title: Perinatal choline deficiency delays brain development and alters metabolite concentrations in the young pig.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Adequate choline supply during the perinatal period is critical for proper brain formation, when robust neurogenesis and neuronal maturation occur. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine the impact of perinatal choline status on neurodevelopment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sows were fed a choline-deficient (CD) or choline-sufficient (CS) diet during the last half of the gestational period. At 2 days of age, piglets from sows within each prenatal treatment group were further stratified into postnatal treatment groups and provided either a CD or CS milk replacer, resulting in four treatment groups. At 30 days of age, piglets underwent magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) procedures to analyze structural and metabolite differences.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Single-voxel spectroscopy (SVS) analysis revealed postnatally CS piglets had higher (P < 0.001) concentrations of glycerophosphocholine-phosphocholine than postnatally CD piglets. Volumetric analysis indicated smaller (P < 0.006) total brain volumes in prenatally CD piglets compared with prenatally CS piglets. Differences (P < 0.05) in the corpus callosum, pons, midbrain, thalamus, and right hippocampus, were observed as larger region-specific volumes proportional to total brain size in prenatally CD piglets compared with CS piglets. Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) suggested interactions (P < 0.05) between prenatal and postnatal choline status in fractional anisotropy values of the thalamus and right hippocampus. Prenatally CS piglets had lower cerebellar radial diffusivity (P = 0.045) compared with prenatally CD piglets.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrates that prenatal choline deficiency has profound effects by delaying neurodevelopment as evidenced by structural and metabolic MRI assessments.
authors.affiliation: a Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , Urbana , IL 61802 , USA.|e Department of Animal Sciences , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , Urbana , IL 61802 , USA.
authors.forename: Austin T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Mudd
authors.affiliation: b College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , Urbana , IL 61802 , USA.|c Division of Nutritional Sciences , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , Urbana , IL 61802 , USA.|e Department of Animal Sciences , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , Urbana , IL 61802 , USA.
authors.forename: Caitlyn M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Getty
authors.affiliation: a Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , Urbana , IL 61802 , USA.|d Department of Bioengineering , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , Urbana , IL 61802 , USA.
authors.forename: Brad P
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Sutton
authors.affiliation: a Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , Urbana , IL 61802 , USA.|c Division of Nutritional Sciences , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , Urbana , IL 61802 , USA.|e Department of Animal Sciences , University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign , Urbana , IL 61802 , USA.
authors.forename: Ryan N
authors.initials: RN
authors.lastname: Dilger
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D001921:Brain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D002794:Choline / Q000378:metabolism / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002796:Choline Deficiency / Q000178:diet therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004032:Diet / Q000009:adverse effects; D056324:Diffusion Tensor Imaging; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D047109:Fetal Development; D005317:Fetal Growth Retardation / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D039382:Maternal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D055495:Neurogenesis; D059906:Neuroimaging; D009929:Organ Size; D010713:Phosphatidylcholines / Q000378:metabolism; D010767:Phosphorylcholine / Q000378:metabolism; D011247:Pregnancy; D034421:Sus scrofa
chemical_list: D010713:Phosphatidylcholines; D010767:Phosphorylcholine; D002794:Choline
keywords: Choline; Deficiency; Diffusion tensor imaging; Hippocampus; Magnetic resonance imaging; Perinatal; Piglet