Transcriptional Levels of Autophagy and UPR Markers in the Brain and Liver of Pregnant Rats

Pregnancy is associated with oxidative stress that results in endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and unfolded protein response (UPR). Prolonged-unalleviated ER stress causes the activation of the autophagy pathway via UPR. Expression of genes encoding glucose-regulated protein 78 (GRP78) and BECLIN1 are induced in UPR and autophagy.

We studied the mRNA expression of the aforementioned genes in the liver and brain of Nulligravida versus saline and ethanol-treated pregnant rats.

Control pregnant rats were orally treated with normal saline, and test animals received ethanol 250 mg/kg or resveratrol 120 mg/kg from day 1 to day 21 of gestation. Nulligravida rats treated by saline comprised the non-pregnant control group. On day 21, mRNAs encoding GRP78 and BECLIN1 were extracted from the liver and brain tissues and assessed using real-time PCR.

Our results showed that the level of transcripts encoding GRP78 and BECLIN1 was higher in the liver of pregnant rats compared to Nulligravida ones. Further, ethanol decreased the mRNA levels of GRP78 and BECLIN1 in the liver of pregnant rats, an effect that was reversed by resveratrol. Levels of GRP78 transcripts were decreased, and those of BECLIN1 remained unchanged in the brain of ethanol exposed pregnant rats.

Levels of mRNAs for GRP78 and BECLIN1 are up-regulated during pregnancy. These levels are reduced in the liver of ethanol-treated rats, and resveratrol compensates these effects.