Prenatal alcohol exposure impairs autophagy in neonatal brain cortical microvessels.

ABSTRACT: Brain developmental lesions are a devastating consequence of prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE). We recently showed that PAE affects cortical vascular development with major effects on angiogenesis and endothelial cell survival. The underlying molecular mechanisms of these effects remain poorly understood. This study aimed at characterizing the ethanol exposure impact on the autophagic process in brain microvessels in human fetuses with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) and in a PAE mouse model. Our results indicate that PAE induces an increase of autophagic vacuole number in human fetal and neonatal mouse brain cortical microvessels. Subsequently, ex vivo studies using green fluorescent protein (GFP)-LC3 mouse microvessel preparations revealed that ethanol treatment alters autophagy in endothelia

SUBMITTER: Girault V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5386476 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature