Antenatal Taurine Improves Intrauterine Growth-Restricted Fetal Rat Brain Development Which Is Associated with Increasing the Activity of PKA-CaMKII/c-fos Signal Pathway

作者：Liu, Fang; Liu, Ying; Liu, Jing^*; Ma, Li-Ya

来源：Neuropediatrics, 2015, 46(5): 299-306.

DOI：10.1055/s-0035-1558434

• intrauterine growth restriction
• taurine
• protein kinase A
• Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II
• c-fos

This study aimed to explore whether antenatal supplement of taurine can improve the brain development of fetal rats with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) via protein kinase A (PKA)-Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII)/c-fos pathway. A total of 30 pregnant rats were randomly divided into the following three groups: control, IUGR, and IUGR with antenatal taurine supplementation groups. The expression of PKA, CaMKII, and c-fos mRNA and proteins in fetal rat brain tissues were detected by quantitative real time (qRT)-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and Western blot, respectively; and the number of PKA-, CaMKII-and c-fos-positive cells was measured by immunohistochemistry. Western blot and qRT-PCR revealed that antenatal taurine supplementation significantly increased PKA, CaMKII, and c-fos protein and mRNA levels in fetal rats brain with IUGR (p < 0.05). Immunohistochemistry results showed that the numbers of PKA-, CaMKII-, and c-fos-positive cells were significantly decreased in the IUGR groups compared with the controls; while antenatal taurine could significantly increase the positive cell numbers (p < 0.05). So, we conclude that antenatal taurine improves IUGR fetal brain development which is associated with increasing the activity of PKA-CaMKII/c-fos signal pathway.

• 出版日期2015-10
• 单位中国人民解放军第306医院; 中国人民解放军陆军总医院; 南方医科大学