Neuronal and endothelial ultrastructural alterations in a rat model of perinatal asphyxia.

ACOSTA J. M., COHON D.R., PEÑA E., ROLÓN F., SAROTTO A.,CONTARTESE D. DORFMAN V., REY-FUNES M., IBARRA M. VELAZQUEZ R. AND LOIDL C.F.

Córdoba

Congreso; XXVII Congreso Anual de la Sociedad Argentina de Neurociencia (SAN); 2012

SAN

We previously observed in a rat model in which we perform perinatal asphyxia (PA) by transient immersion in water at 37˚C of fetuses still contained in utero obtained by histerectomy, several long-term (more than 4 months of age) alterations in the brain as damage in cortical lamination and neuronal migration in frontal cortex and hypolocomotion in male rats, with an decrease in their exploratory behaviour. Images obtained by using Golgi technique showed in the cortex of AP rats tortuous apical piramidal dendrites with neurofilament altered distribution. Furthermore a decrease in spines was observed in their lateral dendritic processes. In the present work we studied the ultrastructure of frontal cortex of 5 PA rats vs 4 frontal cortex of control animals of 21 postnatal days (short-time). In approximatelly 15-20 % of PA cortex we observed neuronal changes as granular endoplasmic reticulum hyperthrophy and cellular swollen. In 3 animals we found picnosis and nuclear fragmentation. In all PA frontal cortex we found ultrastructural alterations as tight junction desorganization and multiple vesicles in the cytoplasm of endothelial cells. All this changes were not observed in control cortex. We conclude that frontal cortex of animals that suffered PA is affected early with a blood brain barrier alteration which could explain neuronal lesions a the bradikinesia observed in male PA rats when studied with open field test.