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Rocha-de-Melo AP, Picanço-Diniz CW, Borba JMC, Santos-Monteiro J, Guedes RCA. NADPH-diaphorase Histochemical Labeling Patterns in the Hippocampal Neuropil and Visual Cortical Neurons in Weaned Rats Reared during Lactation on Different Litter Sizes. Nutr Neurosci 2013; 7:207-16. [PMID: 15682647 DOI: 10.1080/10284150400001961] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Tissue distribution of nitric oxide-synthases was investigated in the rat hippocampus and visual cortex under nutritional changes induced by modification of the litter size. Young (30-45-days-old) rats, suckled in litters formed by 3,6 or 12 pups (called small, medium and large litters, respectively), were studied by using nicotine-adenine-dinucleotide phosphate-diaphorase histochemistry (shortly, diaphorase), a simple and robust procedure to characterize tissue distribution of nitric oxide-synthases. We assessed morphometric features of the diaphorase-positive cells in visual cortex, and the neuropil histochemical activity in hippocampal CA1 and dentate gyrus using densitometry analysis. In the large-litter group, the labeled-cell density in white matter of area 17 was higher, as compared to the small-litter group. There was a clear trend, in the large-litter group, to lower values of soma area, dendritic field and branches per neuron, but the differences were not significant. Densitometry analysis of hippocampus revealed a significant increase in the relative neuropil histochemical activity of the dentate gyrus molecular layer in the larger litters, which may be associated to increased compensatory blood flow in the hippocampus. The pathophysiological mechanisms of the observed changes remain to be investigated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Paula Rocha-de-Melo
- Departamento de Nutrição, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, BR-50670-901, Recife, PE, Brazil
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Peyghambari F, Valojerdi MR, Tiraihi T. A morphometric study on the early stages of dendrite changes in the axotomized motoneuron of the spinal cord in newborn rats. Neurol Res 2013; 27:586-90. [PMID: 16157007 DOI: 10.1179/016164105x48743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES To study the early effect of axotomy on spinal motoneurons and dendritic trees in the newborn rat. METHODS The left sciatic nerve of 50 neonatal Sprague--Dawley rats aged 5 days old was transected and the right area kept as a control. The operated animals were killed 2, 4, 8, 12 and 24 hours after axotomy. The L4--L6 segments of the spinal cord were sampled, and stained either with Golgi-Cox or Cresyl fast violet methods. The number of motoneurons, the largest soma diameter and the different parameters of the dendritic trees such as: number, length and thickness of the primary, secondary and tertiary branches in the axotomized sides were estimated and compared statistically with that of the intact sides. RESULTS The results indicated that in the axotomized sides, the number of motoneurons and the largest soma diameter were decreased, but these were significant only in 12- and 24-hour groups. The number of branches of the dendritic trees including primary, secondary and tertiary branches was not significantly decreased in the groups. The thickness of the dendrites showed a reduction; however, this was significant only for the tertiary branches in the 24-hour groups. The length of the primary, secondary and tertiary branches of the dendrites--especially the latter--were also decreased significantly in most of the groups. CONCLUSION Axotomy at the early stages in newborn rats resulted in noticeable morphometrical changes in motoneurons and their dendrites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatemah Peyghambari
- Department of Anatomy, School of Medical Sciences, Tarbiat Modarres University, PO Box 14115-111, Tehran, Iran
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Silva Tenório A, Oliveira IDVA, Guedes RCA. Early vibrissae removal facilitates cortical spreading depression propagation in the brain of well‐nourished and malnourished developing rats. Int J Dev Neurosci 2009; 27:431-7. [DOI: 10.1016/j.ijdevneu.2009.05.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2009] [Revised: 04/24/2009] [Accepted: 05/12/2009] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Angélica Silva Tenório
- Department of NutritionLaboratory of PhysiologyUniversidade Federal de Pernambuco50670901RecifePEBrazil
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Frazão MF, Silva de Seixas Maia LM, Guedes RCA. Early malnutrition, but not age, modulates in the rat the l-Arginine facilitating effect on cortical spreading depression. Neurosci Lett 2008; 447:26-30. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2008.09.068] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2008] [Revised: 09/25/2008] [Accepted: 09/25/2008] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
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Viana LC, Torres JB, Farias JA, Kawhage R, Lins N, Passos A, Quintairos A, Trévia N, Guedes RCA, Diniz CWP. Exercise and food ad libitum reduce the impact of early in life nutritional inbalances on nitrergic activity of hippocampus and striatum. Nutr Neurosci 2008; 10:215-28. [PMID: 18284030 DOI: 10.1080/10284150701722158] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Nutritional imbalances were produced by varying litter size pups per dam: 3 (small), 6 (medium), and 12 (large). On the 21st day, 4 subjects of each litter, were sacrificed and the remaining were grouped, 2 per cage, with or without running wheels, with food and water ad libitum. Adult subjects were tested in water maze, their brains processed for NADPH-diaphorase histochemistry and quantified by densitometry. No differences were detected in water maze. At 21st day, S and L compared with M presented reduced NADPH-d in the stratum molecular of dentate gyrus (DG), stratum lacunosum of CA1 and in all CA3 layers but not in the striatum. On the 58th day, actvity remained low in S and L in CA3 and striatum and L in CA1 and DG. Voluntary exercise increased NADPH-d in DG, CA1, CA3, and striatum in S, and in the stratum lacunosum of CA1 and CA3 in L.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lane Coelho Viana
- Departamento de Morfologia, Universidade Federal do Pará, CEP 66075900 Belém, PA, Brazil
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Maia LMSS, Frazão MF, Souza TKM, Silva MB, Rocha-de-Melo AP, Picanço-Diniz CW, Amâncio-dos-Santos A, Guedes RCA. l-arginine treatment early in life influences NADPH-diaphorase neurons in visual cortex of normal and early-malnourished adult rats. Brain Res 2006; 1072:19-25. [PMID: 16426587 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2005.12.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2005] [Revised: 11/25/2005] [Accepted: 12/01/2005] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
This study investigated the effects of repeated l-arginine administration during lactation, combined with different suckling conditions, on morphometric parameters of primary visual cortex NADPH-diaphorase-positive neurons. Wistar rat pups reared in "normal-size litters" or "large litters" (N- and L-conditions; litters formed by 6 and 12 pups, respectively) received, from postnatal day 7 to 28, either arginine (300 mg/kg/day, per gavage) or distilled water (control). At 90-120 days of life, they were perfused with saline + formaldehyde, and their brains were processed for histochemical reaction to reveal NADPH-diaphorase-positive neurons (malic enzyme indirect method). Compared to the normal-size litters, L-rats had lower body weights (P < 0.05), confirming the effectiveness of the L-condition in affecting pup development. Concerning NADPH-d histochemistry, arginine treatment was associated with increased (P < 0.05) density of dendrite varicosities and of dendrite branching frequency, suggesting a plastic response of the developing brain to that treatment, even in previously malnourished rats. No difference was seen, however, in dendrite orientation, total number of neurons, soma area and perimeter, as well as dendrite bifurcation points, fractal dimension, and area and volume of dendrite field, suggesting that NADPH-d cells are resistant to arginine and nutritional changes, regarding these features. Data are considered of interest for studies of synaptic plasticity during neural development and its relationships to aggressive agents like malnutrition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luciana M S S Maia
- Department of Nutrition, Federal University of Pernambuco State, 50670-901, Recife, PE, Brazil
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Strata F, Coq JO, Byl N, Merzenich MM. Effects of sensorimotor restriction and anoxia on gait and motor cortex organization: implications for a rodent model of cerebral palsy. Neuroscience 2005; 129:141-56. [PMID: 15489037 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2004.07.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 55] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/08/2004] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Chronic or acute perinatal asphyxia (PA) has been correlated with the subsequent development of cerebral palsy (CP), a developmental neurological disorder characterized by spasticity and motor abnormalities often associated with cognitive deficits. Despite the prevalence of CP, an animal model that mimics the lifetime hypertonic motor deficits is still not available. In the present study, the consequences of PA on motor behavior, gait and organization of the primary motor cortex were examined in rats, and compared with the behavioral and neurological consequences of early postnatal movement-restriction with or without oxygen deprivation. Rats subjected to PA had mild increases in muscular tone accompanied by subtle differences in walking patterns, paralleled by significantly altered but relatively modest disorganization of their primary motor cortices. Movement-restricted rats, suffering PA or not, had reduced body growth rate, markedly increased muscular tone at rest and with active flexion and extension around movement-restricted joints that resulted in abnormal walking patterns and in a profoundly distorted representation of the hind limbs in the primary motor cortex. Within the sensorimotor-restricted groups, non-anoxic rats presented the most abnormal pattern and the greatest cortical representational degradation. This outcome further supports the argument that PA per se may represent a substrate for subtle altered motor behaviors, and that PA alone is sufficient to alter the organization of the primary motor cortex. At the same time, they also show that early experience-dependent movements play a crucial role in shaping normal behavioral motor abilities, and can make a powerful contribution to the genesis of aberrant movement abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- F Strata
- Keck Center for Integrative Neuroscience, Coleman Laboratory and Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of California at San Francisco, 513 Parnassus Avenue HSE-832, San Francisco, CA 94143-0732, USA.
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Santos-Monteiro J, Guedes RCDA, Castro RMD, Cabral Filho JE. Estimulação psicossocial e plasticidade cerebral em desnutridos. REVISTA BRASILEIRA DE SAÚDE MATERNO INFANTIL 2002. [DOI: 10.1590/s1519-38292002000100003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
RESUMO: É feita uma revisão sobre as estratégias e efeitos da estimulação sensorial e ambiental de indivíduos desnutridos. Reportam os autores evidências provenientes de experimentos com modelos animais e de estudos em seres humanos, mostrando os benefícios da administração da estimulação sensorial ou psicossocial programadas sobre as funções neuro-comportamentais. Mostram ainda a importante participação que a plasticidade cerebral pode ter neste processo. Finalmente enfatizam que as evidências eletrofisiológicas - obtidas pela técnica da depressão alastrante cortial em animais - e as observações em seres humanos indicam que as regiões cerebrais comportam-se diferencialmente nesta recuperação. Daí, sugerem uma abordagem nos cuidados médicos em indivíduos desnutridos levando em conta estas peculiaridades regionais do cérebro.
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Borba JM, Araújo MS, Picanço-Diniz CW, Manhães-de-Castro R, Guedes RC. Permanent and transitory morphometric changes of NADPH-diaphorase-containing neurons in the rat visual cortex after early malnutrition. Brain Res Bull 2000; 53:193-201. [PMID: 11044596 DOI: 10.1016/s0361-9230(00)00334-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
We investigated the histochemical positivity to NADPH-diaphorase, which reveals nitric oxide synthase activity, in area 17 of rats malnourished early in life, both in the post-weaning period (group M1), and in adulthood after nutritional recovering (group M2). Control pups (C1 and C2 groups) received ad libitum after weaning the same diets as their mothers. Rats of group M2 were nutritionally recovered by receiving the control diet from post-natal day 42 until adulthood. Aldehyde-fixed sections (200-microm thick) through area 17 were processed for NADPH-diaphorase histochemistry following the malic enzyme indirect method. The features of NADPH-diaphorase-containing neurons of area 17 of malnourished young (M1) and adult (M2) rats were analyzed quantitatively in comparison to the matched groups C1 and C2. Permanent changes, represented by increase in the density and dendritic field areas of NADPH-diaphorase-positive cells, and transitory ones, represented by decreased values of soma areas, were observed in area 17 of the M1 and M2 cases. However, some other features, such as dendritic branch angle and number of dendrites per cell in the gray matter, remained unchanged after malnutrition. Thus, the findings indicate a possible relationship between early malnutrition and alterations in nitric oxide synthase-containing cells in the visual cortex. Physiological implications of these data may be related to synaptic plasticity and refinement of developmental brain circuits.
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Affiliation(s)
- J M Borba
- Laboratório de Fisiologia da Nutrição Naide Teodósio, Departamento de Nutrição, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, PE, Brazil
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Fernández V, Bravo H, Sanhueza M, Inzunza O. NADPH-d positive neurons in the developing somatosensory cortex of the rat: effects of early and late environmental enrichment. BRAIN RESEARCH. DEVELOPMENTAL BRAIN RESEARCH 1998; 107:299-307. [PMID: 9593955 DOI: 10.1016/s0165-3806(98)00037-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Abstract
The effects of environmental enrichment upon the topographic arrangement of NADPH diaphorase-positive neurons (NADPH-d+ neurons) was studied in the somatosensory cortex of 56 Sprague-Dawley albino rats during early stages of development (18th, 24th, 30th and 60th postnatal days). This diaphorase is easily demonstrable, providing a convenient marker for quantitative studies. Environmental enrichment diminished the number of NADPH-d+ neurons and exerted its maximal influence during lactation, a time of exceptional cortical susceptibility. This implies that the magnitude of such effects on the density of NADPH-d+ neurons is age-dependent. Furthermore, it was found that the experience-dependent cortical changes persisted after a subsequent period without environmental stimulation. The effects of early environmental enrichment did not occur uniformly throughout the cerebral hemispheres but, instead, such effects were maximal in the latero-ventral sector of the cerebral cortex where a dramatic reduction in the number of NADPH-d+ neurons was observed. Particularly striking was the existence of a latero-medial sequence of NADPH-d+ neurons in the infragranular layer and a reversed distribution of labeled cells, in the supragranular layer. Both ontogenetic sequences of NADPH-d+ neurons remained unchanged during postnatal development in controls and enriched subjects (18th-60th postnatal days).
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Affiliation(s)
- V Fernández
- Physiology and Biophysics Program, Biomedical Sciences Institute, School of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile.
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