University of Houston, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Houston, Texas, United States.
Weill Cornell Medicine, Houston Methodist Cancer Center, Department of Systems Medicine and Bioengineering, Houston, Texas, United States.
J Biomed Opt. 2023 Jul;28(7):076002. doi: 10.1117/1.JBO.28.7.076002. Epub 2023 Jul 18.
Maternal exposure to drugs during pregnancy is known to have detrimental effects on the fetus. Alcohol (ethanol) and nicotine are two of the most commonly co-abused substances during pregnancy, and prenatal poly-drug exposure is common due, in part, to the prevalence of unplanned pregnancies. The second trimester is a critical period for fetal neurogenesis and angiogenesis. When drug exposure occurs during this time, fetal brain development is affected. Several behavioral, morphological, and functional studies have evaluated the changes in fetal brain development due to exposure to these drugs individually. However, research on the combined effects of ethanol and nicotine is far more limited, specifically on fetal vasculature changes and development.
We use correlation mapping optical coherence angiography (cm-OCA) to evaluate acute changes in fetal brain vasculature caused by maternal exposure to a combination of ethanol and nicotine.
Ethanol (16.6% v/v, at a dose of ) and nicotine (at a dose of ) were administered to pregnant mice after initial cm-OCA measurements . Subsequent measurements were taken at 5-min intervals for a total period of 45 min. Results from these experiments were compared to results from our previous studies in which the mother was exposed to only ethanol (dose: ) or nicotine (dose: ).
While results from exposure to ethanol or nicotine independently showed vasoconstriction, no significant change in vasculature was observed with combined exposure.
Results suggested antagonistic effects of ethanol and nicotine on fetal brain vasculature.
已知母体在怀孕期间接触药物会对胎儿产生有害影响。酒精（乙醇）和尼古丁是怀孕期间最常共同滥用的两种物质，由于部分原因，计划外怀孕的普遍存在，产前多药物暴露也很常见。妊娠中期是胎儿神经发生和血管生成的关键时期。如果在此期间发生药物暴露，胎儿大脑发育会受到影响。一些行为学、形态学和功能研究已经评估了单独接触这些药物对胎儿大脑发育的变化。然而，关于乙醇和尼古丁联合作用的研究要少得多，特别是关于胎儿血管变化和发育的研究。
我们使用相关映射光学相干血管造影术（cm-OCA）来评估母体暴露于乙醇和尼古丁混合物对胎儿大脑血管的急性变化。
在初始 cm-OCA 测量后，向怀孕的老鼠给予乙醇（16.6%v/v，剂量为）和尼古丁（剂量为）。随后在 5 分钟的间隔内进行测量，总测量时间为 45 分钟。将这些实验的结果与我们之前的研究结果进行比较，其中母亲仅暴露于乙醇（剂量：）或尼古丁（剂量：）。
虽然单独暴露于乙醇或尼古丁的结果显示血管收缩，但联合暴露时血管没有明显变化。
结果表明乙醇和尼古丁对胎儿大脑血管有拮抗作用。
