• Title/Summary/Keyword: Fetal brain

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Periventricular leukomalacia induced by in utero clamping of pregnant rat aorta in fetal rats (태아 백서에서 임신 백서의 자궁 내 대동맥 결찰로 유발한 뇌실주위 백질연화증)

  • Chang, Yun Sil;Sung, Dong Kyung;Kang, Saem;Park, Soo Kyung;Jung, Yu Jin;Seo, Hyun Joo;Choi, Seo Heui;Park, Won Soon
    • Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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    • v.51 no.8
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    • pp.874-878
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    • 2008
  • Purpose : This study was undertaken to develop an animal model of periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) induced by in utero clamping of pregnant rat aorta in fetal rats. Methods : A timed pregnanct Sprague-Dawley rat on embryonic day 21 just prior to delivery was sedated and anesthetized, and a Harvard ventilator for small animals was applied. Following laparotomy, the maternal aorta was clamped reversibly for 40 minutes using a surgical clip. The fetal rats were then delivered by Cesarean section, resuscitated if necessary, and reared by a surrogate mother rat until postnatal day 21 to obtain the brain specimen. After systemic perfusion and fixation, $10{\mu}m$ thick serial brain sections were obtained and stained for pathologic examination and assessment of ventriculomegaly. Ventriculomegaly was assessed by the measured ventricle to total brain volume ratio. Results : Eight out of eleven fetal rats (73%) survived in the ischemia group after induction of in utero ischemia by clamping maternal rat aorta, and all ten survived in the control group. Body and brain weights measured at postnatal day 21 were significantly lower in the ischemia group compared to the control group. In pathologic findings, significant ventriculomagaly ($3.67{\pm}1.21%$ vs. $0.23{\pm}0.06%$) was observed in the ischemia group compared to the control group; although cystic lesion was not observed, mild (n=6) and moderate (n=2) rerefaction of the brain tissue was observed. Conclusion : A fetal rat model of PVL induced by in utero clamping of pregnant rat aorta was developed.

Effect of Maternal Undernutrition during Late Pregnancy on Growth and Development of Ovine Fetal Visceral Organs

  • Gao, F.;Liu, Y.C.;Hou, X.Z.
    • Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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    • v.22 no.12
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    • pp.1633-1639
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    • 2009
  • This study investigated the effect of maternal undernutrition during late pregnancy on the growth and development of ovine fetal visceral organs. One hundred Mongolian ewes were mated at a synchronized oestrus and divided into three groups and offered 0.175 MJ ME $kgw^{-0.75}\;d^{-1}$ (Restricted Group1; RG1), 0.33 MJ ME $kgw^{-0.75}\;d^{-1}$ (Restricted Group2; RG2) and ad libitum access to feed (Control Group; CG) during late pregnancy (90 days). Selected animals in each group were slaughtered immediately at d 90 of pregnancy and after parturition (neonatal lambs), and major visceral organs were removed and weighed separately. The results indicated that the weights of lung (p<0.01), spleen (p<0.01), heart (p<0.05), liver (p<0.05) and abomasum (p<0.01) in RG1 were significantly lighter than those of CG. For RG2, only the weights of the lung (p<0.05) and spleen (p<0.01) were significantly lighter than those of CG; when expressed as a percentage of body weight, significance was retained in the spleen (p<0.01) for both restricted groups, but the percentage of brain in RG1 was significantly higher than that in CG (p<0.01). For lung and spleen, the amount of DNA was significantly lower (p<0.01) in both groups of restricted neonatal lambs compared to CG; however, there was a significant difference only between RG1 and CG for protein: DNA ratio (p<0.01). The DNA content of kidney, abomasum and jejunum were decreased (p<0.05) in RG1 neonatal lambs, but protein: DNA ratio in the liver was decreased compared with that of CG (p<0.05). The plane of maternal undernutrition during late pregnancy had a significant effect on the growth and development of fetal visceral organs, which altered ontogeny of fetal organ growth and development. These perturbations in fetal visceral development may have significant implications on postnatal growth and adult health.

Radiation-induced Apoptosis in Developing Fetal Rat Cerebral Cortex (발육 중의 백서 태아 대뇌 피질에서 방사선에 의한 아포토시스)

  • Chung Woong-Ki;Nam Taek-Kehn;Lee Min-Cheol;Ahn Sung-Ja;Song Ju-Young;Park Seung-Jin;Nah Byung-Sik
    • Radiation Oncology Journal
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    • v.21 no.4
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    • pp.315-321
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    • 2003
  • Purpose: This study was peformed to Investigate apoptosis by radiation In the developing fetal rat brain. Materials and Methods: Fetal blains were Irradiated In utero between the 17th and 19th days of fetal life (El7-19) by linear accelerator. A dose of Irradiation ranging from 1 Gy to 4 Gy was used to evaluate dose dependency. To test time dependency the ra)s were Irradiated with 2 Gy and then the fetal brain specimens were removed at variable 41me course; 1, 3, 5, 12 and 24 hours after the onset of irradiation. Immunohistochemlcal staining using in situ 707-mediated dUTP nick end labelling (TUNEL) technlfue was used for apoptotic cells. The cerebral cortex, including three zones on coriicai zone (Cf). Intermediate zone (if), and ventricular zone (VZ), was examined. Results : TUNEL positive cells revealed typical features of apoptotic cells under light microscope In the fetal rat cerebral cortex. Apoptotic cells were not found In the cerebral cortex of non-Irradiated fetal rats, but did appear In the entire cerebral cortex after 1 Gy Irradiation, and were more expensive at the ventricular and Intermediate zones than at the cortical zone. The extent of apoptosis was Increased with Increasing doses of radiation. Apoptosis reached the peak at S hours after the onset of 2 Gy Irradiation and persisted until 24 hours. Conclusion: Typical morphological features of apoplosis by irradiation were observed In the developing fetal rat cerebral cortex. It was more extensive at the ventricular and Intermediate zones than at the cortical zone, which suggested that stem cells or early differentiated cells are more radiosensitive than differentiated cells of the cortical zone.

Epigenetic Responses Programmed by Prenatal Stress : $F_1$ Male Rat Model (출생 전 스트레스에 의해 프로그램된 후생학적 반응 : $F_1$ 수컷 흰쥐 모델)

  • Lee, Sung-Ho
    • Development and Reproduction
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    • v.12 no.2
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    • pp.117-124
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    • 2008
  • The efficient strategies to cope with unpredictable and/or harmful environmental changes have been developed by every organism in order to ensure its survival and continuity of it's own species. As a results, all living things on earth maintain dynamically internal stability via a process termed 'homeostasis' among physiological parameters despite of external environment changes. Stress is an emotional and physical response to threat homeostasis. Stress may have not only transient but rather permanent effect on the organism; recent evidence clearly show that prenatal stress could organize or imprint permanently physiological systems without any change in genetic codes, a process known as 'epigenetic programming'. In this review, a series of reproduction-associated events occurred in prenatally stressed male rats such as alteration in the structure of sexually dimorphic brain regions, modification of neurotransmitter metabolism, changes in reproductive endocrine status, and finally, disorders of sexual behavior will be introduced. The fetal brain is highly sensitive to prenatal programming and glucocorticoids in particular have powerful brain-programming properties. The chronic hyperactivation of fetal brain by maternal stress-induced glucocorticoid input will provide new program via increasing the neuroplasticities. This 'increased neuroplasticities' will be the basis for the 'increased phenotypic plasticities' rendering the organism's better adaptation to environmental challenges. In conclusion, organism who experienced 'harsh' environment in his fetal life seems to give up a certain portion of reproductive competence to make good chance of survival in his future life by epigenetic (re)programming.

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Direct Interaction between Ras Homolog Enriched in Brain and FK506 Binding Protein 38 in Cashmere Goat Fetal Fibroblast Cells

  • Wang, Xiaojing;Wang, Yanfeng;Zheng, Xu;Hao, Xiyan;Liang, Yan;Wu, Manlin;Wang, Xiao;Wang, Zhigang
    • Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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    • v.27 no.12
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    • pp.1671-1677
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    • 2014
  • Ras homolog enriched in brain (Rheb) and FK506 binding protein 38 (FKBP38) are two important regulatory proteins in the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway. There are contradictory data on the interaction between Rheb and FKBP38 in human cells, but this association has not been examined in cashmere goat cells. To investigate the interaction between Rheb and FKBP38, we overexpressed goat Rheb and FKBP38 in goat fetal fibroblasts, extracted whole proteins, and performed coimmunoprecipitation to detect them by western blot. We found Rheb binds directly to FKBP38. Then, we constructed bait vectors (pGBKT7-Rheb/FKBP38) and prey vectors (pGADT7-Rheb/FKBP38), and examined their interaction by yeast two-hybrid assay. Their direct interaction was observed, regardless of which plasmid served as the prey or bait vector. These results indicate that the 2 proteins interact directly in vivo. Novel evidence is presented on the mTOR signal pathway in Cashmere goat cells.

Animal Models for Aging and Neurodegenerative Diseases: Brain Cell Apoptosis in the Dog and its Possible Mechanisms

  • Nakayama, Hiroyuki;Kajikawa, Satoru;Doi, Kunio
    • Toxicological Research
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    • v.17
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    • pp.71-77
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    • 2001
  • The brain of the aged dog possesses senile plaques and amyloid angiopathy, which characterize Alzheimer's disease brains. We have defined the dementia condition of aged dogs and examined which mechanism(s) is responsible for the condition. A series of studies revealed that the dementia condition in aged dogs is significantly related to the number of apoptotic brain cells including both neurons and glial cells, but not to the number of senile plaques. On the other hand, 5-azacytidine (5AzC) is a cytidine analogue, and is thought to induce kinds of cell differentiation possibly through hypomethylation of genomic DNA. We have revealed neuronal apoptosis induced in 5AzC-treated fetal mice and PC12 cells. The ribosomal protein L4 (rpL4) gene is expressed prior to the apoptosis in the PC12 cell system. Therefore, the involvement of the rpL4 gene expression in age-related brain cell apoptosis in dogs may contribute to the investigation of Alzheimer's dementia.

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DNA Methylation in Brain and Liver Tissues of Mice Infected with Scrapie Agent (스크래피에 감염된 마우스의 뇌 및 간조직에서의 DNA Methylation)

  • Choi, E.K.;Uyeno, S.;Ono, T.;Carp, R.I.;Kim, Y.S.
    • The Journal of Korean Society of Virology
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    • v.28 no.2
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    • pp.183-192
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    • 1998
  • DNA methylation degree in the several murine brain and liver genes of different ages and after scrapie infection have been examined by using methylation-sensitive restriction endonuclease digestion. We found that the methylation of c-fos and c-myc in the brain and liver was increased during the late fetal to one month postnatal developmental periods. However, those of the SGP-2, $S100{\beta}$, APP950, PrP, and APLP1 genes were decreased at the same periods. The comparison of the DNA methylation patterns between scrapie infected brains and controls demonstrated there is no significant difference in methylation degree of scrapie-infected brains. These observations indicate that DNA methylation might be importantly related to the aging process. The scrapie-infected murine brain was not significantly developed more senescent than the same age-controls did.

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Association of Fatty Acid Ethyl Esters in Meconium of Neonates with Growth Deficits at Birth: a Prospective, Single-Centre Cohort Study

  • Lee, Hyun-Seung;Kim, Yeon Hee;Kwak, Ho-Seok;Han, Jung-Yeol;Jo, Sun-Jin;Lee, Hae Kook
    • Journal of Korean Medical Science
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    • v.33 no.50
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    • pp.318.1-318.10
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    • 2018
  • Background: In this prospective cohort study, we investigated the association between fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEEs) in meconium as biomarkers of prenatal ethanol exposure and growth deficits, as birth outcomes, that constitute several of the key cardinal features of fetal alcohol syndrome. Methods: A total of 157 meconium samples were collected from enrolled infants within 24 hours of birth, and nine FAEEs were quantified using liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry. The relationships between cumulative concentrations of nine species of FAEEs in meconium and birth parameters of growth (age-sex-specific centiles of head circumference [HC], weight, and length) and respective and combined birth outcomes of growth deficits (HC ${\leq}10th$ centile, weight ${\leq}10th$ centile, and length ${\leq}10th$ centile) were determined. Results: Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that higher cumulative concentrations of meconium FAEEs correlated with elevated risks for HC and length, both, 10th percentile or less (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 2.94; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.12-7.74; P = 0.029) and HC and weight and length, all of them, 10th percentile or less (aOR, 3.27; 95% CI, 1.12-9.59; P = 0.031). Conclusion: The elevated cumulative FAEEs in meconium were associated with combined growth deficits at birth, specifically HC and length, both, 10th percentile or less, which might be correlated with detrimental alcohol effects on fetal brain and bone development, suggesting a plausible alcohol-specific pattern of intrauterine growth restriction.

Estimation of Fetal Dose during Radiation Therapy of Pregnant Patient (임산부의 방사선치료 시 태아선량 평가)

  • Jung, Chi-Hoon;Kim, Chan-Yong;Kim, Bo-Gyum;Seo, Suk-Jin;Yoo, Sook-Hyun;Park, Heung-Deuk
    • The Journal of Korean Society for Radiation Therapy
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    • v.19 no.1
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    • pp.35-41
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    • 2007
  • Purpose: To evaluate the effectiveness of a simple and practical shielding device to reduce the fetal dose for a pregnant patient undergoing radiation therapy of brain metastasis. Materials and Methods: The dose to the fetus was evaluated by simulating the treatments using the anthropomorphic phantom. The prescription dose at mid-brain is $300cGy{\times}10$ fractions with 6 MV photon with $18{\times}22cm^2$ field size. The additional shielding devices to reduce the fetal dose are a shielding wall, cerrobend plates and lead (Pb) sheets over acrylic bridge. Various points of measurement with off-field distance were detected by using ion-chamber (30, 40, 50, and 60 cm) with and without the shielding devices and TLD (30, 40, 50, 60, and 70 cm) only with the shielding devices. Results: The doses to the fetus without shielding were 3.20, 3.21, 1.44, 0.90 cGy at the distances of 30, 40, 50, and 60 cm from the treatment field edge. With shielding, the doses were reduced to 0.88, 0.60, 0.35, 0.25 cGy, and the ratio of the shielding effect varied from 70% to 80%. TLD results were 1.8, 1.2, 0.8, 1.2, and 0.8 cGy (70 cm). The total dose to the fetus was expected to be under 1 cGy during the entire treatment. Conclusion: The essential point during radiation therapy of pregnant patient would be minimizing the fetal dose. 10 cGy to 20 cGy is the threshold dose for fetal radiation effects. Our newly developed device reduced the fetal dose far below the safe level. Therefore, our additional shielding devices are useful and effective to reduce the fetal dose.

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