Prenatal alcohol exposure alters GABA(A)alpha5 expression: a mechanism of alcohol-induced learning dysfunction

American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Laura TosoCatherine Y Spong

Abstract

In a model for fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS), we have previously found an alteration in NMDA receptors suggesting mediation, at least in part, of alcohol-related learning deficit. NMDA and GABA receptors interact in a multisynaptic circuit for the regulation of the inhibitory tone through the CNS. The GABA receptor subunit GABA(A)alpha5 is involved in learning and is developmentally regulated, as it is excitatory in the perinatal brain and inhibitory in the adult. We were interested to evaluate alcohol's effect on GABA(A)alpha5 expression to further understand alcohol-induced learning dysfunction. Timed, pregnant C57B16/J mice were treated on gestational day 8 with alcohol (25% alcohol, 0.03 mL/kg i.p.) or control (saline). Embryos and brains were harvested 10 days after treatment, and brains from adult offspring were collected after evaluation in the Morris Water Maze, a well-established test for spatial learning. Gene expression included samples from at least 3 litters per timepoint, and calibrator-normalized relative real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed to quantify GABA(A)alpha5 with GAPDH standardization. Statistical analysis included analysis of variance (ANOVA). Prenatal alcohol exposure significantly de...Continue Reading

References

Sep 15, 1999·Nature·Y P TangJ Z Tsien
Oct 4, 2003·American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology·Sarah H PoggiCatherine Y Spong
Jan 14, 2004·Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health·C M O'Leary
Sep 17, 2004·The Journal of Neuroscience : the Official Journal of the Society for Neuroscience·Alexander M KleschevnikovWilliam C Mobley
Dec 14, 2004·Neuroscience·R LujánG López-Bendito
Oct 6, 2005·American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology·Laura TosoCatherine Y Spong

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Citations

Jul 9, 2010·Pediatric Neurology·Daniel Martín Fernández-MayoralasRafael Arroyo-González
Mar 27, 2012·Fetal and Pediatric Pathology·Musharrat Jabeen Ahmed-Landeryou
Jun 2, 2015·Current Environmental Health Reports·Maya KappilJia Chen
Oct 26, 2016·Addiction Biology·Benoît Silvestre de FerronOlivier Pierrefiche
Aug 14, 2010·Birth Defects Research. Part A, Clinical and Molecular Teratology·Jennifer D ThomasHector D Dominguez
Jan 5, 2019·Journal of Molecular Neuroscience : MN·Fatin H Mohamad, Ahmad Tarmizi Che Has
May 24, 2011·Behavioural Brain Research·Morgan L KleiberShiva M Singh

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