Cerebellar alterations induced by chronic hypoxia: an immunohistochemical study using a chick embryonic model

A model of fetal aerogenic hypoxia was developed in which fertilized chicke n eggs were half-painted with melted wax and incubated under normal conditi ons. The cerebellum of the hypoxic chick embryos at a later stage of develo pment (E18-20) was analyzed immunochemically. Hypoxic insult resulted in co nsiderable neurocytological deficits of the Purkinje cells and altered glia l fibrillary acid protein (GFAP) immunoreactivity in the fetal cerebellum. Purkinje cells in the hypoxic embryos were marked by small cell size, poorl y developed dendrites, low cell density, deletion and ectopia. On the other hand, enhanced GFAP immunoreactivity was found in astrocytes and Bergmann glia of the hypoxic embryos. Our results indicate that chronic hypoxia in t he chick fetus can cause severe disorders of neuronal development as well a s glial activation. We suggest that our hypoxic model of chick embryos coul d be an accessible animal model for further elucidating fetal hypoxia. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.