Effects of prenatal stress on kinetic properties of high-voltage-activated Ca2+ channel in freshly isolated offspring rat hippocampal CA3 pyramidal neurons / 南方医科大学学报

ABSTRACT

<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To investigate the effects of prenatal stress (PNS) on kinetic properties of high-voltage-activated (HVA) Ca(2+) channel in freshly isolated offspring rat hippocampal CA3 pyramidal neurons.</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The pregnant rats were exposed to restraint stress, and the hippocampal CA3 pyramidal neurons were freshly isolated from the offspring rats to record voltage-gate Ca(2+) channel currents in these neurons using whole-cell configuration of patch-clamp technique.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>PNS significantly increased HVA calcium current density and integral current but did not alter the steady-state activation and steady-state inactivation properties of HVA Ca(2+) channel in the offspring rat CA3 neurons. The maximal HVA calcium current density was -40.89-/+0.31 pA/pF in the control group (n=10) and -49.44-/+0.37 pA/pF in PNS group (n=8, P<0.01). The maximal integral current of the HVA Ca(2+) channel was 106.81-/+4.20 nA*ms in the control group (n=10) and 133.49-/+2.59 nA*ms in the PNS group (n=8, P<0.01).</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>Maternal exposure to stress during the critical phase of pregnancy may result in long-lasting effects on the ion channels of the hippocampal neurons in the offspring rats.</p>