Exposure to prolonged stress in pregnancy and/or lactation can lead to the future development of diseases. We aimed to study the effects of maternal stress on the biometry, metabolism, and penile morphology of young Wistar rats. Animals were divided into two experimental groups: Control Group (C) - pups from control mothers, without any intervention (n=5); and Chronic Stress Group (S) - pups from mothers who suffered variable stress in the third week of pregnancy (14th to 21st day; n=5). Food intake and body mass of the pups (n=10, in the C group and n=9 in the S group) were checked; at euthanasia (three months old), fat deposits and penis were removed. At birth and weaning, S animals were lighter than C animals, [-33.72% (p=0.0422) and -17.07% (p=0.0018)], respectively. However, the final body mass and body mass delta showed no differences. Food intake and fat deposits also did not differ. However, the S group was hyperglycemic at 30 and 60 days of life [+20.59% (p=0.0042) and +14.56% (p=0.0079), respectively], despite the glycemia measured at 90 days showing no difference between groups. Penile areas and surface densities of the corpora cavernosa components were similar between groups. The results indicate that maternal stress is an important metabolic programmer, which generates low birth weight and accelerated recovery of body mass after birth (catch-up). However, in an early analysis (90 days of life), exposure to gestational stress did not change the morphology of the offspring's penis in adulthood.

中文翻译：

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母体应激对幼年大鼠代谢和阴茎形态的影响。

怀孕和/或哺乳期长期承受压力可能会导致未来疾病的发展。我们的目的是研究母亲压力对年轻 Wistar 大鼠的生物特征、代谢和阴茎形态的影响。动物被分为两个实验组：对照组（C）-来自对照母亲的幼崽，没有任何干预（n = 5）；慢性应激组 (S) - 来自在怀孕第三周（第 14 至 21 天；n=5）遭受不同压力的母亲的幼崽。检查幼犬的食物摄入量和体重（C组n=10，S组n=9）；安乐死时（三个月大），脂肪沉积物和阴茎被移除。出生和断奶时，S 动物比 C 动物轻，分别为 [-33.72% (p=0.0422) 和 -17.07% (p=0.0018)]。然而，最终的体重和体重增量没有显示出差异。食物摄入量和脂肪沉积也没有差异。然而，S 组在出生后 30 天和 60 天时血糖升高[分别为 +20.59% (p=0.0042) 和 +14.56% (p=0.0079)]，尽管 90 天时测量的血糖显示各组之间没有差异。各组之间的阴茎面积和海绵体成分的表面密度相似。结果表明，母亲压力是一个重要的代谢程序，它会导致低出生体重并加速出生后体重的恢复（追赶）。然而，在早期分析（出生后 90 天）中，暴露于妊娠应激并没有改变后代成年后阴茎的形态。