Repeated gestational exposure to diesel engine exhaust affects the fetal olfactory system and alters olfactory-based behavior in rabbit offspring

Table 1 Effects of DE exposure on the serotonergic pathway of GD28 fetuses

	Control		Exposed		Effects of DE exposure		Effects of Sex		Exposure × Sex
	Male (n = 4)	Female (n = 4)	Male (n = 4)	Female (n = 4)	F (1,15)	p-value	F (1,15)	p-value	F (1,15)	p-value
Trp (fmol/mg)	77,941 ± 4357.6	77,737 ± 9898.7	66,086 ± 7164.3	79,000 ± 7635.3	0.139	0.716	0.983	0.343	0.582	0.462
K (fmol/mg)	14,844 ± 689.1	13,875 ± 1144.6	12,028 ± 1334.5	12,611 ± 1312.6	0.669	0.431	0.000	0.995	0.049	0.829
5-HT (fmol/mg)	1718 ± 228.3	1546 ± 151.4	1081 ± 158.8	1187 ± 133.4	6.972	0.023*	0.046	0.833	0.724	0.413
5-HT/Trp	0.022 ± 0.004	0.020 ± 0.001	0.017 ± 0.003	0.015 ± 0.002	3.457	0.090	0.628	0.445	0.081	0.782
5-HIAA (fmol/mg)	170.0 ± 39.16	163.8 ± 32.29	197.9 ± 73.28	156.4 ± 18.62	0.244	0.631	0.199	0.664	0.136	0.720
5-HIAA/5-HT	0.098 ± 0.016	0.117 ± 0.011	0.184 ± 0.056	0.136 ± 0.023	0.822	0.384	0.455	0.514	0.638	0.441

Basal rates of Tryptophan (Trp), Kynurenine (K), Serotonin (5-HT) and 5-Hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA), along with the correspondent ratios. Results were expressed as fentomoles/milligram of fresh tissues (fmol/mg). Results are shown as mean ± SEM. *p < 0.05 represented a significant difference between each group. 5-HT levels were decreased in exposed fetuses compared to controls. No significant difference existed between groups regarding the other variables of interest

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