The Effect of Maternal Prenatal Stress on Frontal Lobe Evolution and Evaluation of Seizure Threshold in NMRI Mice Offsprings
F. Hakimi[1], Gh. Kaka[2], M. Sadoughi[3]
Received:2/05/2017 Sent for Revision: 08/07/2017 Received Revised Manuscript: 29/11/2017 Accepted: 03/11/2017
Background and Objectives: Maternal prenatal stress while increasing the glucocorticoid level in the embryo, has detrimenal effects on the neural structure. This study examined the effect of maternal stress on the change of the frontal lobe in mice during pregnancy and also the seizure threshold in their offsprings.
Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, 30 pregnant female mice were divided into two equal groups: the non-stress group and stress group. The stress group experienced one hour immobilization stress for 14 days. After child birth, offsprings were divided into three groups (n=4): The control group,
mothers received no immobilization
stress and their offsprings also received no PTZ;the Sham group,
mothers received no immobilization
stress but their offsprings received PTZ; and the experimental group,
mothers received immobilization
stress and their offsprings also received PTZ. To study the frontal lobe of mouse embryo, the brain of mice offisprings were removed and fixed.The sections (5 micron) were prepared and stained byH&E technique. Histological studies were performed using the Histolab and Motic softwares.
Results: The results showed a
significant increase in
seizure threshold in the
offsprings whose mothers were under
immobilization stress compared with the
offsprings whose mothers received no stress (p<0.001). A significant reduction in the thickness of layers was observed in the experimental group compared with the control and sham groups (p<0.05). The number of neural and glial cells and the number of blood vessels in the experimental group significantly decreased compared with the control and sham groups (p<0.05).
Conclusion: Imobilization stress during pregnancy can cause an increase in the seizure threshold in mice offisprings and a disorder in the development and structure of their frontal lobe.
Keywords: Frontal lobe, Seizure, Stress, Pentylenetetrazole, Histomorphometry.
Funding: None declared.
Conflict of interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest.
Ethical approval:Approval for this experimental study was obtained from the Institutional Review Board, and all experiments were carried out in accordance with the Guidelines of Animal Care and Use of the Ethics Committee of Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences
How to cite this article: Hakimi F , Kaka Gh, Sadoughi M. The Effect of Maternal Prenatal Stress on Frontal Lobe Evolution and Evaluation of Seizure Threshold in NMRI Mice Offsprings.
J Rafsanjan Univ Med Sci 2017; 16(9): 845-56. [Farsi]
[1]- MSc, Department of Animal Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, North Branch, Islamic Azad University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
[2]- Associate Prof., Neurosciences Research Center, Baqiyatallah University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
(Corresponding Author) Tel: (021) 26127286, Fax: (021) 26127286, Email: gh_kaka@yahoo.com
[3]-Prof., Dept. of Animal Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, North Branch, Islamic Azad University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran