotine. BP was assessed by tail cuff photoplethysmography, nephron endowment by confocal microscopy, and renal GR mRNA by qPCR.

Altered health outcomes in adult offspring of Sprague Dawley and Wistar rats undernourished during early or late pregnancy.

Background: Birth weight in humans has been inversely associated with adult disease risk. Results of animal studies have varied depending on species, strain, and treatment.

Methods: We compared birth weight and adult health in offspring following 50% maternal undernutrition on gestation days (GD) 1-15 (UN1-15) or GD 10-21 (UN10-21) in Sprague Dawley and Wistar rats.