Effects of Genetics and Sex on Hippocampal Gene Expression and Adolescent Behaviors Following Neonatal Ethanol Exposure in BXD Recombinant Inbred Mice
type: CreativeWork
description: Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) are the leading preventable neurodevelopmental disorders in the western world. A hallmark symptom of FASD is cognitive and learning deficits that present in early childhood and continue throughout adulthood. Teratogenic effects of alcohol include increased cell death in the hippocampus, a brain region critically important in learning and memory. Genetics have been shown to have a role in the severity of alcohol’s teratogenic effect on the developing brain. Previous work in our lab identified differential vulnerability to ethanol-induced call death in the hippocampus using fourteen BXD strains and the two parental strains. The goal of the present study was to examine the effect of genetics and sex on differential gene expression changes and behavioral responses in animals exposed to postnatal ethanol. To test this, we examined multiple BXD strains that showed increased susceptibility to ethanol-induced cell death in the hippocampus, multiple BXD strains that were resistant to ethanol’s effect on hippocampal cell death, and the parental B6 and D2 strains which showed moderate levels of cell death in the hippocampus after ethanol exposure. Neonatal mice were treated on postnatal day 7 (third trimester equivalent in humans). Animals received a subcutaneous injection of either 5.0g/kg ethanol in saline solution or isovolumetric saline given in two equal doses two hours apart. Animals were sacrificed 7 hours after initial ethanol exposure. Differential gene expression was examined using the Affymetrix Microarray platform across the strains. In another subset of animals exposed to the same alcohol paradigm, we investigated the long-term effects of developmental alcohol exposure on cognition and behavior in select BXD strains and parental strains. Adolescent animals exposed to postnatal ethanol were tested across the following behavioral tests: elevated plus maze, open field, Y-maze, and T-maze. We identified gene expression changes a…
abstract: Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) are the leading preventable neurodevelopmental disorders in the western world. A hallmark symptom of FASD is cognitive and learning deficits that present in early childhood and continue throughout adulthood. Teratogenic effects of alcohol include increased cell death in the hippocampus, a brain region critically important in learning and memory. Genetics have been shown to have a role in the severity of alcohol’s teratogenic effect on the developing brain. Previous work in our lab identified differential vulnerability to ethanol-induced call death in the hippocampus using fourteen BXD strains and the two parental strains. The goal of the present study was to examine the effect of genetics and sex on differential gene expression changes and behavioral responses in animals exposed to postnatal ethanol. To test this, we examined multiple BXD strains that showed increased susceptibility to ethanol-induced cell death in the hippocampus, multiple BXD strains that were resistant to ethanol’s effect on hippocampal cell death, and the parental B6 and D2 strains which showed moderate levels of cell death in the hippocampus after ethanol exposure. Neonatal mice were treated on postnatal day 7 (third trimester equivalent in humans). Animals received a subcutaneous injection of either 5.0g/kg ethanol in saline solution or isovolumetric saline given in two equal doses two hours apart. Animals were sacrificed 7 hours after initial ethanol exposure. Differential gene expression was examined using the Affymetrix Microarray platform across the strains. In another subset of animals exposed to the same alcohol paradigm, we investigated the long-term effects of developmental alcohol exposure on cognition and behavior in select BXD strains and parental strains. Adolescent animals exposed to postnatal ethanol were tested across the following behavioral tests: elevated plus maze, open field, Y-maze, and T-maze. We identified gene expression changes a…
author: Baker, Jessica A.
keywords: Behavioral Neuroscience, Developmental Alcohol Exposure, Developmental Neuroscience, Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders, Genetics, Mice, Diseases, Medical Neurobiology, Medical Sciences, Medicine and Health Sciences, Nervous System Diseases, Neurosciences
date published: 2021-07-01T07:00:00Z
date modified: 2026-07-24T05:00:45Z
provider: University of Tennessee Health Science Center
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Tennessee Health Science Center