Ary Alexis W, Aguilar Valerie R, Szumlinski Karen K, Kippin Tod E
Department of Psychology, University of California, Santa Barbara, California 93106, USA.
Synapse. 2007 Nov;61(11):938-41. doi: 10.1002/syn.20439.
Early environmental stress influences developmental processes resulting in alterations in behavior and brain function, including abnormalities in glutamate neurotransmission. Here, we assessed the influence of prenatal stress on limbo-corticostriatal expression of Homer proteins that are critical elements in glutamatergic signaling. Pregnant, female Sprague-Dawley rats were subjected to either no treatment or to restraint stress 3 times per day for the last 7 days of gestation. At 21 d of age, offspring were sacrificed and brain tissue was rapidly extracted. Immunoblotting revealed regionally specific increases in certain Homer protein isoforms within prefrontal cortex and limbic structures, whereas the striatum exhibited a reduction in Homer 1a levels. These findings indicate that stress during development can produce enduring perturbations in Homer protein expression that likely contribute to glutamatergic and behavioral abnormalities observed following early environmental stress.
早期环境应激会影响发育过程，导致行为和脑功能改变，包括谷氨酸能神经传递异常。在此，我们评估了产前应激对Homer蛋白在边缘-皮质-纹状体表达的影响，Homer蛋白是谷氨酸能信号传导中的关键元件。怀孕的雌性Sprague-Dawley大鼠在妊娠的最后7天，要么不接受处理，要么每天接受3次束缚应激。在21日龄时，处死后代并迅速提取脑组织。免疫印迹显示前额叶皮质和边缘结构中某些Homer蛋白亚型存在区域特异性增加，而纹状体中Homer 1a水平降低。这些发现表明，发育过程中的应激可导致Homer蛋白表达产生持久扰动，这可能是早期环境应激后观察到的谷氨酸能和行为异常的原因。
