FIG. 1.

Effect of prenatal cocaine exposure on Prkce mRNA and protein abundance in the left ventricle. Time-dated pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were administered saline or cocaine (30 mg/kg/day) from Days 15 to 20 of gestational age, and left ventricles were obtained from 3-wk-old and 3-mo-old male (M) and female (F) offspring. Prkce mRNA and protein abundance were determined using quantitative real-time RT-PCR and Western blot analysis, respectively. Data are mean ± SEM, n = 6. Data were analyzed by two-way ANOVA for each age, with cocaine exposure as one factor and gender as the other. ^aP < 0.05, cocaine vs. control; ^bP < 0.05, female vs. male.