Ameliorative effect of BDNF on prenatal ethanol and stress exposure-induced behavioral disorders

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) plays critical role in neuronal development, function, survival and plasticity of mature neurons. The present experiments investigated whether BDNF ameliorates the damaging effect of prenatal ethanol and stress exposure on behavior in offspring. Prenatal exposure of ethanol and stress combined during gestation inverted sexual partner preference of male offspring, increased social contacts with juvenile male mouse and stereotypic burying activity in the marble-burying test suggesting predisposition to homosexuality and to obsessive-compulsive disorder. Centrally administered BDNF (300ng i.c.v.) restored sexual female preference of male adult offspring and decreased marble-burying activity. Ameliorative effect was shown in 7-10 days after BDNF administration. The results provide the first evidence that BDNF improves epigenetic impairment of behavior and may have profound implications in the treatment of neurologic disorders induced by early environmental challenges.