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Published on: November 20, 2015
Influence of penicillin-induced epileptic activity during pregnancy on postnatal hippocampal nestin expression in
Meril Baka1, Yiğit Uyanikgil, Mine Yurtseven
1Department of Embryology and Histology, Ege University School of Medicine, Izmir, Turkey.
Insights
Maternal epileptic seizures during pregnancy impaired newborn rat hippocampus development, showing immature structures and increased nestin cell density. This suggests potential harm to embryonic neurogenesis and maturation.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Epilepsy Research
Background:
- Limited data exists on the impact of maternal epilepsy on newborns.
- Clinical guidelines for managing epilepsy during pregnancy are challenging due to insufficient evidence.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate morphological changes in the hippocampus of rat pups exposed to experimental epilepsy in utero.
- To analyze nestin expression as a marker for neurogenesis and maturation.
Main Methods:
- Experimental epilepsy induced via intra-hippocampal penicillin-G in pregnant rats.
- Hippocampal tissues from newborn pups examined using light and electron microscopy.
- Immunohistochemical analysis of nestin expression in developing hippocampal tissue.
Main Results:
- Control and sham groups showed normal hippocampal maturation.
- Experimental group hippocampi exhibited immature, embryonal-like structures.
- Significantly increased nestin-positive cell density observed in the experimental group.
Conclusions:
- Epileptic seizures during embryonic development can impair hippocampal neurogenesis and maturation.
- Altered nestin expression indicates disrupted neuronal differentiation.
- Further research is needed to assess functional consequences on learning and memory.
Objects:
Current data concerning the effects of maternal epileptic phenomena on newborns are limited. In clinical practice, therefore, it is difficult to suggest proper guidelines on this issue. This study was carried out to investigate the morphological changes in the hippocampus of newborn pups of rats subjected to experimental epilepsy during pregnancy.
Methods:
Eighteen Swiss Albino rats were randomly divided into three groups (n=6): experimental group, saline-injected sham surgery group, and intact control group. In the experimental group of rats, an acute grand mal epileptic seizure was induced by 400 IU penicillin-G administration into their intra-hippocampal CA3 region with a stereotaxic device during the 13th day of their pregnancy. On the first neonatal day, pups were perfused with intracardiac fixative solution under anesthesia, and newborn hippocampi were dissected surgically for light and electron microscopic examinations. In an immunohistochemical study using Rat-401 mono-clonal antibody and peroxidase, nestin expression was analyzed in the developing hippocampal tissue.
Results:
Histologically, normal migration and hippocampal maturation were determined in the newborn rat hippocampus in the control and the sham-operated groups. It was observed that the morphological structure of hippocampus in the experimental group corresponded to the early embryonal period. Most importantly, it was found that nestin (+)cell density was increased in the experimental epilepsy group in contrast to the control and sham groups.
Conclusion:
It has been concluded that epileptic seizures during embryonic life may cause impaired hippocampal neurogenesis and maturation,explaining the potentially harmful effects of epileptic seizures on the embryo at the early stage of neuronal differentiation. This is the first report regarding the alterations in nestin expression in newborn rat hippocampus. In the light of such findings, it will also be necessary to evaluate the functional consequences of a va-riety of epileptic seizures on learning and memory in neonates.
