Fig. 6
Experimental protocol. Pregnant New-Zealand white female rabbits were exposed by nose-only inhalation to either clean air (control group; N = 14) or DE containing diluted DEP (1 mg/m3) (exposed group; N = 14) for 2 h/day, 5 days/week, from gestational day 3 (GD3) to day 27. At GD28, 12 dams (N = 5 controls; N = 7 exposed) were euthanized and their fetuses sacrificed by decapitation. Fetal olfactory mucosa (OM), hemi-olfactory bulbs (OB) and whole brains were dissected. Random samples of the latter structures were chosen for structural and chemical measures
Eighteen exposed or control dams (N = 9 each) gave birth to F1 offspring. The day of birth was settled as postnatal day 0 (PND0). At PND2, offspring were examined for their odor-guided behavior in response to the presentation of the rabbit mammary pheromone 2-Methyl-3-butyn-2-ol (2MB2). They were then raised in control conditions in order to study long-term and intergenerational effects of this gestational DE exposure.