The effect of prenatal X-irradiation on the developing cerebral cortex of rats. II: A quantitative assessment of glial cells in the somatosensory cortex
- 作者：Takanori Miki ; Toshifumi Yokoyama ; Kazunori Sumitani ; Zhi-Yu Wang ; Weiwen Yang ; Takashi Kusaka ; Yoshiki Matsumoto ; Katsuhiko Warita ; Nam-Seob Lee ; Yoshihiro Fukui ; Yoshiki Takeuchi
- 关键词：Brain development ; Prenatal X-irradiation ; Glial cell density ; Somatosensory cortex ; Stereology
- 刊名：International Journal of Developmental Neuroscience
- 出版年：2007
- 期刊代码：28_07365748
- 类别：neu
- 出版时间：August 2007
- 卷：25
- 期：5
- 页码：293-297
- 文件大小：233 K
摘要
The developing central nervous system is known to be highly vulnerable to X-irradiation. Although glial cells are involved in various brain functions, knowledge on the effects of X-irradiation on glial cells is limited. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effects of prenatal X-irradiation on glial cells. Pregnant Wistar rats were exposed to X-irradiation at a dose of 1.0 Gy on day 15 of gestation. Their offspring were examined at 7 weeks of age. The forebrain weight of X-irradiated rats was significantly lower than that of the age-matched controls. Histological quantification with stereology of the somatosensory cortex (SC) revealed no significant difference in the numerical density of glial cells between the X-irradiated and control rats. However, the glial cells in the X-irradiated animals had significantly larger nuclear size. We had previously reported that a similar X-irradiation paradigm resulted in no significant change in the numerical density of neurons in the SC. According to the results of the present study, there were no significant differences in the glial cell-to-neuron ratios between the X-irradiated and control animals. Taken together, it is speculated that prenatal X-irradiation has an equal effects on the numerical densities of glial cells and neurons.