Effect of Nicotine Exposure During Pregnancy and Lactation on Maternal, Fetal, and Postnatal Rat IGF-II Profile

Smoking during pregnancy has been shown to result in an increased risk of low birth weight. However, the mechanisms underlying this association are poorly understood. The insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system plays a critical role in the regulation of feto-placental growth and development, and abnormal processing of proIGF-II may alter its biological function. Our goal was to investigate the effects of exposure to nicotine on maternal, fetal, …