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Effect of prenatal protein deprivation on postnatal granule cell generation in the hippocampal dentate gyrus
W A Debassio1, T L Kemper, J Tonkiss
1Department of Pediatrics, Boston University School of Medicine, MA 02118, USA.
Insights
Prenatal malnutrition in rats significantly impacts granule cell neurogenesis in the hippocampus, with lasting effects even after nutritional rehabilitation. This study reveals critical developmental changes in brain cell formation due to early-life nutrition.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Nutritional Science
Background:
- Prenatal malnutrition can disrupt normal brain development.
- The hippocampus, crucial for learning and memory, is particularly vulnerable to nutritional insults.
- Understanding the long-term effects of prenatal malnutrition on hippocampal neurogenesis is vital.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of prenatal protein-deprivation malnutrition on postnatal granule cell neurogenesis in the rat hippocampal formation.
- To determine if these effects persist following nutritional rehabilitation at birth.
Main Methods:
- Rats were subjected to protein-deprivation during gestation.
- Tritiated thymidine was used to label newly formed granule cells at different postnatal ages (P8, P15, P30).
- Animals were sacrificed at P30 or P90 to quantify labeled cells in the fascia dentata.
Main Results:
- Prenatal malnutrition significantly decreased the number of granule cells born early postnatally (injected P8).
- No significant difference was observed in cells born at P15.
- A significant increase in labeled granule cells was found in malnourished rats injected later (P30), suggesting altered neurogenesis timing.
- These alterations persisted even after nutritional rehabilitation.
Conclusions:
- Prenatal malnutrition profoundly alters the timing and extent of postnatal granule cell neurogenesis in the rat hippocampus.
- The observed changes in neurogenesis patterns are long-lasting and resilient to postnatal nutritional recovery.
- These findings highlight the critical window of vulnerability during prenatal development for hippocampal formation.
Abstract:
The effect of prenatal malnutrition, produced by protein deprivation, on postnatal neurogenesis of granule cells in the fascia dentata of the rat hippocampal formation was examined by injecting tritiated thymidine on P8 and P15 and sacrificing the pups on P30, or by injecting on P30 and sacrificing on P90. The number of labeled granule cells was significantly decreased in prenatally malnourished rats injected on P8, and unaffected in those injected on P15. In contrast, the number of labeled granule cells in prenatally malnourished rats was significantly increased in animals injected in P30. The study shows that prenatal malnutrition significantly alters the postnatal pattern of granule cell neurogenesis in rat hippocampal formation and that the effect persists despite nutritional rehabilitation at birth.