Early maternal deprivation induces alterations in brain-derived neurotrophic factor expression in the developing rat hippocampus.
The effects of maternal deprivation (MD) during early postnatal life on the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) level were investigated in the present study. Wistar rats were assigned to either maternal deprivation or mother-reared control (MRC) groups. MD manipulation was achieved by separating rat pups from their mothers for 3h a day during postnatal days (PND) 10-15. At 16, 20, 30, and 60 days of age, the level of BDNF mRNA in the hippocampal formation of each group was determined using real-time PCR analysis. Early postnatal maternal deprivation of rat pups resulted in a significant increase in body weight at 60 days of age. The expression of BDNF mRNA in the hippocampus was significantly decreased at 16 days of age, and increased at 30 and 60 days of age. These data indicate that even a brief period of maternal deprivation during early postnatal life can affect hippocampal BDNF expression.
Kuma
Hiromi
H
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Kagawa University, 1750-1 Ikenobe, Miki-cho, Kagawa 761-0793, Japan.
Miki
Takanori
T
Matsumoto
Yoshiki
Y
Gu
He
H
Li
Hong-Peng
HP
Kusaka
Takashi
T
Satriotomo
Irawan
I
Okamoto
Hanayo
H
Yokoyama
Toshifumi
T
Bedi
Kuldip S
KS
Onishi
Shoju
S
Suwaki
Hiroshi
H
Takeuchi
Yoshiki
Y
D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000096:biosynthesis* / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D018507:Gene Expression Regulation, Developmental / Q000502:physiology*; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000378:metabolism*; D008426:Maternal Deprivation; D011247:Pregnancy; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar
D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor