Neonatal XXXX induces alterations in neurotrophin gene expression.

@entity1 @entity9140 @entity7515 @entity871 @entity19 @entity26 @entity15699 @entity15700
UNASSIGNED: Each year in the United States, nearly 500,000 @entity1 a year are born prematurely. Babies born before 35 weeks gestation are often placed on ventilators and/or given supplemental @entity26 . This increase in @entity26 , while critical for survival, can cause long-term damage to lungs, retinas and brains. In particular, @entity871 causes apoptosis in neurons and alters glial activity. @entity9140 ( @entity9140 ) and @entity7515 ( @entity7515 ) are members of the neurotrophin family of proteins that function to promote the growth, differentiation and development of the nervous system. We hypothesized that @entity871 can alter the regulation of these genes and by doing so adversely affect the development of the brain. We predicted that @entity19 exposed to hyperoxic conditions would have differences in @entity9140 and @entity7515 mRNA expression and relative level of methylated promoter regions coinciding with differences in the relative levels of @entity15699 and @entity15700 mRNA expression. To test this hypothesis, newborn C57Bl/6 @entity19 and their littermates were placed in hyperoxic or normoxic conditions from postnatal day 7 to 12. There were significant decreases in @entity9140 mRNA expression in the prefrontal cortex following @entity871 , but a significant increase in the isocortex. @entity7515 mRNA expression was significantly increased in both the isocortex and prefrontal cortex following @entity871 . @entity15699 mRNA expression was significantly decreased in the isocortex but significantly increased in the prefrontal following @entity871 . Together these data suggest that short-term exposure to hyperoxic conditions can affect the regulation and expression of @entity9140 and @entity7515 potentially leading to alterations in neural development.
