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Fetal And Neonatal Exposure To Nicotine Augments Hepatic Fatty Acid Synthesis In Rat Offspring Long-Term, Noelle L. Ma

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

While nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) is presumed to be a safer alternative to smoking in pregnancy, the long-term consequences in offspring are still largely unknown. Animal studies now suggest that maternal nicotine exposure during pregnancy and lactation (MNE-PL) leads to a wide variety of adverse outcomes for the offspring, including increased adiposity. The focus of this study was to investigate how MNE-PL in rats may lead to liver dysfunction long-term in offspring through alterations in gene expression and epigenetic modifications. Postnatal day 180 (PND180) offspring exposed to nicotine during pregnancy and lactation (1mg/kg/day) exhibited increased circulating and hepatic triglycerides concomitant …