Windows of vulnerability: maternal separation, age, and fluoxetine on adolescent depressive-like behavior in rats

Early exposure to stressful life events plays a significant role in adolescent depression. Clinical studies have identified a number of factors that increase the risk of depression, including sex of the subject, duration of the stressor, and genetic polymorphisms that elevate serotonin levels. In this study we used the maternal separation (MS) model to investigate to what extent these factors interacted during development to manifest in depressive-like behavior in male and female rats. The triadic model of learned helplessness parses depressive-like behavior into aspects of controllable, uncontrollable, and motivational behaviors. This model was used to investigate how the timing of MS between the ages of postnatal day (P) 2-9 and P9-16 interacted with either simultaneous vehicle (saline; 1ml/kg; i.p.) or fluoxetine (10mg/kg) exposure, which was used to enhance serotonin levels; these experiments also compared the effect of a vehicle injection during these developmental periods to a no injection control. Vehicle injections alone increased helplessness in the controllable condition in male rats when injected between P9-16 only, and did not interact further with MS. MS at both ages decreased controllability in male adolescents; females demonstrated an increase in controllability after MS. Elevated serotonin at P2-9 increased escape latencies in male and female control and MS subjects. Fluoxetine exposure at P9-16 increased helplessness in controls. Fluoxetine decreased helplessness in MS males independent of age, but increases helplessness in MS females. This study highlights the importance of age of MS (MS between P2-9 increases helplessness in males more than females), the duration of the stressor (previous results show females are effected by longer MS [P2-20], but not shorter [this study]), and that elevated serotonin increases escape latencies to a greater extent in females.

Organization of telencephalotectal projections in pigeons: Impact for lateralized top-down control

Birds display hemispheric specific modes of visual processing with a dominance of the right eye/left hemisphere for detailed visual object analysis. In pigeons, this behavioral lateralization is accompanied by morphological left-right differences in the ascending tectofugal pathway. This system is also asymmetrically modulated by descending telencephalotectal input whereby the left forebrain displays a much more pronounced physiological control over ipsilateral left and contralateral right visual thalamic processes. In the present study we aimed to answer the question if this top-down asymmetry that up to now had been demonstrated in single cell recording studies is due to anatomical asymmetries in the size of the fiber systems descending from the telencephalon to the tectum. We approached this question by means of a quantitative retrograde tracing study. Cholera toxin subunit B (CtB) was injected unilaterally into either the left or right optic tectum of adult pigeons. After immunohistochemical detection of CtB-positive cells, the number of ipsi- and contralaterally projecting neurons was estimated. Retrogradely labeled cells were located within the arcopallium, the hyperpallium apicale (HA) and the temporo-parieto-occipital area (TPO). Descending projections from HA, arcopallium, and TPO were mainly or exclusively ipsilateral with the contralateral projection being extremely small. Moreover, there was no difference between left and right hemispheric projections. These anatomical data sharply contrast with behavioral and electrophysiological ones which reveal an asymmetric and bilateral top down control. Therefore, contralateral and lateralized forebrain influences onto tectofugal processing are possibly not the direct result of asymmetrical descending axon numbers. Those influences emerge by a lateralized intra- and/or interhemispheric integration of ascending and descending input onto the rotundus.

[Transient acute arthritis in adults]

Parvovirus B19 kann sich vorwiegend im Erwachsenenalter durch Arthralgien oder eine Arthritis, die dem Bild einer Rheumatoiden Arthritis ähnelt, äussern, ohne dabei das für das Kindes- und Jugendalter typische Exanthem. Die Beschwerden heilen nach wenigen Tagen spontan und ohne Folgeschäden ab. Ein diagnostischer Nachweis kann mit einer Serologie erbracht werden. Das therapeutische Vorgehen ist symptomatisch.

[Psychiatric patient with elevated liver values]

Bei unklaren Leberwerterhöhungen, besonders wenn Therapien mit verschiedenen potentiell hepatotoxischen Medikamenten bestehen, muss an eine medikamentöse Ursache gedacht werden. In unserem Fall konnte diese weitgehend ausgeschlossen werden. Eine Leberwerterhöhung nach Therapie mit Amoxicillin und Clavulansäure betrifft vorrangig cholestatische Enzyme und kommt bis zu sechs Wochen nach Therapie vor, während bei Clozapin Bilirubin und alkalische Phosphatase eher nicht betroffen sind. Die Hepatotoxizität von Trichlorethylen tritt unmittelbar nach der Ingestion auf. Durch diese differentialdiagnostischen Überlegungen und den Nachweis einer Cholezysto- und Choledocholithiasis konnte somit eine Ursache gefunden und die Indikation zur Operation beziehungsweise ERCP gestellt werden.

Extracellular glutamate, aspartate and arginine increase in the ventral posterolateral thalamic nucleus during nociceptive stimulation

Although there is evidence that the thalamus plays a remarkable role in pain processing few in vivo studies on the thalamic neurochemical correlates of pain have been done. In the present experiments a combination of capillary zone electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detection (CZE-LIF) and microdialysis in freely moving rats was used to measure extracellular arginine, glutamate and aspartate in the thalamus during the formalin test. Microdialysis probes were implanted in the left ventral posterolateral (VPL) nucleus of the thalamus in rats. Samples were collected every 30 s, derivatized with fluorescein isothyocyanate and injected into a CZE-LIF instrument. After nine baseline samples, a subcutaneous formalin (5%, 50 microl) injection in the right hind paw caused an increase of arginine, glutamate and aspartate that lasted for about 3 min. These increases were calcium and nerve impulse dependent. These results indicate that the release of arginine, glutamate and aspartate may mediate rapid pain neural transmission in the VPL nucleus of the thalamus.

Altered nephrogenesis due to maternal diabetes is associated with increased expression of IGF-II/mannose-6-phosphate receptor in the fetal kidney

We have recently demonstrated that the exposure to hyperglycemia in utero impairs nephrogenesis in rat fetuses (Amri K et al., Diabetes 48:2240-2245, 1999). Diabetic pregnancy is commonly associated with alterations in the IGF system in fetal tissues. It has also been shown that both IGF-I and IGF-II are produced within developing metanephros and promote renal organogenesis. Therefore, we investigated the effect of maternal diabetes on IGFs and their receptors in developing fetal rat kidney. Diabetes was induced in pregnant rats by a single injection of streptozotocin on day 0 of gestation. We measured the amounts of IGF and their receptors, both proteins and mRNAs, in the metanephroi of fetuses issued from diabetic subjects and in age-matched fetuses from control subjects (14-20 days of gestation). IGF-II was produced throughout fetal nephrogenesis, whereas IGF-I protein was not detected, suggesting a critical role of IGF-II in kidney development. Fetal exposure to maternal diabetes caused no change in IGF production in the early stages of nephrogenesis. Similarly, the amounts of IGF-I receptor and insulin receptor were not altered. By contrast, there was an increase in production of IGF-II/mannose-6-phosphate receptor throughout nephrogenesis. Because this receptor plays an essential role in regulating the action of IGF-II, the altered nephrogenesis in fetuses exposed to maternal diabetes may be linked to a decrease in IGF-II bioavailability.

Adverse effects of hyperglycemia on kidney development in rats: in vivo and in vitro studies

Congenital malformations occur more frequently in the offspring of diabetic mothers. These in vivo and in vitro studies investigate the potential adverse effects of hyperglycemia on kidney development in the rat. Female rats were made hyperglycemic throughout gestation with a single injection of streptozotocin (STZ) on day 0 of gestation, or for a short period encompassing the early stage of renal organogenesis by infusing glucose from gestational days 12-16. Kidney development in the pups was assessed by determining the total number of nephrons formed in the kidney. The number of nephrons was significantly reduced (10-35%) in the pups from STZ-treated dams, as a function of hyperglycemia. There were also fewer nephrons in pups from dams given glucose infusion whose hyperglycemia was transiently higher on day 13 of gestation. The in vitro experiments were done on metanephroi removed from 14-day-old fetuses and grown for 6 days in medium containing 0, 6.9, 13.8, or 27.5 mmol/l glucose. The development of explants grown in 0, 13.8, and 27.5 mmol/l glucose was impaired compared with that of explants grown in the 6.9 mmol/l control medium, showing that the glucose concentration must be closely controlled to ensure optimum in vitro metanephros development. Thus, exposure to hyperglycemia in utero can cause a nephron deficit, which in turn may have renal consequences later in life.

Mild vitamin A deficiency leads to inborn nephron deficit in the rat

BACKGROUND

Vitamin A plays a critical role in fetal organogenesis, and its severe deficiency during pregnancy is known to result in malformations of several organs, including the kidney. However, the consequences of mild vitamin A deficiency (VAD) has received little attention. In the present study, we examined the effect of in utero exposure to mild VAD on renal organogenesis.

METHODS

A rat model of mild VAD compatible with normal gestation was developed. Plasma retinol was determined by reverse phase HPLC in mothers and fetuses. Nephron counting was performed in kidneys of fetuses and pups issued from control and VAD mothers. Metanephroi explanted from 14-day-old fetuses from both groups were cultured in the presence or absence of retinoic acid (RA), and growth and differentiation were assessed. c-ret expression was analyzed from fetuses exposed in utero to VAD or to normal vitamin A status and also in metanephroi grown in culture with or without RA using RT-PCR.

RESULTS

The 50% reduction in circulating vitamin A levels induced by vitamin A deprivation in pregnant rats did not affect the overall fetal development. However, the number of nephrons was reduced by 20% in 21-day-old VAD fetuses. The number of nephrons was closely correlated with circulating vitamin A level in both VAD and control fetuses. Metanephroi taken from VAD fetuses developed to a lesser extent in vitro, but their capacity to respond to exogenous retinoic acid was not altered. Finally, we found that the expression of the proto-oncogene c-ret was modulated according to the retinoid environment.

CONCLUSION

We conclude that vitamin A supply to the fetus is critical in determining the number of nephrons. Data available thus far on the frequency of mild VAD during pregnancy and on the long-term consequences of inborn nephron deficit highlight the clinical relevance of the present study.

Effect of hyperglycemia on the polyol pathway in rat kidney during the perinatal period

The activity of the polyol pathway was studied in developing rat kidney. For this purpose, sorbitol content, aldose-reductase activity and sorbitol-dehydrogenase activity were determined in papilla from fetuses and 24-h-old neonates. After birth, no significant difference was observed in sorbitol content, whereas sorbitol-dehydrogenase activity decreased and aldose-reductase activity doubled. Changes in aldose-reductase activity were due to an increased number of enzymatic sites but not with a change in affinity. Low levels of sorbitol were found in fetal and neonatal medulla together with low levels of urine osmolarity. In neonates, sorbitol contents were tenfold lower than in the adult, probably as a result of a lower affinity and a lower number of enzymatic aldose-reductase sites. Attempts to increase the activity of polyol pathway in fetal kidney were made by means of hyperglycemic animals; this approach resulted in an increase of aldose-reductase activity without any change in sorbitol content. Our results indicate that, in fetal and neonatal kidneys, aldose-reductase activity is probably not the limiting factor for sorbitol synthesis; another parameter, such as the availability of NADPH, might explain the low efficiency of the polyol pathway during the perinatal period.

Dual guiding catheters for saphenous venous graft protection during native coronary angioplasty

The simultaneous use of two guiding catheters during angioplasty has been previously described for native coronary artery bifurcation lesions. We describe a case in which a dual guiding catheter, dual guidewire technique is used for angioplasty of a native vessel lesion spanning the anastomotic site of a sequential saphenous vein graft.

Effect of maternal hyperglycemia on NaK ATPase activity in fetal rat kidney

The effect of moderate hyperglycemia on renal ATP production and ATPase activity of rat fetus was investigated using the experimental procedure of maternal continuous infusion of glucose during the last 5 days of gestation. Glucose-infused mothers and their fetuses showed a high level of glycemia (8.8 and 5.5 mM, respectively) and a high level of insulinemia (3 times higher than in controls). No change in either ATP or ADP concentration was detectable but an increase in NaK ATPase activity occurred without any change in Mg ATPase activity. These modifications should be the result of an enhanced Na/glucose cotransport leading to an enhanced extrusion of Na at the basolateral membrane. These results indicate that immature kidney is able to increase NaK ATPase activity to maintain Na homeostasis.

Effect of lipid diet on mitochondrial palmitoyl-l-carnitine oxidation in kidney at postnatal development

Oxygen consumption (VO2) and beta-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase (beta OAC) activity were measured in isolated mitochondria of developing rat kidney from late fetal to adult age. In the presence of palmitoyl-L-carnitine, VO2 consumption was higher in suckling than in adult rats while beta OAC activity rose during the postnatal period and declined after weaning. During postnatal development, the high level of mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation was linked to the high level of fatty acid supply and any change in lipid diet altered mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation. By contrast at adult age, a high fat diet did not change either mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation or beta OAC activity measured in two nephron structures (PCT and mTAL). Dietary lipids seem to play an important role in the evolution of mitochondrial fatty acid oxidation in developing rat kidney.

Mitochondrial activity of rat kidney during ontogeny

The development of oxidative metabolism was studied from the late fetal to adult stages in mitochondria isolated from rat kidney. We used the oxygen consumption rate, as an index of inner membrane activity and citrate synthase and fumarase activities as an index of matrix activity and cytochrome c oxidase activity as an index of the number of mitochondria. Fumarase and citrate synthase activities displayed different developmental patterns, suggesting that these Krebs cycle enzymes did not mature synchronously. In fetal mitochondria, net oxygen consumption measured in the presence of succinate or glutamate as substrate, was low; it increased during the day after birth and reached adult level between days 10 and 15. During this period, the levels of citrate synthase and cytochrome c oxidase activity did not change significantly in the isolated mitochondrial fraction. However, in fetal and adult kidney homogenates, these levels increased four-fold, suggesting a corresponding increase in the number of mitochondria. Most of these increases occurred during the 15 days after birth. These results suggest that in rat kidney, mitochondrial maturation precedes the maturation of reabsorptive ion transport and does not limit its development.

Clinical decision making. Conference on therapeutic and diagnostic options

Clinical decision-making conference will be a new quarterly feature. Suggestions or contributions should be addressed to the authors. The authors discuss a 67-year-old male with coronary heart disease and renal failure.

Effects of birth on energy metabolism in the rat kidney

The oxygen-consumption rates and the activities of fumarase and beta-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase were compared in mitochondria isolated from fetal- and neonatal-rat kidney. Whole-organ ATP, phosphocreatine and creatine contents were determined in parallel. Kidney mitochondrial respiratory rates in the presence of succinate, glutamate/malate and palmitoyl-L-carnitine increased between 21 days post coitum and 1 day post partum, together with activities of oxidative enzymes. However, this postnatal maturation of oxidative metabolism was not yet initiated in mitochondria isolated from kidney 1 h post partum. An increase in ATP and phosphocreatine was observed immediately after delivery; newborn-rat kidney ATP content then remained high, whereas phosphocreatine reserves decreased considerably between 6 h and 1 day post partum. It is concluded that the increase in high-energy phosphate compounds observed at birth is not initially related to an activation of oxidative phosphorylation, and probably involves a transient stimulation of anaerobic glycolysis, while a progressive mitochondrial maturation takes place in the rat kidney during the first day of newborn life.

Changes in carnitine-palmitoyl-transferase and carnitine-acetyl-transferase activity in rat kidney during development; effects of fasting

Developmental changes in the activities of two enzymes catalysing transfer of fatty acid across the mitochondrial membrane (carnitine-palmitoyl-transferase and carnitine-acetyl-transferase) were studied in the kidneys of developing rats from late fetal life to 10 days post-partum and were compared to cortical adult value. The activities of carnitine-palmitoyl-transferase and carnitine-acetyl-transferase increased after birth to reach a maximal value on day 5. Thereafter both activities decreased to reach adult cortical value. The cytochrome c oxidase activity (index of mitochondrial activity) increases continuously from late fetal age to adult. In kidneys of fetuses from starved mothers the carnitine-palmitoyl-transferase activity is higher than that of controls while carnitine-acetyl-transferase activity is not changed. In postmature fetuses (23 days post-coïtum) carnitine-palmitoyl-transferase activity is the same as in 21 days post-coïtum old fetuses. These results are discussed in relation to variations in nutritional and hormonal changes occurring during the perinatal period.

Fatty acid oxidation by developing rat kidney

In view of the importance of free fatty acids (FFA) as substrates for the mature kidney, fatty acid oxidation by developing rat kidney has been investigated in vitro. Incubations of kidney slices from fetal stages (days 20 and 21 of gestation) and from days 1, 5, 10, 20, and 30 after birth have been carried out in Krebs-phosphate, pH 7.4, containing 0.5 or 1.5 mM U-14C-palmitate. Palmitate uptake and oxidation into CO2 were measured after 90 min incubation. At 0.5 mM concentration of palmitate in the incubation medium, fetal kidney exhibited a low uptake and a very low oxidation of palmitate into CO2. These two parameters increased only after birth and were maximum with slices from suckling rats between days 5 and 10 after birth. Palmitate oxidation increased only with postnatal days slices (maximum during the suckling period) and not with fetal slices. An increase in palmitate oxidation could be obtained with slices from kidneys of fetuses whose mothers had been starved 48h. These data suggest that the development of renal capacity for FFA oxidation during the perinatal period could be related to nutritional supply.

Oxidative metabolism in fetal rat kidney during late gestation

Slices of fetal rat kidney were incubated for 90 min at 37 degrees C in Krebs phosphate buffer containing [14C]glucose. Glucose uptake did not change significantly with age, but the 14CO2 evolved from [14C]-glucose dropped, and the lactate concentration at the end of incubation rose. The increasing development of the medulla during gestation was believed to be responsible for this. Higher glucose uptake and lower [14C]glucose incorporation into CO2 was observed in whole fetal slices compared to cortical slices from adult kidney, incubated following the same procedure. These results might be due to the smaller number of functionally differentiated nephrons present in fetal compared to adult kidney. Competition between glucose and lactate, normally found at high concentrations in fetal blood, and between glucose and beta-hydroxybutyrate, known to increase in circumstances such as starvation in the mother, showed a decrease in the 14CO2 evolved from [14C]glucose. This suggests that both these substrates might be oxidized by fetal kidney. This was confirmed by experiments in which lactate or beta-hydroxybutyrate replaced glucose in the incubation medium. Further, both these substrates seemed to be preferential fuels for oxidation compared to glucose, and their possible role in saving glucose is discussed.

Fetal metabolic response to phloridzin-induced hypoglycemia in pregnant rats

Phloridzin, an inhibitor of renal sugar transport, produces an important loss of glucose in urine of treated animals. In order to reduce severely the maternal glucose supply to the fetuses in short-term experiments, we have combined phloridzin administration to pregnant rats with 18 h starvation. Fetuses from starved phloridzin-treated mothers were compared with fetuses from starved mothers. Combined treatment markedly decreases fetal blood glucose concentration (-36%) and fetal liver glycogen stores (-76%). These changes are associated with a decrease in plasma insulin (-25%), a rise in plasma glucagon (+120%) and a marked increase of hepatic PEPCK activity (+400%). It appears from these results that phloridzin treatment for a short duration is able to induce glycogenolysis and the premature appearance of PEPCK in the liver of rat fetuses.

Sugar transport in the small intestine of obese hyperglycemic, fed and fasted mice

1. The in vitro transport of 3-0-methyl-D-glucose was measured in the small intestine of obses-hyperglycemic (ob/ob) mice and their lean littermates, fed or fasted for 48 hrs. 2. Transport was much increased in the jejunum of obese animals and, to a lesser extent, in obese mice on a chronic restricted diet. 3. Kinetic studies indicate that the Vmax of transport was significantly greater in obese than in lean mice, whether fed or fasting. Fasting increase the Vmax in lean but not in obese animals. These changes were more prominent in the jejunum. The apparent Km of transport was the same in all four groups. 4. These findings are discussed in relation to the increase in intestinal absorptive functions in diabetes and in some conditions of food restriction or starvation. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that the effects of diabetes and of starvation on intestinal sugar transport reflect an alteration in the same controlling factor.

Blood glucose and serum insulin levels in lean and genetically obese mice

Fed and 24 hour fasted lean and genetically obese mice (ob/ob) were given a fixed glucose load per gm body weight by intraperitoneal and intragastric administration. Intraperitoneal glucose injection into the obese mice produced a prolonged elevated blood glucose level with a concomitant significant decrease of circulating insulin. Possible interpretations of this observation are discussed. In those obese animals in which glucose was administered intragastrically the fed obese mice had a blood glucose concentration of 450-500 mg% for a period of one hour but there was no increase in circulating insulin, however, in the fasted obese mice in which the glucose concentration was about 350 mg% for one hour, there was a significant increase in the circulating insulin levels. The fed and fasted lean mice showed normal glucose tolerance curves and the expected increase in circulating insulin following either intraperitoneal orintragastric glucose loads. It is concluded that hyperglycaemia in the ob/ob mice is unlikely to be the principal cause of hyperinsulinaemia.