37 research outputs found
Identifying a Window of Vulnerability during Fetal Development in a Maternal Iron Restriction Model
It is well acknowledged from observations in humans that iron deficiency during pregnancy can be associated with a number of developmental problems in the newborn and developing child. Due to the obvious limitations of human studies, the stage during gestation at which maternal iron deficiency causes an apparent impairment in the offspring remains elusive. In order to begin to understand the time window(s) during pregnancy that is/are especially susceptible to suboptimal iron levels, which may result in negative effects on the development of the fetus, we developed a rat model in which we were able to manipulate and monitor the dietary iron intake during specific stages of pregnancy and analyzed the developing fetuses. We established four different dietary-feeding protocols that were designed to render the fetuses iron deficient at different gestational stages. Based on a functional analysis that employed Auditory Brainstem Response measurements, we found that maternal iron restriction initiated prior to conception and during the first trimester were associated with profound changes in the developing fetus compared to iron restriction initiated later in pregnancy. We also showed that the presence of iron deficiency anemia, low body weight, and changes in core body temperature were not defining factors in the establishment of neural impairment in the rodent offspring
Blood-brain barrier transport of amyloid beta peptides in efflux pump knock-out animals evaluated by in vivo optical imaging
A\u3b2 transport (flux) across the blood-brain barrier (BBB) is thought to contribute to the pathogenesis of Alzheimer\u2019s disease as well as to elimination of toxic amyloid from the brain by immunotherapy. Several BBB transporters have been implicated in A\u3b2 exchange between brain parenchyma and the circulation, including efflux transporters P-glycoprotein/ABCB1 and BCRP/ABCG2. Here we describe an application of in vivo optical imaging methods to study A\u3b2 transport across the BBB in wild-type or animals deficient in specific efflux transporters.Peer reviewed: YesNRC publication: Ye