The impacts of diabetes in pregnancy on hippocampal synaptogenesis in rat neonates

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Diabetes during the pregnancy period impairs hippocampal development, and is associated with neurocognitive and neurobehavioral problems in the offspring. Synaptogenesis is one of the most important events in the development of the nervous system, and is known as a mechanism by which the memory process takes place. Synaptophysin (SYP) is an integral membrane protein of synaptic vesicles in the hippocampus involved also in learning and memory. The present study aimed to examine the effects of maternal diabetes on the expression and distribution pattern of SYP, as a marker of synaptogenesis, in the developing rat hippocampus using Immunofluorescence staining and real-time PCR. Wistar female rats were maintained as diabetic from a week before pregnancy through parturition and male offspring was euthanized at postnatal day (P) 0, 7, and 14. Our results showed a significant down-regulation in mRNA expression of SYP in the offspring born to diabetic animals at P7, and P14 (P⩽0.05 each). Regarding to the density of SYP expressing hippocampal neurons, we found a marked decrease in the distribution pattern of SYP in all hippocampal subfields of Streptozotocin (STZ)-D group rat neonates, especially in one and two weeks of age (P⩽0.05 each). Moreover, the results revealed no significant changes in either gene expression or distribution pattern of SYP – positive neurons in insulin-treated group compared with the controls. The present study demonstrated that diabetes in pregnancy has negative impacts on synaptogenesis in the offspring’s hippocampus. Furthermore, the rigid maternal glycaemia control by insulin treatment in most cases normalized these effects.