Excessive Activation of NMDA Receptors Induced Neurodevelopmental Brain Damage and Cognitive Deficits in Rats Exposed to Intrauterine Hypoxia.

Excessive Activation of NMDA Receptors Induced Neurodevelopmental Brain Damage and Cognitive Deficits in Rats Exposed to Intrauterine Hypoxia. Neurochem Res. 2017 Dec 19;: Authors: Li T, Luo Z, Liu Y, Wang M, Yu X, Cao C, Liao Z, Ding Y, Yue S Abstract Intrauterine hypoxia is one of the most common stressors in fetuses, which can lead to abnormal brain development and permanent neurological deficits in adulthood. Neurological disorder excitotoxicity induced by hypoxia or ischemia may involve N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs), which are known to participate in the maturation and plasticity of developmental neurons. Inhibition of NMDARs has been reported to improve neurological outcomes in traumatic brain injuries and Alzheimer's disease. Here, we investigated if antenatal blockade of NMDARs induced by memantine could alleviate neurodevelopmental brain damage and long-term cognitive deficits in intrauterine hypoxia rats. Pregnant rats were assigned to four groups: air control, air + memantine, hypoxia, and hypoxia + memantine. The rats were exposed to hypoxic conditions (FiO2 = 0.095-0.115) for 8 h/day (hypoxia group) or given a daily memantine injection (5 mg/kg, i.p.) before hypoxia exposure from pregnant day 19 (G19) to G20 (hypoxia + memantine group).The influence of NMDARs antenatal blockade by memantine on intrauterine hypoxia-induced brain developmental damage and cognitive function was then studied. Intr...
Source: Neurochemical Research - Category: Neuroscience Authors: Tags: Neurochem Res Source Type: research