Effect of visual deprivation on protein and nucleic-acid content in cerebral cortex of rats after the eye-opening term.
Between postnatal days 10 and 16 the cerebral cortex of rats displayed a rise in protein content and a tendency towards RNA increase, whereas changes in DNA content (cell density) were absent. Young rats whose eyelids had been sutured and covered with black collodion at the age of 7 or 8 days exhibited some developmental retardation already by day 16. At an age of 5 weeks the brains of control, eyelid-sutured and dark-reared rats did not differ in their weight. However, dark-reared rats had a highly significantly increased RNA concentration in the occipital cortex (not differing significantly from controls) than eyelid-sutured animals (p less than 0.005). In the remainder of cortex, eyelid-sutured animals displayed an increase (p less than 0.10) of RNA concentration as compared with controls. The most pronounced intergroup differences were found on comparing RNA, DNA and protein concentrations between occipital and residual cortices within the individual animal groups. The difference was practically nil in control animals; all components were highly significantly raised (RNA: p less than 0.001; DNA: p less than 0.01; protein: p less than 0.001) in the residual cortex in eyelid-sutured animals; dark-reared animals displayed a similar tendency as eyelid-sutured animals that, nevertheless, did not reach statistical significance.
D000818:Animals; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000032:analysis* / Q000033:anatomy & histology; D004247:DNA / Q000032:analysis*; D003624:Darkness / Q000009:adverse effects; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009778:Occipital Lobe / Q000032:analysis; D009929:Organ Size; D011506:Proteins / Q000032:analysis*; D012313:RNA / Q000032:analysis*; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D012683:Sensory Deprivation / Q000502:physiology*; D014785:Vision, Ocular
D011506:Proteins; D012313:RNA; D004247:DNA