MDMA administration to pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats results in its passage to the fetal compartment.
Nicholas G Campbell, James B. Koprich, Nicholas M Kanaan, Jack W Lipton
Neurotoxicology and Teratology 2006 DOI: 10.1016/j.ntt.2006.05.006 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Pharmacokinetic study in pregnant rats Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Pregnant rats and their fetuses at embryonic day 14 |
| Intervention | MDMA |
| Dose | 15 mg/kg, subcutaneous |
| Duration | 8 h sampling period |
| Measures | HPLC |
| Topics | MDMA |
| Key points | MDMA (15 mg/kg subcutaneously) administered to pregnant rats at embryonic day 14 produced measurable MDMA and MDA in maternal plasma, amniotic fluid, and fetal brain over 8 hours, with reliable and reproducible metabolism across tissues. Amniotic fluid levels correlated strongly with fetal brain levels, suggesting amniotic fluid can serve as a proxy for fetal brain exposure. |
Abstract
Recent investigations have demonstrated that prenatal 3,4-methylenedeoxymethamphetamine (MDMA; ecstasy) exposure in rats results in significant and persistent changes in the developing brain. However, no published pharmacokinetic studies exist demonstrating that MDMA administered during pregnancy passes to the fetal compartment. This leaves open the question whether MDMA is directly acting on the fetal brain to produce the observed changes in previous studies, or whether such effects are an indirect result of MDMA administration to the pregnant dam. Therefore, pregnant rats were administered a single dose of MDMA (15 mg/kg, subcutaneous) at embryonic day 14 (E14) and the levels of MDMA and its metabolite 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA) were quantified in maternal plasma, amniotic fluid, and fetal brain over 8 h by HPLC. The time course of MDMA and MDA metabolism was reliable and reproducible in all tissues. There was a strong correlation between fetal amniotic fluid and fetal brain suggesting that amniotic fluid could be used to reliably estimate fetal brain levels without directly utilizing fetal brain tissue. These data also provide a framework for subsequent in vitro cell culture studies using biologically relevant MDMA doses.
Comparable studies
Other preclinical and animal studies on MDMA, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cited by 12
- A developmental comparison of the neurobehavioral effects of ecstasy (MDMA) Neurotoxicology and Teratology October 21, 2006
- Developmental outcomes of 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (ecstasy)-exposed infants in the UK Human Psychopharmacology: Clinical and Experimental July 1, 2015
- Neuronal reorganization in adult rats neonatally exposed to (±)-3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine Toxicology Reports October 11, 2016
- Prenatal Exposure to Alcohol and 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (Ecstasy) Alters Adult Hippocampal Neurogenesis and Causes Enduring Memory Deficits Developmental Neuroscience 2014
- MDMA: interactions with other psychoactive drugs. Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior October 2011
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Cites 12
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