title: Prenatal stress on the kinetic properties of Ca2+ and K+ channels in offspring hippocampal CA3 pyramidal neurons.
abstract: Prenatal stress is known to cause neuronal loss and oxidative damage in the hippocampus of offspring rats. To further understand the mechanisms, the present study was undertaken to investigate the effects of prenatal stress on the kinetic properties of high-voltage-activated (HVA) Ca(2+) and K(+) channels in freshly isolated hippocampal CA3 pyramidal neurons of offspring rats. Pregnant rats in the prenatal stress group were exposed to restraint stress on days 14-20 of pregnancy three times daily for 45 min. The patch clamp technique was employed to record HVA Ca(2+) and K(+) channel currents. Prenatal stress significantly increased HVA Ca(2+) channel disturbance including the maximal average HVA calcium peak current amplitude (-576.52+/-7.03 pA in control group and -702.05+/-6.82 pA in prenatal stress group, p<0.01), the maximal average HVA Ca(2+) current density (-40.89+/-0.31 pA/pF in control group and -49.44+/-0.37 pA/pF in prenatal stress group, p<0.01), and the maximal average integral current of the HVA Ca(2+) channel (106.81+/-4.20 nA ms in control group and 133.49+/-4.59 nA ms in prenatal stress group, p<0.01). The current-voltage relationship and conductance--voltage relationship of HVA Ca(2+) channels and potassium channels in offspring CA3 neurons were not affected by prenatal stress. These data suggest that exposure of animals to stressful experience during pregnancy can exert effects on calcium ion channels of offspring hippocampal neurons and that the calcium channel disturbance may play a role in prenatal stress-induced neuronal loss and oxidative damage in offspring brain.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physiology and Pathophysiology, School of Medicine, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Key laboratory of Environment and Gene Related to Diseases (Xi'an Jiaotong University), Ministry of Education, Xi'an, Shaanxi 710061, PR China.
authors.forename: Qing
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.forename: Zhongliang
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Xiaoli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Fan
authors.forename: Ning
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.forename: Zhuanli
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Bai
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Xia
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Jiankang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D015220:Calcium Channels / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D018408:Patch-Clamp Techniques; D015221:Potassium Channels / Q000378:metabolism*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications; D017966:Pyramidal Cells / Q000378:metabolism*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D012149:Restraint, Physical / Q000523:psychology*; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D015220:Calcium Channels; D015221:Potassium Channels