A low chronic ethanol exposure induces morphological changes in the adolescent rat brain that are not fully recovered even after a long abstinence: An immunohistochemical study

Sergio Gustavo Evrard, Maite Duhalde-Vega, Patricia Tagliaferro, Sebastián Mirochnic, Laura Romina Caltana, Alicia Brusco

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

62 Scopus citations

Abstract

Little is known about the morphological effects of alcoholism on the developing adolescent brain and its consequences into adulthood. We studied here the relationship between two neurotransmitter systems (the serotoninergic and nitrergic) and the astrocytic and neuronal cytoskeleton immediately and long after drinking cessation of a chronic, but low, ethanol administration. Adolescent male Wistar rats were exposed to ethanol 6.6% (v/v) in drinking water for 6 weeks and studied after ending exposure or after a 10-week recovery period drinking water. Control animals received water. Brain sections were processed by immunohistochemistry using antibodies to serotonin (5-HT); glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP); astroglial S-100b protein; microtubule associated protein-2 (MAP-2); 200 kDa neurofilaments (Nf-200); and neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS). The mesencephalic dorsal and median raphe nucleus (DRN; MRN) and three prosencephalic areas closely related to cognitive abilities (CA1 hippocampal area, striatum and frontal cortex) were studied by digital image analysis. 5-HT immunoreactivity (-ir) decreased in the DRN and recovered after abstinence and was not changed in the MRN. In the three prosencephalic areas, astrocytes' cell area (GFAP-ir cells) increased after EtOH exposure and tended to return to normality after abstinence, while cytoplasmic astroglial S100b protein-ir, relative area of MAP-2-ir and Nf-200-ir fibers decreased, and later partially recovered. In the striatum and frontal cortex, nNOS-ir decreased only after abstinence. In conclusion, in the adolescent brain, drinking cessation can partially ameliorate the ethanol-induced morphological changes on neurons and astrocytes but cannot fully return it to the basal state.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)438-459
Number of pages22
JournalExperimental Neurology
Volume200
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Aug 2006

Keywords

  • Abstinence
  • Adolescence
  • Astrocytes
  • Chronic alcoholism
  • GFAP
  • MAP-2
  • Nf-200
  • Nitrergic system
  • S-100b protein
  • Serotoninergic system

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'A low chronic ethanol exposure induces morphological changes in the adolescent rat brain that are not fully recovered even after a long abstinence: An immunohistochemical study'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this