Chronic Ethanol Consumption by Rats before Mating Affects Working Memory in the Offspring.

Parameters of non-spatial and spatial memory were evaluated in sexually mature offspring of outbred rats (females and males F0) consuming a 10% ethanol solution for 30 weeks before mating. We found a significant increase in the recognition index in F1 males and its decrease in F1 females in the novel object recognition test. During the first days of the experiment in T-maze, a decrease in spatial memory was revealed in F1 males, which remained at the trend level until the end of testing; no significant deviations were detected in F1 females. Memory impairment in F1 females was accompanied by a decrease in BDNF level in the hippocampus, but not in the prefrontal cortex. Thus, ethanol consumption by F0 rats before mating led to impairment of long-term working memory only in female F1 offspring.

Prenatal effects of peat combustion products and afobazole correction thereof in the rat progeny.

Female outbred albino rats were daily subjected to forced inhalations of peat smoke (4 cores packed with a mixture of peat (70%) and wood pulp (30%); 0.46 g, pH ≥ 5.5) per se and in combination with oral afobazole (anxiolytic) on days 1-20 of pregnancy. Exposure to peat smoke inhibited body weight gain in pregnant rats, caused an increase of postimplantation deaths, reduction of fetal weights, and an increase in the number of hematomas and hemorrhages in fetuses. Afobazole in doses of 1 and 10 mg/kg reduced significantly the untoward effects of peat smoke on fetal development.

Effects of afobazole on cognitive behavior of the offspring of rats exposed to tobacco smoke during gestation period.

Experiments on the model of foraging behavior formation under conditions of free choice (T-maze) revealed learning failure against the background of reduced motor activity in the offspring of rats exposed to tobacco smoke on gestation days 1-20. Afobazole administered to pregnant rats orally in doses of 1 or 10 mg/kg daily during the whole gestation and/or entering rat pup body with breast milk from mothers receiving 200 mg/kg to day 20 of their life normalized their learning capacity. The formation of short-term and long-term memory in animals receiving afobazole did not differ from the control. Hence, afobazole corrects cognitive disorders in rats exposed to tobacco smoke during prenatal development.

[Model study of afobazole distribution in pregnant and lactating female rats and infant rat pups].

Afobazole and M-11, its major metabolite were detected in placental and embryonic rat tissues after single peroral administration to pregnant female rats at a dose of 100 mg/kg. The anxiolytic drug and its metabolite are also detected in rat milk and body of the breast-fed infant rat pups after 4 days of daily administration (200 mg/kg, per os) to lactating female rats.

Evaluation of genotoxicity and reproductive toxicity of silicon nanocrystals.

Silicon crystal 2-5 nm nanoparticles in the form of 1-5-µ granules in water suspension were injected intraperitoneally in a single dose to male F(1)(CBA×C57Bl/6) mice or to outbred albino rats on days 1, 7, and 14 of gestation. Silicon crystal nanoparticles in doses of 5, 25, and 50 mg/kg exhibited no cytogenetic activity in mouse bone marrow cells after 24-h exposure and in doses of 5 and 25 mg/kg after 7 and 14-day exposure. A 24-h exposure to silicon nanoparticles in a dose of 5 mg/kg significantly increased DNA damage (detected by DNA comet assay) in bone marrow cells. In a dose of 50 mg/kg they considerably increased DNA damage in bone marrow and brain cells after exposure of the same duration. Silicon nanoparticles in doses of 5 and 50 mg/kg caused no genotoxic effects in the same cells after 3-h and in a dose of 5 mg/kg after 7-day exposure. Silicon crystal nanoparticles in a dose of 50 mg/kg caused death of 60-80% mice after exposure <24 h. Injected in a dose of 50 mg/kg on days 1, 7, and 14 of gestation, silicon crystal nanoparticles reduced body weight gain in pregnant rats and newborn rats at different stages of the experiment, but had no effect on other parameters of physical development of rat progeny and caused no teratogenic effects.

Effect of afobazole on genotoxic effects of tobacco smoke in the placenta and embryonic tissues of rats.

The DNA comet assay was used to evaluate the severity of genotoxic changes in embryonic tissues and placenta of rats daily exposed to tobacco smoke per se or in combination with an anxiolytic agent afobazole. The exposure to tobacco smoke (4 cigarettes containing 13 mg tar and 1 mg nicotine per 72 dm(3)) for 20 min on days 1-13 of pregnancy increased the degree of DNA damage and elevation of apoptotic DNA comets in cells of the placenta and embryo from pregnant rats. Afobazole (1 and 10 mg/kg orally) reduced the genotoxic effect of tobacco smoke and decreased the amount of apoptotic DNA comets in placental tissue and embryonic tissue from rats.