Effects of maternally administered reserpine on the development of the cold stress response and its possible relation to adrenergic nervous system function.

Maternal administration of reserpine (100 microgram/kg/day) from day 8 of pregnancy until weaning of the pups produced no change in litter size, birth weight or weaning weight. At 70 to 80 days of age the offspring of reserpine treated dams were less able to maintain body temperature in response to cold stress with physical restraint. Similarly treated offspring exhibited a smaller rise in urinary free norepinephrine levels during the initial stages of cold exposure and they incorporated significantly less 14C from tyrosine into heart norepinephrine during acute cold exposure. No differences in incorporation of 14C into norepinephrine from tyrosine were evident when the animals were not subjected to cold stress. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that maternal administration of reserpine produces a permanent alteration in the ability of the offspring to respond to cold stress and that this deficit is related to an alteration in adrenergic nervous system development.