Neuron transplantation reverses phenobarbital-induced behavioral birth defects in mice.
Mice were exposed to phenobarbital prenatally on gestation days 9-18 (B mice), and were tested at adulthood for behavioral changes. B mice showed deficits in the eight-arm maze, a behavior related to the septohippocampal pathways. Consequently, transplantation of septal (mostly cholinergic) and locus coeruleus (mostly noradrenergic) neurons was applied to reverse the behavioral deficits. Most (75%) of the controls but none of the B mice reached a specific criterion in the eight-arm maze. However, transplantation of fetal septal tissue into the hippocampus of B mice enabled 55% of them to reach criterion. Transplantation of locus coeruleus tissue did not improve the performance of B mice. The viability of the transplants was confirmed in cytochemical studies. The results suggest that transplantation of neurons can be applied to reverse phenobarbital-induced behavioral birth defects.
Yanai
J
J
Melvin A. and Eleanor Ross Laboratory for Studies in Neural Birth Defects, Department of Anatomy and Embryology, Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel.
Pick
C G
CG
D000109:Acetylcholine / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology*; D008125:Locus Coeruleus / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology / Q000637:transplantation*; D051379:Mice; D009638:Norepinephrine / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D010634:Phenobarbital / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D012686:Septal Nuclei / Q000378:metabolism / Q000502:physiology / Q000637:transplantation*
D000109:Acetylcholine; D009638:Norepinephrine; D010634:Phenobarbital