title: Alteration of rat hippocampal neurogenesis and neuronal nitric oxide synthase expression upon prenatal exposure to tamoxifen.
abstract: The present study delineates the effect of tamoxifen on neuronal density and expression of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) in hippocampal nerve cells during prenatal and postnatal periods in rats. Pregnant rats were administered with tamoxifen one day prior to labor (E21) and on the childbirth day (E22). Hippocampi of embryos at E22 and newborns at postnatal days of 1, 7, and 21 (P1, P7, and P21) were investigated. Density of the neurons in areas of the developing hippocampus including cornu ammonis (CA1, CA3), dentate gyrus, and subiculum were studied. Our findings show that the number of pyramidal neurons was significantly decreased in CA1 and subiculum of tamoxifen-treated rats in E22, P1, and P7. We found that cellular density was lower in early stages of development, however, cellular density and thickness gradually increased during the development particularly in the third week. We found that nNOS expression was decreased in E22, P1, and P7 in animals treated with tamoxifen. The present study shows that tamoxifen affects development and differentiation of postnatal rat hippocampus, CA1 neurons, and nNOS expression.
authors.affiliation: Department of Histology and Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran; Cellular and Molecular Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran; Anti-microbial Resistance Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran.
authors.forename: Maliheh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Nobakht
authors.forename: Mohammad Javad
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Gharavi
authors.forename: Kazem
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mousavizadeh
authors.forename: Maasoumeh
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bakhshayesh
authors.forename: Pedram
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ghafourifar