Cellular and Molecular Neurobiology
Author: Ivan Julio Cesar Servin Bernal | email: iservin@immf.uncor.edu
Ivan SERVIN BERNAL 1°, Bianca LOCASCIO 1°, Maria Carolina FABIO 1°
1° Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas Mercedes y Martín Ferreyra (INIMEC-CONICET-UNC)
2° Facultad de Psicología UNC
Serotonin (5-HT) is a monoamine neuromodulator that plays a key role in the organization of the central nervous system. 5-HT alterations may be associated to the emergence of social deficits and psychiatric disorders, including anxiety anddepression. In previous studies we found that prenatal 5-HT disruption alters compulsive behavior and social vocalizations at weaning. Moreover, 5-HT depletion during gestation altered Tph2 and SERT expression in mPFC. In the present study we aimed to analyze the effects of transient 5-HT depletion at gestation on 5-HT central synthesis and reuptake at weaning in the hippocampus area. A 3 [treatment prenatal (PCPA, vehicle, untreated)] x 2 [sex (male, female)] factorial design was conducted. C57/BL6 male and female mice, born from dams treated with a 5-HT synthesis inhibitor (PCPA; 4-Chloro-DL-phenylalanine methyl ester hydrochloride) at gestational days (G)12-14 At postnatal day (P) 64 all animals hippocampus were dissected and mRNA expression of SERT and Tph2 was analyzed using RT-PCR to. Changes in SERT and Tph2 expression in hippocampus will be discussed in terms their implications in a wide range of functions from basic physiological mechanisms to complex behaviors. These results are relevant because increasing evidence links 5-HT signaling alterations during development to emotional dysregulation and psychopathology.