Description
Alcohol consumption during pregnancy can lead to birth defects ranging from observable cranio-facial malformations to cognitive dysfunction, effects known as fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). FASD are an important public health concern, as current prevalence rates in the U.S. are estimated to be between 2% to 5% of live births. Prenatal alcohol exposure can damage brain structures, including the hippocampus. Alcohol-induced disruptions in hippocampal plasticity may contribute to the long-lasting cognitive impairments observed in individuals with FASD. Previously, we found that supplemental choline, an essential nutrient, can attenuate some behavioral deficits in rats related to developmental ethanol exposure. Others have reported that perinatal choline supplementation in typically developing rats boosts hippocampal BDNF, a brain chemical essential for neuronal plasticity. Therefore, we hypothesized that the benefits of perinatal choline supplementation following prenatal alcohol exposure might be due to choline’s effects on BDNF in the hippocampus. To investigate this, we used Sprague- Dawley rats in a 2 (ethanol, sham) x 2 (choline, saline) x 2 (male, female) design (N = 9/group). Subjects were intubated with either 5.25 g/kg/day alcohol or a sham intubation from postnatal days (PD) 4-9, a brain development period equivalent to the human third trimester of pregnancy. Subjects were then injected with either 100 mg/kg/day of choline or saline from PD 10-30. From PD 31-34, open field activity was monitored for 60 mins/day. Hippocampal tissue was then extracted on PD 35 and BDNF was analyzed using Western blotting. Ethanol exposure induced hyperactivity and choline attenuated these alcohol-related alterations in activity. In addition, BDNF levels were significantly decreased by about 20% in subjects exposed to ethanol, an effect that was significantly mitigated with the choline supplementation. In fact, BDNF levels of ethanol-exposed subjects treated with choline did not differ from that of controls. BDNF was not altered by choline among controls. Our results indicate that choline may improve cognitive abilities following early alcohol exposure by increasing BDNF and enhancing hippocampal plasticity. These findings provide important information on the effects of choline on brain development, as this nutritional intervention is translated as a potential treatment to clinical populations with FASD.
