title: Prenatal choline deficiency decreases the cross-sectional area of cholinergic neurons in the medial septal nucleus.
abstract: Levels of dietary choline in utero influence postnatal cognitive performance. To better understand this phenomenon, forebrain cholinergic neurons were studied in the 8-9 month old offspring of dams fed a control or choline-deficient diet from EDs 11-17. Serial sections were immunostained with antibodies against p75, a cholinergic marker. Neuronal morphology was analyzed in the basal forebrain, a heterogeneous area composed of several structures including the medial septal nucleus (MSN), nucleus of the diagonal band (DB), and the nucleus basalis of Meynert (NB). Neuronal cross-sectional areas were selectively reduced in the MSN of choline-deficient animals, compared to controls, but cell counts were not altered. Our findings suggest that cholinergic medial septal neurons may be selectively vulnerable to in utero choline deficiency.
authors.affiliation: Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC), VA Medical Center, 200 Springs Road, Bedford, MA 01730, USA. omalleyc@bu.edu
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: McKeon-O'Malley
authors.forename: Donald
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Siwek
authors.forename: Jeffrey A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Lamoureux
authors.forename: Christina L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Neil W
authors.initials: NW
authors.lastname: Kowall
mesh_terms: D019412:Anatomy, Cross-Sectional; D000818:Animals; D002452:Cell Count; D002796:Choline Deficiency / Q000378:metabolism*; D004622:Embryo, Mammalian; D005260:Female; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D020800:Receptor, Nerve Growth Factor; D017475:Receptors, Nerve Growth Factor / Q000378:metabolism*; D020665:Septum of Brain / Q000196:embryology / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D020800:Receptor, Nerve Growth Factor; D017475:Receptors, Nerve Growth Factor