Liu Jing, Liu Li, Wang Xiao-Feng, Teng Hui-Yun, Yang Na
Department of Neonatology and NICU of Bayi Children's Hospital, General Hospital of Beijing Military Command, Beijing, China.
Neuropediatrics. 2012 Oct;43(5):258-63. doi: 10.1055/s-0032-1324730. Epub 2012 Aug 29.
This study aimed to investigate whether antenatal taurine can reduce neuronal apoptosis in fetal rat brains with intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) and its possible mechanisms. A total of 15 pregnant rats were randomly divided into the following three groups: control, IUGR, and IUGR+ antenatal taurine supplements. Neuronal apoptosis was detected using transferase-mediated dUTP biotin nick end-labeling (TUNEL); the expression of Bcl-2, Bax, and caspase-3 mRNA and proteins was detected by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry. In IUGR groups, the results were as follows: (1) the expression of Bcl-2 decreased whereas the expression of Bax increased, accordingly, the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax decreased, (2) the expression of caspase-3 increased significantly, and (3) apoptotic neuron counts in IUGR groups was significantly increased compared with controls. In taurine supplement groups, the results were as follows: (1) the expression of Bcl-2 increased whereas the expression of Bax decreased, accordingly, the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax increased, (2) the expression of caspase-3 in fetal rat cerebral cortex tissues decreased significantly, and (3) the number of apoptotic neurons was significantly decreased compared with IUGR groups. In addition, the changes in the expression of Bcl-2, Bax, and caspase-3 mRNA and protein were correlated. So we concluded that antenatal supplementation of taurine may reduce neuronal apoptosis in IUGR fetal rats via up-regulating the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax and down-regulating the expression of caspase-3.
本研究旨在探讨产前补充牛磺酸是否能减少宫内生长受限（IUGR）胎鼠脑内神经元凋亡及其可能机制。将15只孕鼠随机分为以下三组：对照组、IUGR组和IUGR + 产前补充牛磺酸组。采用末端脱氧核苷酸转移酶介导的dUTP生物素缺口末端标记法（TUNEL）检测神经元凋亡；通过逆转录 - 聚合酶链反应和免疫组织化学检测Bcl - 2、Bax和caspase - 3 mRNA及蛋白的表达。在IUGR组中，结果如下：（1）Bcl - 2表达降低而Bax表达增加，相应地，Bcl - 2/Bax比值降低；（2）caspase - 3表达显著增加；（3）与对照组相比，IUGR组凋亡神经元计数显著增加。在补充牛磺酸组中，结果如下：（1）Bcl - 2表达增加而Bax表达降低，相应地，Bcl - 2/Bax比值增加；（2）胎鼠大脑皮质组织中caspase - 3表达显著降低；（3）与IUGR组相比，凋亡神经元数量显著减少。此外，Bcl - 2、Bax和caspase - 3 mRNA及蛋白表达的变化具有相关性。因此，我们得出结论，产前补充牛磺酸可能通过上调Bcl - 2/Bax比值和下调caspase - 3表达来减少IUGR胎鼠的神经元凋亡。
