title: Maternal behavior regulates long-term hippocampal expression of BAX and apoptosis in the offspring.
abstract: Naturally occurring variations in maternal care influence hippocampal development in the rat. In the present study we found that variations in maternal licking/grooming (LG) during the first week of life are associated with altered hippocampal expression of BAX (group-1 tumor necrosis factor family mediated cell death effector) in 90-day-old male offspring. BAX-like immunoreactivity on western blots is significantly increased in the adult offspring of low-level LG mothers. There is no effect of maternal care on levels of either B-cell lymphoma-2 (BCL-2) (group-II mitochondria mediated cell death suppressor) or BAD (group-III endoplasmic reticulum mediated cell death effector). The most striking biochemical event in apoptosis is DNA fragmentation. Terminal deoxynucleotidyl transerferase (Tdt)-mediated dUTP-biotin nick-end labeling (TUNEL) and 4',6'-diamidino-2-phenylindole hydrochloride (DAPI) staining showed that the number of TUNEL-positive cells in both the dentate gyrus and CA1 region of the hippocampus is significantly increased in the adult offspring of low-level LG mothers. In conclusion, we propose that hippocampal neurons in the offspring of low-level LG mothers may be more vulnerable to loss through apoptosis.
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000502:physiology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D002352:Carrier Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000166:cytology / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism*; D020287:In Situ Nick-End Labeling; D008297:Male; D008425:Maternal Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000378:metabolism; D051381:Rats; D020318:Rats, Long-Evans; D013995:Time; D051028:bcl-2-Associated X Protein; D051025:bcl-Associated Death Protein
chemical_list: C494821:Bad protein, rat; C494828:Bax protein, rat; D002352:Carrier Proteins; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2; D051028:bcl-2-Associated X Protein; D051025:bcl-Associated Death Protein