title: Vitamin E and beta-carotene protect against ethanol combined with ischemia in an embryonic rat hippocampal culture model of fetal alcohol syndrome.
abstract: Neurodevelopmental damage can occur as a result of in utero exposure to alcohol. Oxidative stress processes are one of many proposed mechanisms thought to contribute to nervous system dysfunction characterized in fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS). Therefore, this study examined neuroprotective effects of antioxidant supplementation during ethanol (EtOH) treatment (0, 200, 400, 800 or 1600 mg/dl) combined with concomitants of EtOH exposure: acute (2-h) ischemia (aISCH) and chronic (16-h) hypoglycemia (cHG). The antioxidants vitamin E and beta-carotene protected embryonic hippocampal cultures against 0-1600 mg/dl EtOH/aISCH/cHG treatments. In addition, neuronal viability, as measured by MTT ((3,4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide; 5 mg/ml)), was equal to untreated cultures when supplemented with vitamin E or beta-carotene at 0-800 mg/dl or 0-200 mg/dl EtOH/aISCH/cHG, respectively. These in vitro studies mirror potential in utero ethanol-exposed CNS conditions and may lead to therapeutic strategies targeted at attenuating neurodevelopmental FAS-related deficits.
authors.affiliation: University of Florida Brain Institute, Center for Alcohol Research, Department of Neuroscience, University of Florida College of Medicine, Gainesville 32610-0244, USA. mitchell@ufbi.ufl.edu
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Paiva
authors.forename: M B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Heaton
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000494:pharmacology; D002545:Brain Ischemia; D002470:Cell Survival / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D000431:Ethanol / Q000633:toxicity*; D063647:Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000166:cytology*; D007003:Hypoglycemia; D009474:Neurons / Q000166:cytology / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D020318:Rats, Long-Evans; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019207:beta Carotene / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D019207:beta Carotene; D014810:Vitamin E; D000431:Ethanol