Ethanol-induced alterations in the expression of neurotrophic factors in the developing rat central nervous system

Neonatal rats were exposed to ethanol throughout gestation, or during the e arly postnatal period (postnatal days 4-10 (P4-10)), and enzyme-linked immu noabsorbent assays were subsequently conducted in order to assess nerve gro wth factor (NGF), brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and neurotrophin -3 (NT-3) protein content in hippocampus, septum, cortex/striatum and cereb ellum. These determinations revealed that following prenatal ethanol treatm ent, there were significant ethanol-induced increases in NGF in P1 cortex/s triatum, but no changes in any of the three neurotrophic factors (NTFs) in the other brain regions. Cortex/striatal NGF protein returned to control le vels by P10. Following early postnatal exposure, BDNF was elevated in hippo campus and cortex/striatum (assessed on P10), and NGF was also enhanced in cortex/striatum at this age. Hippocampal and cortex/striatal BDNF returned to control levels by P21, but cortex/striatal NGF levels remained enhanced at this age. This NTF did not differ in ethanol and control animals by P60, however. The possible significance of elevated levels of NTFs as a functio n of ethanol exposure is discussed, and it is speculated that while such al terations could play a protective role, increases in these substances durin g critical developmental periods could also prove to be deleterious, and co uld even contribute to certain of the neuropathologies which have been obse rved following developmental ethanol exposure. (C) 2000 Published by Elsevi er Science B.V. All rights reserved.