INTRODUCTION: Previous studies have revealed that factors affecting the incidence and the course of multiple sclerosis and EAE are genetic predisposition, sex, sex hormone levels, and activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary‑adrenal axis (HPA). Chronic stress experienced by pregnant mothers leads to changes in sex hormones levels and HPA axis activity in adult offspring. AIM(S): This research is aimed at investigating the effects of prenatal stress (PS) on the incidence and the course of EAE as well as the level of serum corticosterone (Cort) and annexin A1 (ANXA1) in 200‑days‑old rats, offspring of females with different sensitivity to EAE induction. METHOD(S): The incidence and the score of EAE severity were analyzed. Serum Cort and ANXA1 levels were measured before and on the 10th day after immunization. EAE‑immunized females were divided into two maternal groups: EAE‑sensitive and EAE‑resistant. The mothers mated two months after immunization. PS was induced from the 15th day of pregnancy and until the birth under round-the-clock illumination and periodically recurring hypokinesia in pregnant rats. EAE was modelled in all descendants by inoculating a homogenate of rat spinal cord tissue with complete Freund’s adjuvant. RESULTS: The incidence rate in adult rats surviving PS was significantly lower than that in the control group. In the descendants of mothers resistant to EAE immunization, EAE severity rates and the plasma level of ANXA1 collected on day 10 after immunization were significantly lower in prenatally stressed females in comparison with both prenatally stressed males and females with normal embryonic development. The level of Cort collected on day 10 after immunization did not vary. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence and the course of EAE in rats depends on a combination of factors such as gender, PS, and the EAE‑sensitivity of mothers. FINANCIAL SUPPORT: Grant no. 0115U001048 of the National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine.
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