Prenatal exposure model simulating CO inhalation in human cigarette smokers: sphingomyelin alterations in the rat sciatic nerve

Prenatal exposure to low concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO, 150 ppm) ca uses long-term alterations in sphingomyelin ISM) homeostasis in peripheral nervous system, but not brain of male rat offspring. In particular, unlike sphinganine (intermediate of complex sphingolipid biosynthesis de novo), th e concentrations of sphingosine (intermediate of complex sphingolipid turno ver) were increased by 2.35-fold in the sciatic nerve of CO-exposed offspri ng with respect to controls (P < 0.05, overall one-way ANOVA). These subtle alterations were not accompanied by changes in motor activity (F = 0.25, d f = 1/10, n.s., overall one-way-ANOVA). The results suggest that the SM hom eostasis in the sciatic nerve is particularly susceptible to prenatal CO ex posure resulting in maternal carboxyhaemoglobin (HbCO) levels equivalent to those found in human cigarette smokers. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.