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Peri-Conceptionnal Exposure to Sulphonamide Antibiotic Increases Anxiety and Reduces Social Interactions in Wistar Rat Offpring
Objectives: To determine how periconceptional exposure to SuccinySulfaThiazole (SST), a non-absorbable antibiotic, can affect behavior in rat offspring.
Methods: Females Wistar rats were divided in two groups: control, or exposed during one month before breeding until Gestational Day 15 to a diet containing 1% SST. Behavioral tests were then administered to offspring: nest-seeking behavior, open field, marble burying, elevated plus maze, and test of social interactions.
Results: Both males and females offspring exposed peri-conceptionnally to SST showed reduced social interactions. Male offspring showed altered olfactory discrimination of maternal odour in the nest-seeking behavior test and reduced exploration of the open arm in the elevated plus maze test.
Conclusions: Periconceptionnal exposure to SST provoke alterations in offspring’s behavior without any maternal infection, and given the fact SST is a non-absorbable antibiotic, we speculate that these neurobehavioral alterations are related to gut microbiota alterations.