title: Maternal creatine supplementation affects the morpho-functional development of hippocampal neurons in rat offspring.
abstract: Creatine supplementation has been shown to protect neurons from oxidative damage due to its antioxidant and ergogenic functions. These features have led to the hypothesis of creatine supplementation use during pregnancy as prophylactic treatment to prevent CNS damage, such as hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. Unfortunately, very little is known on the effects of creatine supplementation during neuron differentiation, while in vitro studies revealed an influence on neuron excitability, leaving the possibility of creatine supplementation during the CNS development an open question. Using a multiple approach, we studied the hippocampal neuron morphological and functional development in neonatal rats born by dams supplemented with 1% creatine in drinking water during pregnancy. CA1 pyramidal neurons of supplemented newborn rats showed enhanced dendritic tree development, increased LTP maintenance, larger evoked-synaptic responses, and higher intrinsic excitability in comparison to controls. Moreover, a faster repolarizing phase of action potential with the appearance of a hyperpolarization were recorded in neurons of the creatine-treated group. Consistently, CA1 neurons of creatine exposed pups exhibited a higher maximum firing frequency than controls. In summary, we found that creatine supplementation during pregnancy positively affects morphological and electrophysiological development of CA1 neurons in offspring rats, increasing neuronal excitability. Altogether, these findings emphasize the need to evaluate the benefits and the safety of maternal intake of creatine in humans.
authors.affiliation: University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Dept. of Earth, Life and Environmental Sciences, Campus Scientifico "Enrico Mattei", via Ca' le Suore, 2, 61029 Urbino, Italy. Electronic address: stefano.sartini@uniurb.it.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sartini
authors.affiliation: University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Dept. of Earth, Life and Environmental Sciences, Campus Scientifico "Enrico Mattei", via Ca' le Suore, 2, 61029 Urbino, Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lattanzi
authors.affiliation: University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Dept. of Earth, Life and Environmental Sciences, Campus Scientifico "Enrico Mattei", via Ca' le Suore, 2, 61029 Urbino, Italy.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ambrogini
authors.affiliation: University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Dept. of Earth, Life and Environmental Sciences, Campus Scientifico "Enrico Mattei", via Ca' le Suore, 2, 61029 Urbino, Italy.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Di Palma
authors.affiliation: University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Dept. of Earth, Life and Environmental Sciences, Campus Scientifico "Enrico Mattei", via Ca' le Suore, 2, 61029 Urbino, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Galati
authors.affiliation: University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Dept. of Earth, Life and Environmental Sciences, Campus Scientifico "Enrico Mattei", via Ca' le Suore, 2, 61029 Urbino, Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Savelli
authors.affiliation: University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Dept. of Biomolecular Sciences, via I Maggetti, 26, 61029 Urbino, Italy.
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Polidori
authors.affiliation: University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Dept. of Biomolecular Sciences, via I Maggetti, 26, 61029 Urbino, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Calcabrini
authors.affiliation: University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Dept. of Biomolecular Sciences, via I Maggetti, 26, 61029 Urbino, Italy.
authors.forename: M B L
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Rocchi
authors.affiliation: University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Dept. of Biomolecular Sciences, via I Maggetti, 26, 61029 Urbino, Italy.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sestili
authors.affiliation: University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Dept. of Earth, Life and Environmental Sciences, Campus Scientifico "Enrico Mattei", via Ca' le Suore, 2, 61029 Urbino, Italy.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cuppini
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D056547:CA1 Region, Hippocampal / Q000187:drug effects*; D003401:Creatine / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D003712:Dendrites / Q000187:drug effects*; D005260:Female; D017774:Long-Term Potentiation / Q000187:drug effects*; D008297:Male; D011247:Pregnancy; D017966:Pyramidal Cells / Q000187:drug effects*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley
chemical_list: D003401:Creatine
keywords: LTP; hippocampus; neuron excitability; neuronal maturation; pregnancy