Intergenerational effects of moderate paternal alcohol intake

GOTFRYD, LUCILA; STINSON, MARCELO GABRIEL; FESSER, ESTEFANÍA AYLÉN; BIROLO, SOL CAMILA; CAMBIASSO, MAITE; CÁNEPA, EDUARDO; CALVO, JUAN CARLOS; FONTANA, VANINA ANDREA

Simposio; I Virtual Meeting of Latin American Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism (LASBRA): ?Neurobiology of alcohol-use disorders?; 2020

Latin American Society for Biomedical Research on Alcoholism (LASBRA)

The harmful effects of paternal alcohol consumption on the offspring is poorly explored and not yet fully understood. After moderate alcohol consumption (15% ethanol in drinking water for 14 days), the testicular germline and sperm of adult CF-1 male mice present histological and epigenetic changes, as well as damage to DNA integrity. Males (treated or control) were mated with untreated females and two-cell embryos were collected and cultured for 7 days. The embryos from treated males presented anomalous morphologies, evidencing a deleterious effect of the treatment on embryonic development. Other pregnant females were allowed to complete the gestational period and we found that the offspring of treated males showed lighter brains, and significantly altered physical (surface righting and hind grasping reflexes) and behavioural (open field test, dominance test) parameters. Alterations in dominance parameters, however, were reversible by early-life exposure to an enriched environment. Additionally, a screening for potential modifications in the expression of candidate genes in the medial prefrontal cortex of young adult males from the offspring of treated mice revealed elevated expression of ​Egr1​, a gene involved in neural plasticity. Moreover, we found testicular and spermatic changes in the offspring of treated males. Overall, our study provides critical insight into the effects of alcohol consumption on the reproductive capacity of male mice and their male progeny, and also suggests that moderate paternal alcohol intake may have a negative impact on its progeny´s social skills, although partially reversible with early stimulation in an enriched environment.Grants: Honorio Bigand FoundationSponsor LASBRA: Dr. Ricardo Pautassi