Summary
Previous studies of Golgi-impregnated material demonstrated the vulnerability of the dendritic arbors of the CA1 pyramidal cells of the hippocampus and the Purkinje and granule cells of the cerebellum to perinatal exposure to ethanol. The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether the alterations seen in the Golgi material could be corroborated at the ultrastructural level, and to qualitatively survey the neuropil surrounding the affected neurons. Pregnant mice were maintained on either a chocolate-flavoured liquid diet containing 25% of its caloric value as ethanol (5.4% v/v) or a chow and water diet. The treatment period began on gestational day 12 and continued until postnatal day 7, at which time the ethanol-exposed animals were returned to a chow and water diet. Pups were killed on postnatal day 14, and the tissue was processed for ultrastructural and Golgi analysis. The results confirm our Golgi findings that ethanol severely compromises the dendritic arbor, and also indicate that ethanol exposure produces changes in the organization of the neurophil, as well as alterations in the organization of the perikaryal organelles, and glial swelling.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Abel, E. L. (1984) Prenatal effects of alcohol.Drug and Alcohol Dependence 14, 1010.
Davies, D. L. &Smith, D. E. (1981) A Golgi study of mouse hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons following perinatal ethanol exposure.Neuroscience Letters 26, 49–54.
Davies, D. L. &Vernadakis, A. (1984) Effects of ethanol on cultured glial cells: proliferation and glutamine synthetase activity.Developmental Brain Research 16, 27–35.
Dewey, S. &West, J. R. (1985) Direct evidence for enhanced axon sprouting in adult rats exposed to ethanolin utero.Brain Research Bulletin 14, 339–48.
Fairen, A., Peters, A. &Saldanha, J. (1977) A new procedure for examining Golgi impregnated neurons by light and electron microscopy.Journal of Neurocytology 6, 311–37.
Ha, H. (1966) A modified Golgi-Cox method with counter-stain for the study of synapses.Anatomical Record 155, 59–64.
Hammer, R. P. &Scheibel, A. B. (1981) Morphologic evidence for a delay of neuronal maturation in fetal alcohol exposure.Experimental Neurology 74, 587–96.
Henderson, G. I. &Schenker, S. (1977) The effect of maternal alcohol consumption on the viability and visceral development of the newborn rat.Research Communications in Chemical Pathology and Pharmacology 16, 15–32.
Holtzman, D., Herman, M. M., Desautel, M. &Lewiston, N. (1979) Effects of altered osmolarity on respiration and morphology of mitochondria from the developing brain.Journal of Neurochemistry 33, 453–60.
Jones, D. G. &Colangelo, W. (1985) Ultrastructural investigation into the influence of ethanol on synaptic maturation in the rat neocortex. I. Qualitative Assessment.Developmental Neuroscience 7, 94–106.
Jones, K. L. &Smith, D. W. (1975) The fetal alcohol syndrome.Teratology 12, 1–10.
Karwacka, H. (1980) Ultrastructural and biochemical studies of the brain and other organs in rats after chronic ethanol administration. II. Electron microscopic studies of rat brain after chronic ethanol administration.Experimental Pathology 18, 127–35.
Khawaja, J. A., Wallgren, H., Usmi, J. &Hilska, P. (1978) Neuronal and liver protein synthesis in the developing offsprings following treatment of pregnant rats with ethanol or 1,3-butanediol.Research Communications in Chemical Pathology and Pharmacology 22, 573–80.
Lanning, J. C. (1980) Effects of ethanol on human fetal cerebral cortexin vitro.Anatomical Record 196, 242.
Mcmullen, P. A., Saint-Cyr, J. A. &Carlen, P. L. (1984) Morphological alterations in rat CA1 hippocampal pyramidal cell dendrites resulting from chronic ethanol consumption and withdrawal.Journal of Comparative Neurology 225, 111–18.
Miller, M. W. &Dow-Edwards, D. (1988) Structural and metabolic alterations in rat cerebral cortex induced by prenatal exposure to ethanol.Brain Research 474, 316–26.
Palay, S. L. &Chan-Palay, V. (1974)Cerebellar Cortex, Cytology and Organization, p. 28. New York: Springer-Verlag.
Palay, S. L., McGee-Russell, S. M., Gordon, S. &Grillo, M. A. (1968) Fixation of neural tissues for electron microscopy by perfusion with solutions of osmium tetroxide.Journal of Cell Biology 12, 385–410.
Paula-Barbosa, M. M. &Tavares, M. A. (1985) Long term alcohol consumption induces microtubular changes in the adult rat cerebellar cortex.Brain Research 339, 195–9.
Peters, A., Palay, S. L. &Webster, H. deF (1976)The Fine Structure of the Nervous System, pp. 118–180. Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders Company.
Popova, E. N. &Shchekalina, G. A. (1980) O vliyanii alkogolya na glial'nyye kletki (Effect of alcohol on glial cells).Zhurnal Neuropatologii I Psikhiatrii 80, 539–44.
Rafferty, K. A. (1970)Methods in Experimental Embryology of the Mouse, pp. 5–6. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press.
Reneau-Piqueras, J., Zaragosa, R., Depaz, P., Baguena-Cervellera, R., Megias, L. &Guerri, C. (1989) Effects of prolonged ethanol exposure on the glial fibrillary acidic protein-containing intermediate filaments of astrocytes in primary culture: A quantitative immunofluorescence and immunogold electron microscopic study.Journal of of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry 37, 229–40.
Schneider, C. W., Evans, S. K., Chenoweth, M. B. &Beman, F. L. (1973) Ethanol preference and behavioral tolerance in mice: Biochemical and neurophysiological mechanisms.Journal of Comparative Psychology 82, 446–74.
Smith, D. E. &Davies, D. L. (1981) The effect of perinatally administered ethanol on the postnatal development of the Purkinje cells in the mouse cerebellum.Society for Neuroscience Abstracts 7, 953.
Smith, D. E., Foundas, A. &Canale, J. (1986) Effect of perinatally administered ethanol on the development of the cerebellar granule cell.Experimental Neurology 92, 491–501.
Tavares, M. A. &Paula-Barbosa, M. M. (1982) Alcohol induced granule cell loss in the cerebellar cortex of the adult rat.Experimental Neurology 78, 754–82.
Tavares, M. A. &Paula-Barbosa, M. M. (1984a) Remodelling of the cerebellar cortex molecular layer architectonics after prolonged alcohol consumption in the adult rat.Neuroscience Letters Supplement 18, S179.
Tavares, M. A. &Paula-Barbosa, M. M. (1984b) Remodeling of the cerebellar glomeruli after long-term alcohol consumption in the adult rat.Brain Research 309, 217–26.
Tavares, M. A., Paula-Barbosa, M. M., Gray, E. G. &Volk, B. (1983) Dendritic spine plasticity and chronic alcoholism in rats.Neuroscience Letters 42, 234–8.
Tavares, M. A., Paula-Barbosa, M. M., Gray, E. G. &Volk, B. (1985) Dendritic inclusions in the cerebellar granular layer after long term alcohol consumption in adult rats.Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 9, 45–8.
Valverde, F. (1970) The Golgi method. A tool for comparative structural analyses. InContemporary Research Methods in Neuroanatomy (edited byNauta, W. J. H. &Ebbesson, S. O. E.), pp. 11–31. New York: Springer-Verlag.
Volk, B. (1984) Cerebellar histogenesis and synaptic maturation following pre- and postnatal alcohol administration.Acta Neuropathologica (Berlin) 63, 57–65.
Volk, B. &Maletz, J. (1985) Nuclear inclusions following chronic ethanol administration — An electron-microscopic investigation of the rat parietal cortex.Acta Neuropathologica (Berlin) 67, 170–3.
Volk, B., Maletz, J., Tiedemann, M., Mall, G., Klein, C. &Berlet, H. H. (1981) Impaired maturation of Purkinje cells in the fetal alcohol syndrome of the rat — Light and electron microscopic investigations.Acta Neuropathologica (Berlin) 54, 19–29.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Smith, D.E., Davies, D.L. Effect of perinatal administration of ethanol on the CA1 pyramidal cell of the hippocampus and Purkinje cell of the cerebellum: an ultrastructural survey. J Neurocytol 19, 708–717 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01188039
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01188039