Effect of cigarette smoke exposure during pregnancy and lactation of rats and the offspring on the serum and morphometric parameters

PURPOSE: to investigate the effect of cigarette smoke exposure on body and tissue weight gain, serum parameters and milk yield during pregnancy and lactation in rats, and the impact on offspring from birth toil young adulthood. METHODS: 40 Wistar pregnant rats were randomly divided into: CG - not exposed to cigarette smoke and sacrificed at the end of pregnancy; CL - not exposed to cigarette smoke and sacrificed at the end of lactation; FG - exposed to cigarette smoke and sacrificed at the end of pregnancy; FL - exposed to cigarette smoke and sacrificed at the end of lactation. The offspring were separated by gender and divided according to their mothers' groups. Tissue weight, body weight and serum parameters were evaluated in rats and offspring. Milk yield per pup was calculated. RESULTS: body weight was decreased in FL during lactation (CL=267.0 +/- 7.2; FL=235.5 +/- 7.2 g*, * p<0.05). Adipose tissue was not detected in the CL and FL groups, and was reduced in FG compared to CG (CG=3.3 +/- 0.3; FG=2.4 +/- 0.3 g*, * p<0.05). Rats exposed to cigarette smoke had higher blood glucose levels (CG=113 +/- 17, CL=86 +/- 16, FG=177 +/- 21*, FL=178 +/- 23 mg/dL*, * p<0.05 CG versus FG e CL versus FL), CL and FL groups presented lower HDL-cholesterol with no change in total cholesterol. Finally, rats exposed to cigarette smoke had lower milk yield compared to unexposed rats (CL=6.7 +/- 0.4, FL=5.4 +/- 0.3 g*, * p<0.05). In offspring from the FG and FL groups, there was a decrease of body weight from birth to young adulthood, with no changes in gastrocnemius, liver or heart weights in any group, and adipose tissue was no detected in female offspring. There was an increase in blood glucose in offspring of both sexes from rats exposed to cigarette smoke (males: Pcg=107 +/- 10.5, Pcl=115 +/- 8.6, Pfg=148 +/- 16.8*, Pfl=172 +/- 11.2**; females: Pcg=109 +/- 27.2, Pcl=104 +/- 9.7, Pfg=134 +/- 20.0*, Pfl=126 +/- 13.3**; p<0.05 * Pcg versus Pfg and **Pcl versus Pfl). CONCLUSIONS: exposure to cigarette smoke provokes impairment of morphometric and serum parameters during pregnancy and lactation both in mothers and offspring, which is maintained during young adulthood.