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Sex-specific impact of prenatal stress on growth and reproductive parameters of guinea pigs

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Abstract

Body condition and reproductive maturation are parameters of reproductive success that are influenced by sexual hormones rising in the circulation during the time of puberty. Various endocrine systems can be programmed by conditions experienced during early life. Stress for instance is supposed to be capable of influencing fetal development, leading to adjustments of offspring’s later physiology. We examined whether prenatal stress (induced by exposure to strobe light) during early- to mid-gestation was capable of affecting later reproductive parameters in guinea pigs (Cavia aperea f. porcellus). Therefore, we measured the levels of testosterone and progesterone from the age of day 12–124 in prenatally stressed (PS, n = 20) and unaffected control animals (n = 24). Furthermore, we determined the timing of puberty and growth. Body weight development revealed significantly faster growth in PS females compared to control animals. The onset of first estrus was slightly earlier in PS females, however not significantly so. Cycle lengths and levels of progesterone differed between groups over the course of time with higher progesterone levels and more constant cycles among PS females compared to control females who displayed marked differences between first and subsequent cycles. Levels of testosterone did not differ between groups. We conclude that prenatal stress accelerates growth and maturity in females, but not in males.

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Abbreviations

HPA axis:

Hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis

LME model:

Linear mixed effects model

PS:

Prenatally stressed

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their comments that helped to improve this manuscript. The authors thank Edith Klobetz-Rassam for the great support with biochemical analyses. We appreciate the help of Jasmin Höfler in animal care taking. Facilities for animal keeping were kindly provided by the Institute of Virology. This study was financially supported by the Ph.D. Initiative Program BIOREC of the University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Integrative Biology and Evolution, Research Institute of Wildlife Ecology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Savoyenstrasse 1, 1160, Vienna, Austria

    Hanna Schöpper, Thomas Ruf & Susanne Huber

  2. Department of Pathobiology, Institute of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology, University of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210, Vienna, Austria

    Hanna Schöpper

  3. University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090, Vienna, Austria

    Teresa Klaus

  4. Department of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinärplatz 1, 1210, Vienna, Austria

    Rupert Palme

  5. Department of Anthropology, University of Vienna, Althanstrasse 14, 1090, Vienna, Austria

    Susanne Huber

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  1. Hanna Schöpper
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Correspondence to Hanna Schöpper.

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Communicated by G. Heldmaier.

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Schöpper, H., Klaus, T., Palme, R. et al. Sex-specific impact of prenatal stress on growth and reproductive parameters of guinea pigs. J Comp Physiol B 182, 1117–1127 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00360-012-0680-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00360-012-0680-9

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