Investigation of Oxidative Stress and BDNF Gene in the Hippocampus of Pregnant Rats Treated with Ethanol and its Effect on the Number and Weight of Offspring

alcohol consumption during pregnancy causes damage to the mother and the developing fetus, especially the central nervous system. Oxidative stress, activation of cell death pathways and intervention in the expression of neurotrophic factors are among the disorders caused by alcohol. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between oxidative stress and BDNF gene expression in pregnant rats treated with ethanol and its effect on the number and weight of offspring.

Pregnant rats were divided into five groups of six: control group (distilled water only) and four treatment groups that received ethanol (20%, 4.5 g/kg) by oral gavage, respectively. They received the first 5 days, the first decade of pregnancy, the second decade of pregnancy and the entire period of pregnancy. Mothers were weighed during pregnancy and children were weighed after birth. Mothers were ethically sacrificed after giving birth and their hippocampal brain tissue was extracted. The activities of glutathione peroxidase (GPx), superoxide desmutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in the hippocampus of the samples were evaluated by spectrophotometry. BDNF gene expression was measured by RT-PCR method. SPSS, Excel and one-way analysis of variance and Tukey statistical tests were used for data analysis.

The administration of ethanol to pregnant rats did not affect the weight of the mothers, but it caused a decrease in the number and weight of offspring, an increase in MDA, an increase in SOD activity, a decrease in GPx activity and a decrease in BDNF expression compared to the control group.

Ethanol had the most adverse effects in the treated groups in the second decade of pregnancy and the entire pregnancy period of mother rats.