Table 4.
Summary of neurotransmitter measurements of selected 5-HT and nicotinic markers in medullary nuclei in the fetal baboon model of prenatal nicotine exposure
| Measure | Control Fetuses | Nicotine-Exposed Fetuses | Unadjusted P Value | FDR Corrected P Value | FDR Corrected P Value* |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | 6 | 5 | 5 controls | ||
| 5-HT1A receptor binding, fmol/mg tissue | |||||
| Dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus | 5.13±2.16 | 7.16±0.89 | 0.44 | 0.47 | 0.11 |
| Nucleus of the solitary tract | 3.18±1.18 | 7.49±1.60 | 0.05 | 0.12 | 0.11 |
| Hypoglossal nucleus | 2.30±0.93 | 4.15±0.91 | 0.19 | 0.23 | 0.15 |
| Raphé obscurus | 13.67±6.66 | 43.68±5.00 | 0.007 | 0.04 | 0.03 |
| Paragigantocellularis lateralis | 3.73±2.07 | 13.59±3.38 | 0.03 | 0.09 | 0.07 |
| Inferior olivary nucleus | 0.47±0.37 | 0.40±0.36 | 0.84† | 0.84 | 0.91 |
| 5-HT2A receptor binding, fmol/mg tissue | |||||
| Dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus | 0.54±0.13 | 1.01±0.21 | 0.08 | 0.16 | 0.11 |
| Nucleus of the solitary tract | 0.27±0.06 | 0.49±0.09 | 0.08 | 0.16 | 0.13 |
| Hypoglossal nucleus | 0.52±0.12 | 0.90±0.18 | 0.10 | 0.17 | 0.12 |
| Raphé obscurus | 0.18±0.04 | 0.32±0.06 | 0.10 | 0.17 | 0.17 |
| Paragigantocellularis lateralis | 0.25±0.07 | 0.55±0.10 | 0.03 | 0.09 | 0.11 |
| Gigantocellularis | 0.29±0.06 | 0.58±0.12 | 0.05 | 0.12 | 0.12 |
| Inferior olivary nucleus | 1.08±0.43 | 2.26±0.25 | 0.05 | 0.12 | 0.07 |
| Medial accessory olive | 0.78±0.30 | 1.45±0.24 | 0.12 | 0.19 | 0.15 |
| 5-HT transporter binding, fmol/mg tissue | |||||
| Dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus | 14.05±5.04 | 25.23±1.46 | 0.17† | 0.22 | 0.14 |
| Nucleus of the solitary tract | 11.21±3.62 | 17.71±0.86 | 0.17† | 0.22 | 0.20 |
| Hypoglossal nucleus | 16.06±3.62 | 29.41±2.83 | 0.17† | 0.22 | 0.14 |
| Raphé obscurus | 17.70±6.90 | 42.09±3.38 | 0.02 | 0.07 | 0.03 |
| Paragigantocellularis lateralis | 12.26±4.80 | 21.16±2.16 | 0.15 | 0.22 | 0.11 |
| Gigantocellularis | 12.49±4.55 | 24.46±1.62 | 0.08† | 0.16 | 0.12 |
| Inferior olivary nucleus | 6.98±2.35 | 10.53±1.22 | 0.24 | 0.28 | 0.17 |
| Medial accessory olive | 9.75±4.98 | 14.76±0.86 | 0.37 | 0.40 | 0.15 |
| α2-4, β2, or β4 nAChR binding, fmol/mg tissue | |||||
| Dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus | 19.62±2.20 | 30.83±1.49 | 0.003 | 0.030 | 0.010 |
| Nucleus of the solitary tract | 18.24±2.09 | 27.02±1.42 | 0.009 | 0.040 | 0.050 |
| Hypoglossal nucleus | 14.86±1.22 | 25.96±1.44 | 0.0002 | 0.003 | 0.009 |
| Raphé obscurus | 12.50±1.00 | 22.34±1.30 | 0.0002 | 0.003 | 0.009 |
| Paragigantocellularis lateralis | 16.35±1.09 | 29.73±1.17 | 0.008† | 0.040 | 0.090 |
| Gigantocellularis | 16.06±1.24 | 31.42±1.72 | <0.0001 | 0.003 | 0.004 |
| Inferior olivary nucleus | 29.31±3.94 | 44.49±1.60 | 0.009 | 0.040 | 0.050 |
| α7 nAChR binding, fmol/mg tissue | |||||
| Dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus | 9.61±0.83 | 5.62±1.03 | 0.02 | 0.07 | 0.09 |
| Nucleus of the solitary tract | 12.35±0.65 | 8.06±1.60 | 0.07† | 0.16 | 0.14 |
| Hypoglossal nucleus | 5.82±0.63 | 3.80±1.19 | 0.14 | 0.22 | 0.17 |
| Raphé obscurus | 4.06±0.50 | 3.38±0.57 | 0.34 | 0.38 | 0.29 |
| Paragigantocellularis lateralis | 4.76±0.75 | 3.99±0.85 | 0.52 | 0.53 | 0.45 |
| Inferior olivary nucleus | 4.36±0.43 | 2.98±0.58 | 0.09 | 0.17 | 0.12 |
Values are means ± SE; n, no. of animals. 5-HT, serotonin; nAChR, nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. P < 0.05 is considered significant. Unadjusted P values are from t-tests, and the last column gives the FDR correction for multiple t-tests.
†
Wilcoxon rank sum used instead of t-test (see materials and methods).
*
P value is following FDR correction with removal of the unoperated control fetus that did not receive saline infusions compared with nicotine-exposed fetuses.