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OBJECTIVE@#To explore the pathogenic role of changes of Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in the hippocampus in depression- and anxiety-like behaviors caused by prenatal stress (PS) in offspring rats.@*METHODS@#Twelve female SpragueDawley rats weighing 240-260 g were randomly divided into control and restraint stress groups. The rats in the control group received no interventions, and those in restraint stress group were subjected to restraint stress (three times a day, 45 min each time) at the gestational age of 14-20 days. The 1-month-old offspring rats underwent open field test and forced swimming test to assess the anxiety- and depression-like behaviors, and the expressions of Wnt1, Gsk-3β and β-catenin in the hippocampus were detected using Western blotting.@*RESULTS@#In open field test, the offspring rats with PS showed significantly decreased crossings of the center ( < 0.01) with reduced time spent in the center ( < 0.05) compared with control offspring rats. In forced swimming test, the offspring rats in PS group exhibited a significantly longer immobility time than in the control rats, and showed obvious depression- and anxiety-like behaviors. Compared with those in the control offspring rats, Gsk-3β expression increased significantly while the expressions of β-catenin and Wnt1 were significantly lowered in the hippocampus of the offspring rats in PS group ( < 0.01).@*CONCLUSIONS@#PS causes changes in Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway in the hippocampus to contribute to the occurrence of depression-and anxiety-like behaviors in rats.
Subject(s)
Animals , Female , Pregnancy , Rats , Anxiety , Metabolism , Behavior, Animal , Depression , Metabolism , Glycogen Synthase Kinase 3 beta , Hippocampus , Metabolism , Random Allocation , Rats, Sprague-Dawley , Restraint, Physical , Psychology , Stress, Psychological , Swimming , Psychology , Wnt Signaling PathwayABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE@#To evaluate the effect of prenatal mobile phone exposure on the expression of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA) and doublecortin (DCX) in dentate gyrus of offspring rats.@*METHODS@#The rat model of prenatal mobile phone exposure was established and there were three groups including control group, short term maternal exposure group and long term maternal exposure group(=6). From pregnant day 1 to day 17, pregnant rats in long term and short term maternal exposure group were exposed to an mobile phone in talking mode for 6 h/d and 24 h/d, respectively. Length of pregnancy, maternal body weight gain, litter size and pup's body weight were observed. The cell morphology in dentate gyrus of offspring rats at the age of 1 month was studied by cresyl violet staining. The immunohistochemical expression of PCNA and DCX in dentate gyrus of rat offspring were detected, and the expression of DCX and brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in hippocampus of rat offspring were evaluated by Western blot.@*RESULTS@#There was no difference in length of pregnancy, maternal body weight gain, litter size and pup's body weight among three groups. The morphological changes of pyramidal cells in the polymorphic layer and DCX-positive cells in the dentate gyrus were obvious in rat offspring of long term maternal exposure group. There were less PCNA-positive cells in dentate gyrus and decreased expression of DCX and BDNF in hippocampus by Western blot in long term maternal exposure group compared with control and short term maternal exposure group (all <0.05).@*CONCLUSIONS@#Long term prenatal mobile phone exposure might inhibit the expression of PCNA and DCX in dentate gyrus of rat offspring by down-regulating BDNF.
Subject(s)
Animals , Female , Pregnancy , Rats , Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor , Metabolism , Cell Phone , Dentate Gyrus , Metabolism , Hippocampus , Metabolism , Microtubule-Associated Proteins , Metabolism , Neuropeptides , Metabolism , Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects , Proliferating Cell Nuclear Antigen , Metabolism , Radio WavesABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE:To investigate the toxicity effect of Jianpi shengxue granule on perinatal rats. METHODS:Based on body mass,pregnant rats were randomly divided into negative control group and Jianpi shengxue granule low-dose,medium-dose, high-dose groups(0.77,2.31,6.93 g/kg),21 in each group,and intragastrically given relevant medicines from the 15th d of preg-nancy until 21st d after delivery,once a day. Effects of Jianpi shengxue granule on general toxicity and fertility of maternal rats were observed,as well as the effects on athletic ability,learning and memory ability,fertility of F1 offspring and early viability of F2 offspring. RESULTS:In terms of toxicity effect on maternal rats,compared with control group,the days of pregnancy in Jianpi shengxue granule high-dose group was significantly prolonged(P0.05);there was no obvious effect on the indexes of offspring in Jianpi shengxue granule medium-dose,low-dose groups. CONCLUSIONS:The no toxic dose of Jianpi shengxue granule in maternal and offspring rats is 2.31 g/kg.
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Objective To explore the effect of preeclampsia on the expression of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis related genesin the hippocampus of adolescent offspring rats.Methods The pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into two groups to be given 125 mg · kg-1 ·d-1 L-NAME or 1 mL pure saline by daily injection from day 14 to delivery.Serum corticosterone (CORT) levels in neonatal offspring rats were detected by ELISA.The mRNA and protein levels of glucocorticoid receptor (GR),corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH),CRH receptor 1 (CRHR1) and IL-6 in the hippocampus of 8-week offspring rats were determined by real-time PCR and Western blot,respectively.Results Compared with normal neonatal rats,the serum CORT concentration of neonatal rats with preeclampsia was increased (P＜0.05).Compared with normal adolescent offspring,the levels of GR,CRH and CRHR1 mRNA and protein were increased in the hippocampus of adolescent rats with preeclampsia (P＜0.05),accompanied by increased IL-6 mRNA and protein (P＜0.05),as a downstream inflammatory gene of the GR.Conclusions We found that adolescent SD rats exposed to preeclampsia showed alteration in the expression of HPA related genes in the hippocampus,which played a role in the impairment of learning and memory in children.
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Objectives To systematically evaluate the effect of music given to pregnant rats on the development of brain functions in the offspring rats and to provide scientific evidence for the application of antenatal musical training and the promotion of welfare for laboratory animals.Methods We comprehensively retrieved and collected the research literatures related to the effect of music on brain function development in offsprings of the pregnant rats from Pubmed,Web of Science,Cochrane Library,Wanfang,Weipu,CNKI and CBMdisc.The retrieval time was set from the foundation date of databases to 2 April,2016.We selected literatures according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria,evaluated their utilities,then extracted and qualitatively described the data.Results Seven experimental studies were selected in this study including 4 published in Chinese and 3 in English.The object laboratory animals of those studies were Wistar or SD rats.Music materials involved comfort music,classic music,violin concerto(Liangzhu/The butterfly lovers).Intervention were given to the pregnant rats roundly from the gestation until parturition.These results showed that,to some extent,music stimulations during gestation may promote the development of brain function and improve spatial memory of the offspring rats.However,expressions of some functional receptors were not significantly altered.Conclusions Appropriate music provided to the pregnant rats promote the development of brain functions in their offspring.
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Objective To explore the effects of prenatal exposure to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) on insulin resistance in adult offspring rats. Methods Nulliparous, time-matched Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into two groups (n=10 for each group):control group and LPS group. On the pregnant day 8, 10 and 12, rats in control group and LPS group were administered intraperitoneally with saline 0.5 mL or LPS 0.40 mg/kg, respectively. The blood levels of fasting plasma glucose (FPG), insulin and Leptin were detected at 90 days of age in offspring. The steady state insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR) and insulin sensitivity index (QUICKI) were evaluated in adult offspring rats. Results Compared with the control group, blood levels of FPG (mmol/L:7.72 ± 0.42 vs 7.02 ± 0.42), insulin (mIU/L:8.78 ± 4.10 vs 1.51 ± 0.27) and Leptin (μg/L:3.88 ± 1.40 vs 1.00±0.33) were significantly increased in offsping of LPS group, as well as HOMA-IR (3.01±1.41 vs 0.47±0.09) in-creased, while QUICKI (0.57±0.07 vs 0.99±0.08) decreased in offsping of LPS-treated rats. Conclusion Prenatal exposure to LPS can result in abnormality of insulin resistance in offspring rats.