EFFECTS OF ALPHA-DIFLUOROMETHYLORNITHINE, A SPECIFIC IRREVERSIBLE INHIBITOR OF ORNITHINE DECARBOXYLASE, ON NUCLEIC-ACIDS AND PROTEINS IN DEVELOPING RAT-BRAIN - CRITICAL PERINATAL PERIODS FOR REGIONAL SELECTIVITY
EFFECTS OF ALPHA-DIFLUOROMETHYLORNITHINE, A SPECIFIC IRREVERSIBLE INHIBITOR OF ORNITHINE DECARBOXYLASE, ON NUCLEIC-ACIDS AND PROTEINS IN DEVELOPING RAT-BRAIN - CRITICAL PERINATAL PERIODS FOR REGIONAL SELECTIVITY
复制标题
DOI:
10.1016/0306-4522(86)90255-1
复制
发表时间:
1986-02-01
期刊:
影响因子:
3.3
通讯作者:
SLOTKIN, TA
中科院分区:
文献类型:
--
作者:
BELL, JM;WHITMORE, WL;SLOTKIN, TA
Ornithine decarboxylase and its metabolic products, the polyamines, are known to coordinate macromolecule synthesis in developing neural tissues: consequently, inhibition of this enzyme by .alpha.-difluoromethylornithine interferes with cellular replication and differentiation. We examined the regional selectivity of the effect of .alpha.-difluoromethylornithine administered either postnatally (days 1-19) or during gestation (days 15-17), in order to determine whether specific phases of maturation are particularly sensitive to polyamine depletion. In the cerebellum, which undergoes major phases of replication and differentiation after birth, postnatal .alpha.-difluoromethylornithine administration caused a profound and progressive deficit in tissue weight gain as well as in DNA, RNA and protein content. Although regions which develop earlier (cerebral cortex, midbrain + brain stem) also showed adverse effects of postnatal .alpha.-difluoromethylornithine, the deficits were of much smaller magnitude and were comparable to the effect of the drug on general body growth. Despite these regional differences, inhibition of DNA synthesis ([3H]thymidine incorporation) was similar in cerebellum and in midbrain + brain stem, indicating that the direct impact of .alpha.-difluoromethylornithine-induced polyamine depletion is exerted in both: DNA synthesis in cerebral cortex was spared relative to the other two regions. These data suggested that the impact of .alpha.-difluoromethylornithine on development depends, in part, upon the relative degree of maturation of each brain region at the time of drug exposure. In confirmation of this hypothesis, prenatal .alpha.-difluoromethylornithine given on gestational days 15-17 resulted in loss of the specificity toward cerebellar development and enhancement of effects on cerebral cortex, the region which had displayed the least sensitivity to postnatal .alpha.-difluoromethylornithine.