Prenatal Exposure to Gestational Nicotine before Neurulation is Detrimental to Neurodevelopment of Wistar Rats’ Offspring

BACKGROUND AND AIM: This study aimed to determine the effect of gestational nicotine exposure before neurodevelopment on the morphology and histology of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in rats. METHODOLOGY: Adult female Wistar rats were time-mated and grouped into three categories: (a) control–given 0.1 mL of normal saline, (b) low-dose nicotine–given 6.88 mg/ kg/d/0.05 mL, and (c) high-dose nicotine–given 13.76 mg/kg/d/0.1 mL in two divided doses. Treatment was given intraperitoneally from gestational days 2 to 6. On postnatal day 15 (P15), the pups were separated from their mothers, anaesthetised and sacrificed, followed by intracardial perfusion with 4% paraformaldehyde. PFC was excised from the brain and processed for tissue histology, histochemistry, and morphology of brain cells. RESULTS: Gestational nicotine exposure during the first week of gestation in rats significantly reduced birth weights in nicotine-treated groups compared with control; it, however, accelerated body weights, altered neuronal morphology, and elevated astrocytic count significantly, while oligodendroglial count was slightly increased in the PFC of juvenile rats examined at P15. CONCLUSION: These alterations revealed that gestational nicotine exposure before the commencement of the cellular processes involved in brain development negatively affects neurodevelopment, and this could result in neurological dysfunctions in later life.