Research paperVitamin d3 and brain development
Section snippets
Maternal vitamin D3 depletion
Female Sprague-Dawley rats were fed a prepared diet free of vitamin D3 (Dyets Inc., PA, USA) but with normal calcium and phosphorous. Animals were housed under a 12-h light/dark cycle using incandescent lighting free of ultraviolet radiation in the vitamin D3 action spectrum (290–315 nm). After 6 weeks serum vitamin D3 depletion was confirmed prior to mating using a commercial RIA (Diasorin, MN, USA) for 25-OH D3, which provides the best overall indicator of vitamin D3 status from both dietary
Vitamin D3 depletion changed the shape and size of the brain
We initially investigated whether vitamin D3 depletion altered any gross morphological features of brain and discovered several substantial changes (Table 1). Vitamin D-depleted pups were heavier than the control animals and their brains were heavier but the ratio of brain to body weight was not significantly different (Table 1). Vitamin D-depleted pups had hemispheres that were larger and longer but not wider leading to a larger length/width ratio (Table 1). The larger, longer cortex was
Discussion
We show here significant changes in brain development induced by vitamin D3 deficiency in utero. Vitamin D3 deficiency affected brain gross morphology, cellular proliferation and growth factor signalling. These changes were substantial: a 30% increase in hemisphere length, a 200% increase in lateral ventricle volume, a doubling of the mitotic rate in certain brain regions and decreases of 17%, 25% and 30% in the expression of NGF, GDNF and p75NTR, respectively.
Rat pups were bigger at birth in
Acknowledgements
This project was supported by the Stanley Foundation and the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia.
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