PRENATAL STRESS INDUCES BEHAVIOURAL AND OXIDATIVE ALTERATIONS IN RAT`S CEREBELLUM AND HIPOCAMPUS .

MAUR DG; PALUMBO ML; BURDET B; GENARO AM; ZORRILLA ZUBILETE MA

Ciudad Autonoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina

Congreso; III Iberoamerican Congress of Neuroimmunomodulation; 2009

Stress during early development stages induces both early and later alterations. The objective of this study was to evaluate the role of the cellular oxidative mechanisms in the behavioural alterations in adulthood induced by prenatal stress during of neurodevelopment. Methods: pregnant Wistar rats were individually restrained three times a day, 45 minutes each. The offspring’s hippocampus and cerebellum were analysed for Nitric Oxide Synthase (NOS) activity and nNOS expression by RT-PCR and Western Blot. Results: The offspring of stressed rats showed an increased activity of total NOS (pmol/gtissue/30min) at PN7, PN15 and PN90. We also detected an increased production of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) stimulated by NMDA in cerebellum at PN15. Finally, we observed an increased protein profile of neuronal NOS (nNOS) at PN15, PN30, PN45 and PN90 together with an alteration in the expression of nNOS mRNA. Conclusion: Stress during early development stages induces alterations in cerebellar and hippocampal oxidative mechanisms. Taking this results together with behavioural abnormalities we hypothesise that the oxidative alterations might be primary events during development, which manifest in adulthood as significant changes in animal behaviour.