Fig. 7: Embryo-to-adult effects of prenatal 5HT on adult behavior and adrenals are similar to the effect of stress induced in pregnant mothers.

a Pregnant Wistar rats were administered 5HTP during E11.5–E15.5, and their offspring (P)75 was analyzed with the behavioral tests and catecholamine measurements. b The size of adrenal glands in animals from the 5HTP-treated females was significantly smaller then from control group. Mann–Whitney test, p-value * < 0.05, biological n = male: 11 (control), 8 (5HTP); female: 12 (control), 10 (5HTP). c Major catecholamines measured in ng/mg of tissue, ng/organ and ng/mL of plasma by HPLC-MS. Note: ng/mg of tissue reflects normal function of chromaffin cells, and does not change; ng/organ decreases in 5HTP-treated group. Mann–Whitney test, p-value ns > 0.05, * < 0.05, biological n = male: 11 (control), 8 (5HTP); female 12 (control), 10 (5HTP), for plasma n = male: 10 (control), 7 (5HTP); female 10 (female), 8 (female). d Aggression-assessing behavioral tests: “resident-intruder test” (top) and “foot shock-induced aggression test” (bottom) indicate the reduced aggression in the 5HTP-treated group. Mann–Whitney test, p-value ns > 0.05, biological n = 14 and 15 (control), 15 (5HTP group). e Pregnant BalbC mice were exposed to a mild stress (1 h restrain) at E10.5–E14.5, followed by 5HT measurements in the embryo trunks and placentas. Note: the 5HT levels were increased similarly to experiment with 5HTP-treatment (refer to Fig. 2a, b). Mann–Whitney test, p-value * <0.05, ** < 0.002, biological n = 9. f Pregnant BalbC mice were exposed to a mild stress (1 h restrain) at E10.5–E14.5, and their P30 offspring was tested for the size of adrenal medulla and aggression. Note: the proportion of adrenal medulla was significantly lower in the stress-induced group similarly to the 5HTP-treated group (refer to Fig. 2h). Shapiro–Wilk test for normality, unpaired double-sided t-test p-value, **** < 0.0001, n (adrenal gland) =40 (control male), 24 (1 h restrain male), 35 (control female), 32 (1 h restrain female). g The ratio of adrenal medulla of the adrenal gland in C. rutilus. Mann–Whitney test, p-value * < 0.05, *** < 0.001, biological n (adrenal gland) = male: 31 (resident), 29 (migrant); female: 25 (resident), 21 (migrant). In all violon plots the green line—median, the red lines—quartiles.