Prenatal ethanol exposure reduces the effects of excitatory amino acids in the rat hippocampus

Journal Article · Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1989 · Life Sciences; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/0024-3205(89)90173-2· OSTI ID:7194141

Noble, E P; Ritchie, T ^[1]

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1. Univ. of California, Los Angeles (USA)

Chronic alcohol ingestion during pregnancy can lead to the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), a disorder marked by learning disabilities. A rat model of FAS was used by introducing pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats to a liquid diet containing 35% ethanol-derived calories (E), while a second group was pair-fed an isocaloric liquid diet without ethanol (P). A third group of pregnant dams received ad libitum lab chow (C). At parturition, pups from the E and P groups were cross fostered by C mothers and all groups received lab chow. During adulthood, male offspring were sacrificed and hippocampal and prefrontal cortical slices were prelabeled with (3H)inositol. Phosphoinositide (PI) hydrolysis was determined by measuring the accumulation of (3H)inositol phosphates in the presence of LiCl in response to activation of various excitatory amino acid (EAA) receptors. In hippocampal slices, ibotenate- and quisqualate-induced PI hydrolysis was reduced in E compared to P and C animals. Moreover, the inhibitory effect of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) on carbachol-induced PI hydrolysis, evident in P and C animals, was completely abolished in the hippocampus of E animals. In contrast, in the prefrontal cerebral cortex, this inhibitory effect of NMDA prevailed even in the E animals. The evidence suggests that prenatal ethanol exposure alters the activity of EAA receptors in the hippocampal generation of 2nd messengers.

• OSTI ID: 7194141
• Journal Information: Life Sciences; (USA), Vol. 45:9; ISSN 0024-3205
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
59 BASIC BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
AMINO ACIDS
RECEPTORS
ETHANOL
BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS
PHOSPHOLIPIDS
METABOLISM
BIOCHEMICAL REACTION KINETICS
BIOLOGICAL MODELS
HIPPOCAMPUS
INHIBITION
LEARNING
PHOSPHATES
PREGNANCY
PRENATAL EXPOSURE
RATS
TRACER TECHNIQUES
TRITIUM COMPOUNDS
ALCOHOLS
ANIMALS
BODY
BRAIN
CARBOXYLIC ACIDS
CENTRAL NERVOUS SYSTEM
ESTERS
HYDROGEN COMPOUNDS
HYDROXY COMPOUNDS
ISOTOPE APPLICATIONS
KINETICS
LIPIDS
MAMMALS
MEMBRANE PROTEINS
NERVOUS SYSTEM
ORGANIC ACIDS
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
ORGANIC PHOSPHORUS COMPOUNDS
ORGANS
OXYGEN COMPOUNDS
PHOSPHORUS COMPOUNDS
PROTEINS
REACTION KINETICS
RODENTS
VERTEBRATES
560300* - Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
550201 - Biochemistry- Tracer Techniques