title: Time course of the effects of prenatal gamma irradiation on the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus of Swiss mice.
abstract: A previous study reported that adult mice irradiated at the 16th embryonic day present a severe neuronal number reduction in the dorsal lateral geniculate thalamic nucleus. In the present study, we investigated the time course of the effects of prenatal irradiation on this thalamic nucleus. One day after irradiation, a great number of pyknotic figures were seen mainly in the cerebral proliferative zones. In the geniculate nucleus, only scattered pyknotic figures were identified. On the first week after birth, the geniculate nucleus presented frequent pyknotic figures. From five days after birth onwards, a severe shrinkage of the occipital cortex and a great reduction in the geniculate nucleus neuronal number were found. On the second week after birth this neuronal number reduction reached as high as 75%. At each postnatal analyzed age, severe volumetric geniculate nucleus shrinkage was combined to non-significant neuronal density variations. The presence of few pyknotic figures in the geniculate nucleus one day after irradiation and its delayed neuronal loss indicate an indirect effect of irradiation. We suggest that the effect upon the geniculate nucleus is secondary to the damage of the occipital cortex. A possible interpretation for thalamic neuronal loss is that geniculate neurons fail to establish cortical arbors after major target loss. In this case, the loss of trophic support should also be considered.
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Neurofisiologia e Avaliação Neurocomportamental, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. yael_a_v@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Abreu-Villaça
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Schanuel
authors.forename: S L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Schmidt
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D002452:Cell Count; D002454:Cell Differentiation / Q000502:physiology* / Q000528:radiation effects; D002455:Cell Division / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D002467:Cell Nucleus / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects; D048429:Cell Size / Q000502:physiology / Q000528:radiation effects; D005260:Female; D005720:Gamma Rays; D005829:Geniculate Bodies / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D019579:Neocortex / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects; D009474:Neurons / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects; D012183:Retrograde Degeneration / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D013788:Thalamus / Q000002:abnormalities / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects; D014795:Visual Pathways / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000473:pathology / Q000528:radiation effects