Neonatal administration of citalopram delays somatic maturation in rats

Abstract

We investigated the somatic maturation of neonate rats treated during the suckling period with citalopram, a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor. Groups with 6 male neonates were randomly assigned to different treatments 24 h after birth. Each litter was suckled by one of the dams until the 21st postnatal day. Body weight, head axis and tail length were measured daily from the 1st to the 21st postnatal day. Time of ear unfolding, auditory conduit opening, incisor eruption, and eye opening was determined. Pups received 5 mg (Cit5), 10 mg (Cit10) or 20 mg/kg (Cit20) citalopram sc, or saline (0.9% NaCl, w/v, sc). Compared to saline, body weight was lower (24.04%, P < 0.01) for Cit10 from the 10th to the 21st day and for Cit20 from the 6th to the 21st day (38.19%, P < 0.01). Tail length was reduced in the Cit20 group (15.48%, P < 0.001) from the 8th to the 21st day. A reduction in mediolateral head axis (10.53%, P < 0.05) was observed from the 11th to the 21st day in Cit10 and from the 6th to the 21st day in Cit20 (13.16%, P < 0.001). A reduction in anteroposterior head axis was also observed in the Cit20 group (5.28%, P < 0.05) from the 13th to the 21st day. Conversely, this axis showed accelerated growth from the 12th to the 21st day in the Cit5 group (13.05%, P < 0.05). Auditory conduit opening was delayed in the Cit5 and Cit20 groups and incisor eruption was delayed in all citalopram groups. These findings show that citalopram injected during suckling to rats induces body alterations and suggest that the activity of the serotoninergic system participates in growth mechanisms.

Neonatal exposure to citalopram, a serotonin selective reuptake inhibitor, programs a delay in the reflex ontogeny in rats

“…Thus, the possibility exists that the use of serotoninergic agents in the initial phase of life could have some effects on the body growth and sensorimotor functions. To this end, we observed (in a previous work) that rats neonates, treated with citalopram, showed a retardation of somatic maturation and a decrease in body weight gain 30 . The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that the administration of citalopram, a highly selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor 31 , in rats during the suckling period -the so-called brain growth spurt -results in adaptive changes in the appearance time of congenital reflexes.…”

Neonatal Administration of Fluoxetine Decreased Final Sertoli Cell Number in Wistar Rats

“…Experimental evidence indicates that serotonin (5-HT) can influence embryogenesis and growth presumably by acting as a developmental signal or as a neurotrophic factor as well (Liu & Lauder, 1992;Palén et al, 1979;Whitaker-Azmitia, 1991;Yan et al,1997;Deiró et al, 2004).…”

Neonatal serotonin reuptake inhibition reduces hypercaloric diet effects on fat mass and hypothalamic gene expression in adult rats

“…In this study, the reduced body weight of the animals subject to neonatal serotonin reuptake inhibition persisted into adulthood, even when these animals were exposed to a chronic hypercaloric diet. Our previous studies have demonstrated that low body weight, retarded growth and delayed reflex ontogeny are characteristic of animals submitted to serotonin reuptake inhibition during lactation (Deiro et al, 2006; Silva et al, 2010; Mendes‐da‐Silva et al, 2002; Deiro et al, 2004). These observations are in line with a recent study using rats treated with fluoxetine from postnatal day 8 to postnatal day 21, which proposed a hypermetabolic state for these adult animals, characterized by lower body weight maintenance and increased caloric intake and oxygen consumption (Kummet et al, 2012).…”