Studies of intergenerational effects of parental chemical exposure have principally focused on maternal exposure, particularly for studies of adverse neurobehavioral consequences on the offspring. Maternal nicotine exposure has long been known to cause adverse neurobehavioral effects on the offspring. However, paternal toxicant exposure has also been found to cause neurobehavioral toxicity in their offspring. Recent work suggests that paternal nicotine exposure can have epigenetic effects, although it remains unclear whether such changes lead to neurobehavioral effects. In the current study, we investigated the effects of paternal nicotine exposure on neurobehavioral development of their offspring. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to 0 or 2 mg/kg/day nicotine (sc) for 56 consecutive days with two consecutive 2ML4 osmotic minipumps. Following treatment, these males were mated with drug-naïve female rats. Offspring of both sexes were tested in a behavioral battery to assess locomotion, emotional function and cognition. Paternal nicotine exposure did not impact offspring viability, health or growth. However, behavioral function of the offspring was significantly altered by paternal nicotine exposure. Male offspring with paternal nicotine exposure exhibited locomotor hyperactivity in the Figure-8 apparatus when tested during adolescence. When retested in adulthood and regardless of sex, offspring of the nicotine exposed father showed significantly reduced habituation of locomotor activity over the course of the session. Compared to controls, female offspring of nicotine-exposed fathers showed significantly reduced response latency in the radial arm maze test. In addition to locomotor hyperactivity, the offspring of nicotine-exposed fathers also showed significantly diminished habituation in the novel object recognition test. These results indicate that chronic paternal nicotine exposure can impact the behavior of offspring, producing locomotor hyperactivity and impaired habituation.

中文翻译：

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大鼠的父亲尼古丁暴露会在后代中产生长期的神经行为影响。

父母化学暴露的代际效应研究主要集中于母亲暴露，尤其是对后代的不良神经行为后果的研究。长期以来，已知孕妇尼古丁暴露会对后代造成不良的神经行为影响。然而，还发现，父本中毒暴露会对他们的后代造成神经行为毒性。近期研究表明，父亲暴露于尼古丁会产生表观遗传效应，尽管尚不清楚此类变化是否会导致神经行为效应。在当前的研究中，我们调查了父本尼古丁暴露对其后代神经行为发育的影响。将雄性Sprague-Dawley大鼠连续2天暴露于0或2 mg / kg /天的尼古丁（sc），并连续使用2ML4渗透微型泵。治疗后，将这些雄性与未吸毒的雌性大鼠交配。在行为电池中测试了两性的后代，以评估运动能力，情绪功能和认知能力。父亲暴露于尼古丁不会影响后代的生存能力，健康或生长。但是，父亲的尼古丁暴露会大大改变后代的行为功能。当在青春期进行测试时，具有父亲尼古丁暴露的雄性后代在Figure-8装置中表现出运动亢进。当在成年期和不分性别进行重新测试时，暴露于尼古丁的父亲的后代在整个疗程中表现出自发活动习惯的明显降低。与对照组相比，暴露于尼古丁的父亲的雌性后代在the臂迷宫测试中表现出显着降低的反应潜伏期。除了运动亢进，在新的物体识别测试中，暴露于尼古丁的父亲的后代也显示出明显减少的习惯。这些结果表明，父亲长期暴露于尼古丁会影响后代的行为，导致运动亢进和习惯化受损。