Maternal Iron Deficiency Programs Offspring Cognition and Its Relationship with Gastrointestinal Microbiota and Metabolites.

ABSTRACT: Iron is an essential micronutrient for the brain development of the fetus. Altered intestinal microbiota might affect behavior and cognition through the so-called microbiota-gut-brain axis. We used a Sprague-Dawley rat model of a maternal low-iron diet to explore the changes in cognition, dorsal hippocampal brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and related pathways, gut microbiota, and related metabolites in adult male offspring. We established maternal iron-deficient rats by feeding them a low-iron diet (2.9 mg/kg), while the control rats were fed a standard diet (52.3 mg/kg). We used a Morris water maze test to assess spatial learning and long-term memory. Western blot (WB) assays and a quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) were used to detect the BDNF

SUBMITTER: Hsieh HY 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7504367 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature