Prenatal exposure to nanoparticulate titanium dioxide enhances depressive-like behaviors in adult rats

•Prenatal exposure to TiO2 NPs decreased the level of CAT, GSH-PX and T-AOC.•Prenatal exposure to TiO2 NPs increased the level of MDA.•Prenatal exposure to TiO2 NPs induced oxidative damage to nucleic acids.•Prenatal exposure to TiO2 NPs enhanced the depressive-like behavior in adult rats. Titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) have the potential to produce reactive oxygen species and can be transferred from the mother to the fetal brain. The central nervous system exhibits remarkable plasticity in early life and can be altered significantly by environmental stressors encountered during fetal period. Additionally, prenatal stressors are involved with emotional problems in adulthood. The purpose of the current study is to evaluate whether prenatal exposure to TiO2 NPs could induce oxidative damage in the offspring brain and eventually affect the emotional behaviors in adulthood. The results showed that prenatal exposure to TiO2 NPs impaired the antioxidant status, caused a significant oxidative damage to nucleic acids and lipids in the brain of newborn pups, and enhanced the depressive-like behaviors during adulthood in the force swimming test and the sucrose preference test. These results suggest that the stress during fetal life induced by prenatal exposure to TiO2 NPs could be implicated in depressive-like behaviors in adulthood.