Gene expression in the mouse embryo following early pregnancy exposure to ethanol or nicotine

The in utero environment is a critical determinant of the immediate and future health of the developing fetus. Two of the most commonly used drugs during pregnancy are alcohol and nicotine. While prolonged gestational exposure to alcohol or nicotine has been associated with a range of adverse outcomes in the offspring, the consequences of exposure during early gestation only are less well understood. Here, we use mouse models of relatively moderate early gestational ethanol or nicotine exposure to profile gene expression in whole male embryos at 9.5 days post coitum using an Illumina microarray. Three treatment groups: ethanol-exposed (Ethanol), nicotine-exposed (Nicotine) and water (Control), with 12 replicates per group.