ArticlePediatric research2023
Sex-specific inflammatory and white matter effects of prenatal opioid exposure: a pilot study.
Article in Pediatric research, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed, 16 citations in OpenAlex.
- Efficacy of stochastic vibro-tactile stimulation for newborns at risk of neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome.Pediatric research · 2026Trial
- A pilot multiplex salivary transcriptomic analysis to understand the sex-specific effects of maternal opioid use in offspring.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Fetal brain volumes and brain gyrification index associated with opioid exposure.Brain communications · 2026Article
- Severity of punctate white matter lesions in preterm infants: antecedents and cerebral palsy prediction.Pediatric research · 2025Article
- A Pilot Multiplex Salivary Transcriptomic Analysis to Understand the Sex-specific Effects of Maternal Opioid Use in Offspring.Research square · 2025Article
- Prenatal Opioid Exposure Is Associated with Punctate White Matter Lesions in Term Newborns.The Journal of pediatrics · 2025Observational
- Adolescent morphine exposure does not alter low-dose lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced sickness behavior in adult C57/BL6 mice.PloS one · 2025Article
- Sex differences in neonatal outcomes following prenatal opioid exposure.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2024Review
- DTI of Opioid-Exposed Fetuses Using ComBat Harmonization: A Bi-Institutional Study.AJNR. American journal of neuroradiology · 2023Article
- A review of the genomics of neonatal abstinence syndrome.Frontiers in genetics · 2023Review
- Article
- Methadone alters the peripheral inflammatory and central immune landscape following prenatal exposure in rats.Advances in drug and alcohol research · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundPreclinical data demonstrate that opioids modulate brain reward signaling through an inflammatory cascade, but this relationship has yet to be studied in opioid-exposed neonates.
methodsSaliva samples of 54 opioid-exposed and sex- and age-matched non-exposed neonates underwent transcriptomic analysis of inflammatory and reward genes. A subset of 22 neonates underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to evaluate white matter injury commonly associated with inflammatory response. Gene expression and brain MRI were compared between opioid- and non-exposed neonates and further stratified by sex and pharmacotherapy need.
resultsOpioid-exposed females regardless of pharmacotherapy need had higher expression of inflammatory genes than their male counterparts, with notable differences in the expression of CCL2 and CXCL1 in females requiring pharmacotherapy (p = 0.01 and 0.06, respectively). Opioid-exposed males requiring pharmacotherapy had higher expression of DRD2 than exposed females (p = 0.07), validating our prior research. Higher expression of IL1β, IL6, TNFα, and IL10 was seen in opioid-exposed neonates with T1 white matter hyperintensity (WMH) compared to exposed neonates without WMH (p < 0.05).
conclusionPrenatal opioid exposure may promote inflammation resulting in changes in reward signaling and white matter injury in the developing brain, with unique sex-specific effects. The actions of opioids through non-neuronal pathways need further investigation. IMPACT: Opioid-exposed neonates are at risk for punctate T1 white matter hyperintensity (WMH). Females carry a greater propensity for WMH. Salivary transcriptomic data showed significantly higher expression of inflammatory genes in opioid-exposed neonates with WMH than those without WMH, irrespective of pharmacotherapy need. Adding to prior studies, our findings suggest that prenatal opioid exposure may modulate white matter injury and reward signaling through a pro-inflammatory process that is sex specific. This novel study highlights the short-term molecular and structural effects of prenatal opioids and the need to elucidate the long-term impact of prenatal opioid exposure.
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