EFFECT OF MATERNAL ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION ON VIABILITY AND VISCERAL DEVELOPMENT OF NEWBORN RAT

Abstract

The clinical observations that offspring of pregnant alcoholics are prone to congenital defects and abnormal growth and development (fetal alcohol syndrome) have generated interest in studying this problem in a well-controled experimental model. The effects of long-term maternal alcohol intake on offspring viability and growth and the DNA, total RNA, protein levels and DNA synthesis in brain, heart, liver and kidney of 3-day-old newborn rats were assessed. Chronic oral intake of alcohol (mean 21 wk plus 20 days of gestation) resulted in maternal blood alcohol levels of 67 to over 150 mg%. There was a significant increase of newborn mortality (30%) and a decrease in their body weight at 3 days in alcohol-exposed compared to pair-fed (non-alcohol) control pups (P < 0.025). Protein concentration was unchanged in heart, liver and kidney and was slightly elevated in brain of 3-day-old pups exposed to ethanol in utero. DNA synthesis rates were normal in all 4 organs, while DNA concentration was significantly lower only in the liver of the alcohol-exposed group (P < 0.05). In the alcohol group the total RNA levels were significantly depressed by about 10-30% (P < 0.05) in all 4 organs studied. Prolonged maternal alcohol intake had an adverse effect on newborn rat viability and growth and the total RNA and to some extent DNA concentration of vital organs.