Prenatal Alcohol Exposure Leads to Enhanced Serine 9 Phosphorylation of Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3? (GSK-3?) in the Hippocampal Dentate Gyrus of Adult Mouse.
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ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:The goal of this study was to evaluate the expression and serine 9 phosphorylation of glycogen synthase kinase (GSK-3?) within the adult hippocampal dentate gyrus (DG) in a preclinical mouse model of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders. GSK-3? is a multifunctional kinase that modulates many hippocampal processes affected by gestational alcohol, including synaptic plasticity and adult neurogenesis. GSK-3? is a constitutively active kinase that is negatively regulated by phosphorylation at the serine 9 residue. METHODS:We utilized a well-characterized limited access "drinking-in-the-dark" paradigm of prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) and measured p(Ser9)GSK-3? and total GSK-3? within adult DG by Western blot analysis. In addition, we evaluated the expression pattern of both p(Ser9)GSK-3? and total GSK-3? within the adult hippocampal dentate of PAE and control mice using high-resolution confocal microscopy. RESULTS:Our findings demonstrate a marked 2.0-fold elevation of p(Ser9)GSK-3? in PAE mice, concomitant with a more moderate 36% increase in total GSK-3?. This resulted in an approximate 63% increase in the p(Ser9)GSK-3?/GSK-3? ratio. Immunostaining revealed robust GSK-3? expression within Cornu Ammonis (CA) pyramidal neurons, hilar mossy cells, and a subset of GABAergic interneurons, with low levels of expression within hippocampal progenitors and dentate granule cells. CONCLUSIONS:These findings suggest that PAE may lead to a long-term disruption of GSK-3? signaling within the DG, and implicate mossy cells, GABAergic interneurons, and CA primary neurons as major targets of this dysregulation.
SUBMITTER: Cunningham LA
PROVIDER: S-EPMC5659904 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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