title: Minireview: the impact of antenatal therapeutic synthetic glucocorticoids on the developing fetal brain.
abstract: The life-threatening, emotional, and economic burdens of premature birth have been greatly alleviated by antenatal glucocorticoid (GC) treatment. Antenatal GCs accelerate tissue development reducing respiratory distress syndrome and intraventricular hemorrhage in premature infants. However, they can also alter developmental processes in the brain and trigger adverse behavioral and metabolic outcomes later in life. This review summarizes animal model and clinical studies that examined the impact of antenatal GCs on the developing brain. In addition, we describe studies that assess glucocorticoid receptor (GR) action in neural stem/progenitor cells (NSPCs) in vivo and in vitro. We highlight recent work from our group on two GR pathways that impact NSPC proliferation, ie, a nongenomic GR pathway that regulates gap junction intercellular communication between coupled NSPCs through site-specific phosphorylation of connexin 43 and a genomic pathway driven by differential promoter recruitment of a specific GR phosphoisoform.
authors.affiliation: Program in Integrative Molecular Biology (M.E.P., D.B.D.), Department of Pharmacology and Chemical Biology (M.E.P., J.Y.Z., L.U., D.B.D.), and Newborn Medicine Program (A.C.R.), Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, and Department of Neurobiology (A.P.M.), University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260.
authors.forename: Melanie E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Peffer
authors.forename: Janie Y
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Leah
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Umfrey
authors.forename: Anthony C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Rudine
authors.forename: A Paula
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Monaghan
authors.forename: Donald B
authors.initials: DB
authors.lastname: DeFranco
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000196:embryology; D005260:Female; D047109:Fetal Development / Q000187:drug effects*; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D006801:Humans; D011247:Pregnancy; D047928:Premature Birth / Q000188:drug therapy; D011297:Prenatal Exposure Delayed Effects / Q000139:chemically induced*
chemical_list: D005938:Glucocorticoids