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Preventive Effect of Nimodipine on Early Postnatal Modifications of the Protein Spectrum in the Brain of Rats Subjected to Prenatal Stress

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Neurophysiology Aims and scope

Using electrophoretic analysis, we studied peculiarities of the spectrum of soluble proteins in the preoptic region (PR), mediobasal hypothalamus (MBH), and hippocampus of 5-day-old rats, males and females, offspring of mothers subjected to 1-h-long immobilization stress within the last week of pregnancy (daily, from day 15 to day 21). A part of the pregnant rats of the experimental group were treated with a blocker of L-type calcium channels, nimodipine (20 mg/kg perorally, 30 min before the beginning of immobilization). The rats, which were descendants of intact mothers, demonstrated clear sex-related differences of the indices of contents of proteins with the molecular mass of 14.3 and 24.0 kDa. In the PR, the contents of these proteins were higher in females, while amounts of 34.7 and 66.0 kDa proteins in this structure were greater in males. There was no sex-related dimorphism of the protein composition in the MBH and hippocampus of control animals. Prenatal stress smoothed sex-related differences in the content of 66.0 kDa protein and, simultaneously, induced such differences in the amount of 18.4 kDa protein in the PO. The formation of sexrelated dimorphism of the protein spectrum in the MBH and hippocampus was a special effect of prenatal stress. Peroral introduction of nimodipine before stressing (immobilization) of pregnant females interfered with manifestations of the influence of prenatal stress upon the content of 66.0 kDa protein in the PR of 5-day-old descendants. A protective effect of nimodipine in the MDH was manifested with respect to prenatal stress-induced changes in the content of 34.7 kDa protein, while in the hippocampus this was found for 40.0 kDa protein. The results obtained allow us to conclude that calcium signalization is significantly involved in the mechanism of realization of early effects of prenatal stress.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Komissarenko Institute of Endocrinology and Metabolism, National Academy of Medical Sciences of Ukraine, Kyiv, Ukraine

    N. D. Nosenko, A. A. Limareva & A. G. Reznikov

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  1. N. D. Nosenko
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  2. A. A. Limareva
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  3. A. G. Reznikov
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Correspondence to N. D. Nosenko.

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Nosenko, N.D., Limareva, A.A. & Reznikov, A.G. Preventive Effect of Nimodipine on Early Postnatal Modifications of the Protein Spectrum in the Brain of Rats Subjected to Prenatal Stress. Neurophysiology 44, 20–25 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11062-012-9262-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11062-012-9262-4

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