Inflammatory pain and corticosterone response in infant rats: effect of 5-HT1A agonist buspirone prior to gestational stress.

Our researches have shown that gestational stress causes exacerbation of inflammatory pain in the offspring; the maternal 5-HT1A agonist buspirone before the stress prevents the adverse effect. The serotonergic system and hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis are closely interrelated. However, interrelations between inflammatory pain and the HPA axis during the hyporeactive period of the latter have not been studied.

Buspirone before prenatal stress protects against adverse effects of stress on emotional and inflammatory pain-related behaviors in infant rats: age and sex differences.

Prenatal stress strengthens tonic pain and provokes depression. The serotoninergic system is involved in these processes. We recently showed that maternal buspirone, a 5-HT1A receptor agonist, protects against the adverse effects of in utero stress on depression and pain in adult rat offspring.

Short- and long-term influences of hypoxia during early postnatal period of development on behavioral and hormonal responses in rats.

Hypoxia is a common neonatal stress that leads to essential long-lasting complications in the brain development. The aim of this study was to determine short- and long-term effects of early postnatal hypoxia (on day 7) on depression- and pain-related behaviors and the plasma corticosterone levels. The plasma corticosterone levels increased after 3-h severe hypoxia in 7-day-old rat pups (hypoxic rats) as compared to basal corticosterone in naïve pups and corticosterone levels in pups removed from the experimental chamber without hypoxia (normoxic rats).

Heterogeneity of the infant stage of rat development: inflammatory pain response, depression-related behavior, and effects of prenatal stress.

The infant stage of rat development is a very important period for potential correction of adverse consequences produced by negative prenatal events. However the age limit for this correction needs to be investigated. The last prenatal and first two weeks after birth are "critical" for maturation of the nociceptive and emotional systems.

Effects of maternal corticosterone and stress on behavioral and hormonal indices of formalin pain in male and female offspring of different ages.

In previous studies, we showed for the first time that prenatal stress in rats produces long-term alterations of formalin-induced pain behavior that are dependent on age and sex, and we demonstrated an important role of the serotonergic system in mechanisms of prenatal stress (Butkevich, I.P. and Vershinina, E.

Maternal para-chlorophenylalanine exposure modifies central monoamines and behaviors in the adult offspring.

We reported a perspective animal model of neurodevelopmental disorders using rats prenatally exposed to an inhibitor of serotonin (5HT) synthesis, para-chlorophenylalanine (PCPA). Earlier, we demonstrated that prenatal exposure to PCPA caused fetal 5HT depletion and changes both in open field activity and in depression-related behavior, as well as impairments in spatial learning in the adult offspring (Vataeva et al., 2007).

Mesenchymal stem cells transplantation could be beneficial for treatment of experimental ischemic stroke in rats.

Cell therapy is prospective, modern attempt to ischemic stroke treatment. It has been being widely worked out recently. We suggest mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) as a cell therapy agent in the therapy of this disease.

Behavioral alteration in the adult rats prenatally exposed to para-chlorophenylalanine.

In the present work, effects of maternal administration of para-chlorophenylalanine (PCPA), a serotonin synthesis inhibitor, on behavior of adult offspring were studied. Pregnant rats were injected intraperitoneally with PCPA (200/100/100/50 mg/kg) either on the gestational days (GD) 8-11 or 14-17, or with vehicle at the same days. Behavioral parameters, in an open field, the Porsolt forced swim test and the Morris water maze test were evaluated at the age of 3-3.

Increased formalin-induced pain and expression of fos neurons in the lumbar spinal cord of prenatally stressed infant rats.

When pregnant dams are stressed, there is a resultant alteration in brain development and behavior in their offspring. Prior work has shown increased nociceptive responses in adolescent or adult rats born of stressed dams. However, the age at which those changes first occur is not known.

Reduced serotonin synthesis during early embryogeny changes effect of subsequent prenatal stress on persistent pain in the formalin test in adult male and female rats.

The considerable evidence supporting a role for serotonin (5-HT) in the embryonic formation of CNS, mediation of prenatal stress, and pain processing is reviewed. Long-term influences of prenatal 5-HT depletion as well as its combination with prenatal stress effects on tonic nociceptive system in 90-day-old Wistar rats were studied in the formalin test. Pregnant dams were injected with para-chlorophenylalanine (pCPA, 400 mg/kg/2 ml, ip), producing 5-HT depletion during the early period of fetal serotonergic system development.

Tangential networks of precocious neurons and early axonal outgrowth in the embryonic human forebrain.

We used a combination of immunohistochemistry and carbocyanine dye tracing to study neurons and their processes in the human embryonic forebrain, 4-7 weeks after conception, before the onset of synaptogenesis. We discovered a widespread network of precocious MAP2 (microtubule-associated protein 2)-immunoreactive cells, with long, nonaxonal processes, before the appearance of the cortical plate and the establishment of thalamocortical connectivity. Dye tracing revealed that the processes of these precocious cells form tangential links between intermediate zones of the thalamus, ganglionic eminence, hypothalamus, and cortical preplate.

Decreased serotonin level during pregnancy alters morphological and functional characteristics of tonic nociceptive system in juvenile offspring of the rat.

Serotonin (5-HT) contributes to the prenatal development of the central nervous system, acting as a morphogen in the young embryo and later as a neurotransmitter. This biologically active agent influences both morphological and biochemical differentiation of raphe neurons, which give rise to the descending serotonergic paths that regulate the processing of acutely evoked nociceptive inputs. The involvement of 5-HT in the prenatal development of tonic nociceptive system has not been studied.

Suspensional reaggregates of human foetal neocortex and tegmentum as objects of neurotransplantation.

Suspensional reaggregates were obtained from human neocortical and tegmental anlagen (7 weeks of gestation), using 0.1% tripsin solution, and cultivated in Medium 199. Suspensional reaggregates, formed after 2 days in vitro, were grafted into the Wistar rat striatum.