Pre-natal social stress and post-natal pain affect the developing pig reproductive axis

Ashworth, Cheryl; Hogg, Charis; Hoeks, Cindy; Donald, Ramona D.; Duncan, W. Colin; Lawrence, Alistair B.; Rutherford, Kenny

doi:10.1530/rep-11-0280

Cited by 21 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Limited evidence from studies in pigs indicates that prenatal exposure of pregnant sows to social stress may also affect the development of the reproductive axis in the male and female offspring (Ashworth et al 2011). In pre-pubertal females, prenatal stress significantly reduces the number of primordial follicles in the ovaries (Ashworth et al 2011).…”

Section: Effects On the Reproductive Axis And Reproductive Behavioursmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of maternal exposure to social stress during pregnancy: consequences for mother and offspring

2013

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A suboptimal in utero environment, for example, as a result of maternal stress, can have detrimental effects on the pregnancy and long-term adverse 'programming' effects on the offspring. This article focuses on the effects of prenatal social stress on the mother, her pregnancy and the offspring, since these issues have ethological relevance in both animals and humans. The consequences of social stress exposure depend on when during pregnancy the stress occurs, and many of the effects on the offspring are sex specific. Social stress during early pregnancy tends to result in pregnancy loss, whereas stress exposure later in pregnancy, when the mother has already invested considerable resources in the foetuses, results in programmed offspring of low birth weight: a risk factor for various adulthood diseases. Neuroendocrine and behavioural responses to stress in the offspring are particularly sensitive to foetal programming by prenatal stress, indicated by enhanced hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis responses and increased anxiety behaviour, which result from permanent changes in the offspring's brain. The dysregulation of HPA axis function may also interfere with other systems, for example, the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, as there is evidence for alterations in steroidogenesis, reproductive potential and impaired reproductive/social behaviours in prenatally stressed offspring. Prenatal social stress also programmes future maternal behaviour, highlighting the potential for negative phenotypes to be transmitted to future generations. The possible mechanisms through which maternal stress during pregnancy is transmitted to the foetuses and the foetal brain is programmed by prenatal stress and the potential to overwrite programming of the offspring are discussed.Reproduction (2013) 146 R175-R189

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Section: Effects On the Reproductive Axis And Reproductive Behavioursmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In pre-pubertal females, prenatal stress significantly reduces the number of primordial follicles in the ovaries (Ashworth et al 2011). The long-term effects of this are unclear; however, studies in women indicate that the ovarian follicle pool may predict reproductive capacity in later life.…”

Section: Effects On the Reproductive Axis And Reproductive Behavioursmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of maternal exposure to social stress during pregnancy: consequences for mother and offspring

2013

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“…Various experimental studies conducted on mice, rats, and pigs showed that many environmental and ethological prenatal stressors can have injurious effects on the pregnancy and early and long-term adverse effects on the offspring. Different prenatal treatments and stress types, such as medications [1], drinking water restriction and deprivation [2][3][4], feed restriction [5], immobilization [6,7], light intensity [8], stocking density [9], restraint or social stressors [10][11][12][13][14][15][16], heat or noise [17], to which a pregnant female is exposed, can affect pregnancy outcome and influence many aspects of physiological systems in the offspring including sexual behavior, puberty onset, gonad function, reproductive hormones, and development of the reproductive organs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of Maternal Water Restriction on Sexual Behavior, Reproductive Performance, and Reproductive Hormones of Male Rat Offspring

Al-Khaza’leh

Kridli

Obeidat

et al. 2020

Animals

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The present study aimed to investigate the effect of maternal water restriction on sexual behavior, reproductive performance, and reproductive hormones of male rat offspring. Forty pregnant female rats were divided into two equal groups: Control (C) and water-restricted (WR). Control dams had ad libitum water access throughout pregnancy, while dams in the WR group were subjected to 50% water-restriction from day 10 of pregnancy onwards. The maternal water restriction provoked a significant reduction (p < 0.05) in body weight of dams before delivery and at birth and litter body weights of offspring at birth. Maternal water restriction did not affect relative weights of reproductive and body organs of male rat offspring. All hormonal concentrations, sperm count, and vitality in male rat offspring were not significantly affected by maternal water restriction. Maternal water restriction exposure induced significant (p < 0.05) reduction in intromission latency, intromission frequency, and post-ejaculation interval in male rat offspring while a significant (p < 0.05) increase in the ejaculation latency was detected in maternal WR group. In conclusion, this study suggests that maternal water restriction had a negative impact on some reproductive characteristics but did not severely affect reproductive performance and reproductive hormones of male rat offspring.

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“…Maternal gestational stress and housing can alter female pigs' puberty (O'Gorman et al, 2007;Estienne and Harper, 2010) and reduce ovarian follicles (Ashworth et al, 2011) and litter size (Jarvis et al, 2006). In male pigs, it can reduce anogenital distance (Lay et al, 2008), a biomarker for fetal androgen exposure during sexual differentiation, and postnatal reproductive hormone concentrations (Ashworth et al, 2011).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Previous research by Ashworth et al (2011) demonstrated that midgestation maternal social stress can influence postnatal testosterone concentration and testicular steroidogenic enzyme expression. However, midgestation maternal heat stress and crowding did not affect testosterone concentrations of pubertal boars (Kattesh et al, 1979).…”

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confidence: 96%

Growth and reproductive development of male piglets are more vulnerable to midgestation maternal stress than that of female piglets12

Mack

Lay

Eicher

et al. 2014

Journal of Animal Science

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In many mammalian species, prenatal stress masculinizes female and feminizes male offspring impairing their reproductive capacity. Regrouping gestating sows is a common, stressful production practice, but its impact on the developing pigs of the sow is not fully known. This study examined the effects of regrouping gestating sows and the administration of exogenous glucocorticoids on the growth and external reproductive morphology of pigs. At 37.2 ± 0.26 d of gestation, 6 cohorts of 18 sows (N = 108) were placed in 1 of 3 treatments: socially stable (Stable), hydrocortisone acetate (HCA), or mixed (Mixed). The HCA sows were administered 70 mg HCA, a synthetic glucocorticoid, twice daily during the 21 d experimental period. Each Mixed sow was penned with 2 companion sows (Companion) and regrouped on d 7 and 14 with 2 different Companion sows in a new pen. Stable and HCA sows were penned in treatment groups of 3 sows. Sow social rank was assessed weekly during feeding. After the 21 d experimental period, all sows were housed in gestation stalls for the duration of pregnancy. During the 21 d, Companion sows gained more weight than HCA and Mixed sows (P < 0.05) with Stable sows intermediate. High ranked sows gained more weight than middle and low ranked sows (P < 0.05). Mixed sows had greater head lesion scores than Stable and HCA sows (P < 0.05) with Companion sows intermediate. Head lesions increased with lower social rank (P < 0.001). Sow treatment did not affect farrowing rate, litter size, or sex ratio (P > 0.10). Social rank also had no effect on farrowing rate (P > 0.10), but affected total litter size (P = 0.03). High ranked sows bore and weaned more live females than low ranked sows (P < 0.05), in part due to differential preweaning mortality among female pigs (P = 0.01). Only male pigs were affected by sow treatment. Preweaning mortality was higher among male pigs from HCA than from Mixed sows (P = 0.04) with other treatments intermediate. Despite no weight differences in the preweaning period, at 160 d of age males from HCA sows weighed more than males from Stable sows (P = 0.01) with other treatments intermediate. Males born to Companion sows had longer relative anogenital distances, a marker of fetal testosterone exposure, than males from Mixed sows (P = 0.03) with other treatments intermediate. The prenatal environment affected the pigs in a sex-specific manner altering the growth and reproductive morphology of the males more than that of the females. RightsWorks produced by employees of the U.S. Government as part of their official duties are not copyrighted within the U.S. The content of this document is not copyrighted. middle and low ranked sows (P < 0.05). Mixed sows had greater head lesion scores than Stable and HCA sows (P < 0.05) with Companion sows intermediate. Head lesions increased with lower social rank (P < 0.001). Sow treatment did not affect farrowing rate, litter size, or sex ratio (P > 0.10). Social rank also had no effect on farrowing rate (P > 0.10), but affected total litte...

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Pre-natal social stress and post-natal pain affect the developing pig reproductive axis

Cited by 21 publications

References 32 publications

Effects of maternal exposure to social stress during pregnancy: consequences for mother and offspring

Effects of maternal exposure to social stress during pregnancy: consequences for mother and offspring

Effect of Maternal Water Restriction on Sexual Behavior, Reproductive Performance, and Reproductive Hormones of Male Rat Offspring

Growth and reproductive development of male piglets are more vulnerable to midgestation maternal stress than that of female piglets12

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