DEVELOPMENT OF PROTOCOL FOR TRANSGENERATIONAL STRESS IN WISTAR RATS

Main Article Content

Dr. Robina Usman
Dr. Muhammad Omar Malik
Dr. Madiha Khattak
Dr. Syed Hamid Habib
Rifat Ullah Khan

Keywords

Early life stress, late life stress, restraint stress, chronic stress, cortisol, behavioural tests.

Abstract

Parental stress increases diseases in their children. In order to determine how offspring of stressed and non-stressed parents respond to chronic stress at different stages of life, a rat model was devised.130 healthy Wistar albino rats, 11 weeks of age were selected. Behavioural testing was done on all and stressed rats were removed.  Four rats were dissected for histopathology and 10 rats were sacrificed for baseline corticosterone and other hormones. The rats were divided into two groups of parent generation. One was case parents (n=70) and the other control (n=40). Parent cases were exposed to chronic unpredictable stress for three weeks. Behavioural tests were carried out to assess induction of stress in cases parents. Blood and histopathology samples were taken from 10 case parents. Rest of them were allowed to breed. Control parents were also mated at the same time. Offspring of both the groups were exposed to chronic stress, some in early life, some in late life, and some in both early and late life (all stressors for three weeks). Behavioural tests, blood for biomarkers and histology specimens were obtained after exposure to chronic stressors from all the offspring groups. Corticosterone was high in all the control offspring group compared to case offspring. Case offspring showed greater locomotion, rearing and central entries compared to control showing anxiolytic behaviour. Offspring of stressed parents were more resistant/resilient to the effects of stress as compared to the offspring of control parents.

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