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Differential Effects of Intrauterine Growth Restriction on the Regional Neurochemical Profile of the Developing Rat Brain

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Abstract

Intrauterine growth restricted (IUGR) infants are at increased risk for neurodevelopmental deficits that suggest the hippocampus and cerebral cortex may be particularly vulnerable. Evaluate regional neurochemical profiles in IUGR and normally grown (NG) 7-day old rat pups using in vivo 1H magnetic resonance (MR) spectroscopy at 9.4 T. IUGR was induced via bilateral uterine artery ligation at gestational day 19 in pregnant Sprague–Dawley dams. MR spectra were obtained from the cerebral cortex, hippocampus and striatum at P7 in IUGR (N = 12) and NG (N = 13) rats. In the cortex, IUGR resulted in lower concentrations of phosphocreatine, glutathione, taurine, total choline, total creatine (P < 0.01) and [glutamate]/[glutamine] ratio (P < 0.05). Lower taurine concentrations were observed in the hippocampus (P < 0.01) and striatum (P < 0.05). IUGR differentially affects the neurochemical profile of the P7 rat brain regions. Persistent neurochemical changes may lead to cortex-based long-term neurodevelopmental deficits in human IUGR infants.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Dinesh Deelchand, Ph.D. for advice and assistance in spectral processing and quantification, Michael Georgieff, M.D. for critical review of the manuscript and Rebecca Simmons, M.D. for technical and intellectual support. The National Institute of Health (CHRCDA K12 HD068322), Bethesda, Maryland, the Viking Children’s Fund, Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN and the WM KECK Foundation “A Multi-Mode Multi-Channel Transmitter for 9.4 T NMR” supported this project. The Center for Magnetic Resonance Research is supported by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) Grant P41EB015894, the Institutional Center for Cores for Advanced Neuroimaging Award P30 NS076408 and the WM KECK Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Neonatology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, 420 Delaware Street SE, Suite 13-227, MMC 391, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA

    Anne M. Maliszewski-Hall, Michelle Alexander & Raghavendra Rao

  2. Department of Radiology, Center for Magnetic Resonance Research, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA

    Ivan Tkáč & Gülin Öz

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  1. Anne M. Maliszewski-Hall
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  2. Michelle Alexander
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  5. Raghavendra Rao
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Correspondence to Anne M. Maliszewski-Hall.

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Special Issue: In Honor of Dr. Mary McKenna.

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Maliszewski-Hall, A.M., Alexander, M., Tkáč, I. et al. Differential Effects of Intrauterine Growth Restriction on the Regional Neurochemical Profile of the Developing Rat Brain. Neurochem Res 42, 133–140 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-015-1609-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11064-015-1609-y

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