The effects of prenatal hypobaric hypoxia on the level of lipid peroxidation in the neocortex and hippocampus of rats

Abstract

We subjected rats to severe hypobaric hypoxia on days 14–16 or 17–19 of gestation and studied the effects of this treatment on the levels of the principal components of the lipid peroxidation (LPO) system in membranes of the neocortex and hippocampus of 14-(juvenile) and 90-day-old (adult) rats. We demonstrate that in the early postnatal ontogeny the formation of products of free-radical oxidation was enhanced in the rat brain. After the evaluation of LPO in the brain of juvenile and adult rats, the maximum differences were observed in the levels of triene conjugates and TBARS. We found that during the prenatal period on days 14–16 but not on days 17–19 of gestation, severe hypobaric hypoxia substantially modified the LPO levels in the neocortex and hippocampus of rats in postnatal ontogeny. The severity and direction of these alterations depend on the age of the animal that is subjected to testing. We also demonstrate that these alterations were different in the cortex and hippocampus of rats.