Prenatal valproic acid exposure decreases neuronal membrane order in rat offspring hippocampus and cortex.
Sprague-Dawley rats were administered 0 or 200 mg/kg of valproic acid (VPA) on days 7-18 of gestation. Controls were pair-fed. On postnatal day 28, analyses of brain tissues were performed on enriched neuronal membrane fractions from cerebellum, hippocampus, and cortex for anisotropy using the membrane probe 1,6-diphenyl-1,3,5-hexatriene (DPH). No significant differences in membrane anisotropy were noted in the cerebellum, but a significant reduction in anisotropy in the hippocampus and cortex was observed. This change corresponds to a 3-5 degrees C increase in temperature or that produced by other membrane disordering agents (ethanol, phenytoin). An association between membrane anisotropy and functional effects of prenatal VPA exposure is discussed.
Institute for Developmental Research, Children's Hospital Research Foundation, Cincinnati, OH.
C V
CV
Vorhees
S L
SL
Rauch
R J
RJ
Hitzemann
D000818:Animals; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D005454:Fluorescence Polarization; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D013570:Synaptic Membranes / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D014635:Valproic Acid / Q000633:toxicity*
D014635:Valproic Acid