Project description:Transcriptomic effects of prenatal exposure to corticosteroids on synaptic transmission
| PRJNA308328 | ENA
Project description:Comparison of small RNA-seq and microarray analysis for determining the effects of acute prenatal ethanol exposure on microRNA expression and its amelioration by environmental manipulation
Project description:Maternal alcohol consumption during pregnancy results in a spectrum of lifelong behavioral and cognitive deficits collectively known as Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD). FASD is a major health burden in most societies, there is no cure, and the molecular mechanism involved in its development is poorly understood. Human neurodevelopment is a continuum that extends over two decades after birth, with the potential to influence outcomes both prenatally and postnatally. Here, we experimentally investigate if positive postnatal environment enrichment ameliorates behavioral deficits caused by ethanol exposure. Furthermore, we assessed if this modulation is associated with alterations in hippocampal gene expression. To accomplish this, we used a binge model of ethanol exposure followed by environmental enrichment in C57BL/6 mice to generate four groups of animals: (1) control mice raised in standard conditions, (2) mice raised in enriched environments, (3) ethanol-exposed mice raised in standard conditions, and (4) ethanol-exposed mice raised in enriched environments. The environmental enrichment includes larger home cages with more individuals for social interaction, regular exposure to novel items, and access to running wheels. Ethanol exposure results in anxiety-like behavior (light-dark box) as well as learning and memory deficits (Barnes maze) that are at least partially ameliorated by enrichment. Environmental enrichment also improves performance for individuals not exposed to ethanol. Ethanol exposure induces changes in adult hippocampal gene expression (RNA-Seq). Some of the changes in adult hippocampal gene expression following ethanol exposure are reversed by environmental enrichment. The results offer a potential mechanism of behavioral deficits caused by ethanol exposure, including the potential for amelioration after an FASD diagnosis.
Project description:The study determined whether there were gender differences in the <br>expression of hippocampal genes in adult rats in association with dissimilarity <br>in their behavior, and how these were affected by prenatal stress. Pregnant <br>Wistar rats were subjected to varied stress once daily on days 14-20 of <br>gestation.<br>
Project description:Moderate alcohol exposure during pregnancy can result in brain gene expression changes in resulting offspring. We have developed a mouse model of FASD that involves moderate ethanol exposure in mid-gestation (trimester 2 equivalent) achieved by injections of ethanol. We have previously shown that this model results in phenotypes relevant to FASD. Since ethanol is known to directly affect the expression of genes in the developing brain leading to abnormal cell death, changes to cell proliferation, migration, and differentiation, and potential changes to epigenetic patterning, we hypothesize that there will be gene expression changes immediately following acute ethanol exposure in the fetal brain. We used a microarray experiment and focused on the genes identified to evaluate the genome-wide alterations to the fetal brain transcriptome caused by prenatal ethanol exposure.
