Maternal Deprivation Enhances Contextual Fear Memory via Epigenetically Programming Second-Hit Stress-Induced Reelin Expression in Adult Rats.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Early-life stress increases the risk for posttraumatic stress disorder. However, the epigenetic mechanism of early-life stress-induced susceptibility to posttraumatic stress disorder in adulthood remains unclear.

Methods

Rat pups were exposed to maternal deprivation during postnatal days 1 to 14 for 3 hours daily and treated with the DNA methyltransferase inhibitor zebularine, L-methionine, or vehicle 7 days before contextual fear conditioning, which was used as a second stress and to mimic the reexperiencing symptom of posttraumatic stress disorder in adulthood. Long-term potentiation, dendritic spine density, DNA methyltransferase mRNA, Reelin gene methylation, and Reelin protein expression in the hippocampal CA1 were measured.

Results

Maternal deprivatio

SUBMITTER: Wang RH 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6209857 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature