Effects of Chronic Prenatal Adversities on the Adult Response to a Social Stressor

It was hypothesized that prenatal stressor effects persist into adulthood and would be particularly notable following re-exposure to an adult stressor. Pregnant mice were stressed for 12 days and adult offspring underwent a social stressor. Following the adult treatment, exploratory and social behaviour, and plasma corticosterone (CORT) levels were observed in addition to cytokine, corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH), and CRH receptor messenger RNA (mRNA) expression in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Increased and decreased anxiety-like behaviour was observed in males and females, respectively. Also, elevated CORT was detected in prenatally stressed males and females while increased pro-inflammatory cytokines, CRH, and CRH receptor 1 (CRHR1) in the PFC were mainly observed in prenatally stressed females. These findings suggest gender dimorphic effects of maternal stress on behaviour and PFC cytokine, CRH, and CRHR1 expression that may impair stress and emotional regulation in the offspring.