Repeated restraint stress and corticosterone injections during late pregnancy alter GAP-43 expression in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex of rat pups

In the offspring of prenatal stress animals, overactivity and impaired negative feedback regulation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis are consistent finding. However, little was known about how prenatal stress can permanently alter developmental trajectories of pup's brain. Growth-associated protein-43 (GAP-43) is a presynaptic membrane phosphoprotein whose expression increases during developmental events such as axonal outgrowth or remodeling and synaptogenesis. Phosphorylation of GAP-43 by protein kinase C was correlated with enhanced axonal growth and transmitter release. In adult animals, increase of GAP-43 correlated with monoaminergic deficit in neuropsychiatric disorders. The present study examines the effects of repeated maternal restraint stress on the level of GAP-43 in the brain of rat pups. The results showed that prenatal stress significantly increased GAP-43 level in the PFC of rat pup during PND 7–14 as compared to control but not significant difference when observed at PND 21. Increased GAP-43 expression was also observed in the pup's hippocampus during the same postnatal periods. However, when observed at PND 60, pups born from stressed mother showed a significant lower (p < 0.001) GAP-43 expression as compare with control group. These changes indicate the direct effect of corticosteroid hormone, since repeated maternal injection with corticosterone (CORT, 40 mg/kg) during GD 14–21 also gave the same results. PND 7–14 is the peak period of synaptogenesis in these brain areas and abnormal axon sprouting and reorganization may lead to a defect in synaptic pruning at later stage of life. The results suggested that maternal stress is harmful to the developing brain and upregulation of GAP-43 indicated a protective mechanism against the toxicity of maternal stress hormone. Prenatal stress alter the normal developmental trajectories in the pup's brain may underlies the mechanism link between early life stress and neuropsychopathology in later life.