Thomas Jennifer D, Idrus Nirelia M, Monk Bradley R, Dominguez Hector D
Center for Behavioral Teratology, Department of Psychology, San Diego State University, 6363 Alvarado Court, San Diego, CA 92120, USA.
Birth Defects Res A Clin Mol Teratol. 2010 Oct;88(10):827-37. doi: 10.1002/bdra.20713.
Prenatal alcohol exposure can alter physical and behavioral development, leading to a range of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. Despite warning labels, pregnant women continue to drink alcohol, creating a need to identify effective interventions to reduce the severity of alcohol's teratogenic effects. Choline is an essential nutrient that influences brain and behavioral development. Recent studies indicate that choline supplementation can reduce the teratogenic effects of developmental alcohol exposure. The present study examined whether choline supplementation during prenatal ethanol treatment could mitigate the adverse effects of ethanol on behavioral development.
Pregnant Sprague-Dawley rats were intubated with 6 g/kg/day ethanol in a binge-like manner from gestational days 5-20; pair-fed and ad libitum chow controls were included. During treatment, subjects from each group were intubated with either 250 mg/kg/day choline chloride or vehicle. Spontaneous alternation, parallel bar motor coordination, Morris water maze, and spatial working memory were assessed in male and female offspring.
Subjects prenatally exposed to alcohol exhibited delayed development of spontaneous alternation behavior and deficits on the working memory version of the Morris water maze during adulthood, effects that were mitigated with prenatal choline supplementation. Neither alcohol nor choline influenced performance on the motor coordination task.
These data indicate that choline supplementation during prenatal alcohol exposure may reduce the severity of fetal alcohol effects, particularly on alterations in tasks that require behavioral flexibility. These findings have important implications for children of women who drink alcohol during pregnancy.
孕期酒精暴露会改变身体和行为发育，导致一系列胎儿酒精谱系障碍。尽管有警示标签，但孕妇仍继续饮酒，因此需要确定有效的干预措施来减轻酒精致畸作用的严重程度。胆碱是一种影响大脑和行为发育的必需营养素。最近的研究表明，补充胆碱可以减少发育性酒精暴露的致畸作用。本研究探讨了产前乙醇治疗期间补充胆碱是否能减轻乙醇对行为发育的不利影响。
从妊娠第5天至第20天，以暴饮方式给怀孕的斯普拉格-道利大鼠插管注入6 g/kg/天的乙醇；包括配对喂养和自由摄食对照组。在治疗期间，每组的受试动物分别插管注入250 mg/kg/天的氯化胆碱或赋形剂。对雄性和雌性后代进行自发交替、平行杠运动协调、莫里斯水迷宫和空间工作记忆评估。
产前暴露于酒精的受试动物在成年期表现出自发交替行为发育延迟以及在莫里斯水迷宫工作记忆版本测试中存在缺陷，产前补充胆碱可减轻这些影响。酒精和胆碱均未影响运动协调任务的表现。
这些数据表明，产前酒精暴露期间补充胆碱可能会降低胎儿酒精影响的严重程度，特别是对需要行为灵活性的任务中的改变。这些发现对孕期饮酒女性的子女具有重要意义。
