AccessMyLibrary provides FREE access to over 30 million articles from top publications available through your library.
Create a link to this page
Copy and paste this link tag into your Web page or blog:
2003 SEP 4 - (NewsRx.com & NewsRx.net) -- Blue fox handling during pregnancy generates fetal gonadal stress.
"In previous studies it has been shown that handling produced stress in pregnant blue fox vixens increasing plasma level and adrenal in vitro production of cortisol. Moreover, this treatment increased plasma cortisol levels in the fetuses. The present study was designed to examine effects of a 1-min daily handling stress applied to pregnant blue fox vixens on fetal gonadal steroidogenesis," investigators in Russia report.
"Plasma concentrations of estradiol and testosterone, gonadal content and gonadal in vitro production of these steroids, and response to exogenous hCG as well as gonadal weights, and anogenital distances were measured in control (C, n=69) and stressed (S, n=54) fetuses on 47-48 days of pregnancy. Maternal stress induced a suppression of gonadal steroidogenesis in the fetuses," noted L.V. Osadchuk and colleagues, Russian Academy of Sciences, Institute of Cytology & Genetics.
"The decreased testosterone content in the testes and estradiol content in the ovaries were demonstrated in stressed fetuses compared with control (testosterone: 4.91[+ or -]0.46 vs. 7.35[+ or -]0.87 ng/both testes, P
"The ovarian estradiol in vitro production in female fetuses from stressed mothers was decreased in comparison with control (3.69[+ or -]0.39 vs. 7.52[+ or -]1.51 pg/ovary/h, P
"The ovarian weight from stressed fetuses was lower in comparison with control (12.9[+ or -]0.7 vs. 16.8[+ or ...