Postnatal stress: effect of staurosporine in GABA and L-serine uptake

SCOLARI MJ, RODRÍGUEZ CB, SALATINO AE, ACOSTA GB

Buenos Aires, 27 al 30 de noviembre de 2007

Congreso; XXXIX Reunión Científica Anual de la Asociación Argentina de Farmacología Experimental; 2007

SAFE

It is well documented that early stress in life has marked consequences in the adult age. In previous works we demonstrated that postnatal acute stress alters the uptake rate of GABA and L-serine and induces an increase in the activity of protein kinase C (PKC) at postnatal days (PD) 5, 7 and 13. In the present study, we want to determinate if acute postnatal stress induced changes in amino acids uptake and PKC activation are correlated. For this aim, the effects of protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor (staurosporine) on GABA and L-serine transporters activity were examined in cerebral cortex (CC). Experiments were performed with CC of Wistar male rats in PD mentioned above. Neonates were stressed by maternal separation plus cold exposure during 1 hour at 4ºC. Unhandled neonates, left undisturbed in their home cages, served as control. Upon termination of stress session, neonates were killed by decapitation. The brain was removed and CC was dissected. Examining the time-dependence of this inhibitor, we found no significant changes in the stressed animals at PD13. However, a return to control values was observed at PD5 and PD7, suggesting that in this developmental stages postnatal stress induced changes in GABA and L-serine uptake, could be associated with PKC activation.