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© 1993 Medical Council on Alcohol

research-article

CHRONIC PRENATAL ETHANOL EXPOSURE DOES NOT AFFECT THE EXPRESSION OF SELECTED GENES IN RAT BRAIN DEVELOPMENT

DOMINIQUE MACIEJEWSKI-LENOIR

Department of Neuropharmacology, The Scripps Research Institute CVN 12, 10666 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, U.S.A.

Received 30 July 1992; first review notified 15 February 1993; accepted 2 March 1993

To investigate possible mechanisms contributing to the teratogenic effects of ethanol on the nervous system, we examined the effects of in utero exposure to ethanol on gene expression in the postnatal brain. Pregnant rats were exposed to ethanol by constant inhalation of ethanol vapor during gestational days 8–21, generating a mean blood alcohol level of approximately 150 mg/100 ml during the last week of gestation. Particular care was given to ensure proper nutrition and weight gain in both control and EtOH-treated groups. At different times after birth, the brains of pups from ethanol-treated dams and from a parallel series of untreated dams were dissected into major regions. Cytoplasmic RNA was assayed for different mRNAs encoding proteins representative of both glial and neuronal cell types, by Northern blot and solution hybridization. In situ hybridization was performed with T{alpha}-1 tubulin and PLP. There were no significant differences between pups from ethanol-treated and control dams in the amount of mRNAs encoding the myelin protein proteolipid protein (PLP), the astrocyte glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), the neurally enriched T{alpha}-1 isotype of {alpha}-tubulin, the nerve terminal components synaptophysin p38 and SNAP 25. The mRNA encoding the {alpha}1-subunit of the receptor for {gamma}-amino butyric acid (GABA) was slightly decreased in expression in the hindbrain but not cortex of pups from EtOH-treated dams. These results suggest that, when weight gain is controlled, chronic exposure of rats to ethanol during the last 2 weeks of gestation has little influence on the postnatal expression of these cell type specific genes.


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