Day-night changes in c-fos expression in the fetal sheep suprachiasmatic nucleus at late gestation

Reproduction, Fertility, and Development
L ConstandilM Serón-Ferré

Abstract

The suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) is a circadian oscillator in mammals and shows day-night changes in metabolic activity. To investigate whether the fetal sheep SCN behaves as a circadian oscillator, day-night changes in c-fos expression, a marker of neuronal activity, were measured. Eight fetal sheep were sacrificed at 135 days gestation--four at day-time (1200 hours) and four at night-time (2400 hours). Fetal brains were fixed, removed and cut in 40-microns serial coronal sections. Alternate sections were incubated with anti-Fos antibody (1:500) and Fos expression was revealed with extra-avidin-peroxidase and 3,3'-diaminobenzidine or stained with cresyl violet. The number of Fos-immunoreactive (Fos-ir) neurons per mm2 in the rostral, intermediate and caudal regions of the fetal sheep SCN was counted. Fetuses sacrificed in the day-time showed a higher number of Fos-ir neurons per mm2 (mean +/- s.e.; 516.7 +/- 60.1) in the three regions of the SCN than fetuses sacrificed at night-time (140.5 +/- 21.8). In addition, at night-time Fos-ir neurons were mainly localized to the ventrolateral area of the SCN. These findings demonstrate day-night changes in molecular activity consistent with the presence of a circadian oscillator in th...Continue Reading

Citations

Oct 17, 1998·Animal Reproduction Science·V H ParraguezM Serón-Ferré
Apr 20, 2002·Journal of Neuroendocrinology·G E Hoffman, D Lyo
Aug 16, 2011·Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology·María Serón-FerréClaudia Torres-Farfan
Dec 8, 2009·Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews·Gena Glickman
Mar 24, 2006·The European Journal of Neuroscience·José Luis ValdésFernando Torrealba
Jan 10, 2002·Seminars in Perinatology·M Serón-FerréG J Valenzuela
Dec 19, 2014·Frontiers in Neuroanatomy·Dominic LandgrafHenrik Oster
May 14, 2018·Acta Physiologica·J SlettenJ Kessler
Oct 30, 2007·Birth Defects Research. Part C, Embryo Today : Reviews·Maria Seron-FerreClaudia Torres-Farfan
Jan 31, 2020·Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience·María RodríguezMarco Contreras

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