title: Maternal docosahexaenoic acid feeding protects against impairment of learning and memory and oxidative stress in prenatally stressed rats: possible role of neuronal mitochondria metabolism.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3; DHA) is known to play a critical role in postnatal brain development. However, no study has been performed to investigate its preventive effect on prenatal stress-induced behavioral and molecular alterations in offspring. In the present study, rats were exposed to restraint stress on days 14-20 of pregnancy, three times a day, 2 hours each time; DHA was given at the doses of 100 and 300 mg/kg/day for two weeks.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We showed that prenatal restraint stress caused (1) learning and memory impairment, (2) BDNF mRNA level decrease, (3) oxidative damage to proteins, (4) enhanced expression of nitric oxide synthase and apoptosis, and (5) abnormalities in mitochondrial metabolism that included changes in mitochondrial complexes I-V, and enhancement of expression of proteins involved in mitochondrial fusion/fission (Mfn-1, Mfn-2, Drp-1) and autophagy (Atg3, Atg7, Beclin-1, p-Akt, and p-mTOR) in the hippocampus of offspring.
  
  
  METHODS
  Besides the well-known role in child brain development, we reported the novel finding of DHA in protecting prenatal stress-induced cognitive dysfunction involving the modulation of mitochondrial function and dynamics.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Maternal feeding of DHA significantly prevented prenatal stress-induced impairment of learning and memory and normalized the biomarkers of oxidative damage, apoptosis, and mitochondrial metabolism in the hippocampus of both male and female offspring. These results suggest that maternal feeding of DHA exerts preventive effects on prenatal stress-induced brain dysfunction and that modulation of mitochondrial metabolism may play critical role in DHA protection.
authors: Institute of Mitochondrial Biology and Medicine, The Key Laboratory of Biomedical Information Engineering of the Ministry of Education, Xi'an Jiaotong University School of Life Science and Technology, China.
authors: Zhihui
authors: Z
authors: Feng
authors: Xuan
authors: X
authors: Zou
authors: Haiqun
authors: H
authors: Jia
authors: Xuesen
authors: X
authors: Li
authors: Zhongliang
authors: Z
authors: Zhu
authors: Xuebo
authors: X
authors: Liu
authors: Peter
authors: P
authors: Bucheli
authors: Olivier
authors: O
authors: Ballevre
authors: Yangfeng
authors: Y
authors: Hou
authors: Weiguo
authors: W
authors: Zhang
authors: Junkaun
authors: J
authors: Wang
authors: Yan
authors: Y
authors: Chen
authors: Jiankang
authors: J
authors: Liu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis; D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D001343:Autophagy; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids / Q000378:metabolism / Q000494:pharmacology*; D045222:Electron Transport Chain Complex Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D007859:Learning Disabilities / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008297:Male; D008431:Maternal-Fetal Exchange; D018782:Maze Learning; D008928:Mitochondria / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism*; D024101:Mitochondrial Proteins / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D009474:Neurons / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism*; D052248:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type I / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D011247:Pregnancy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects; D050050:Protein Carbonylation; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications*; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
chemical_list: D051017:Apoptosis Regulatory Proteins; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D045222:Electron Transport Chain Complex Proteins; D024101:Mitochondrial Proteins; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids; D052248:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type I; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II; C496318:Nos2 protein, rat