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Monday, August 10, 2009

Ethanol Inhibits Muscarinic Receptor-Induced Axonal Growth in Rat Hippocampal Neurons
Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research Early View 10 Aug 2009

In utero alcohol exposure can lead to fetal alcohol spectrum (FAS) disorders characterized by cognitive and behavioral deficits. In vivo and in vitro studies have shown that ethanol alters neuronal development. One mechanism through which ethanol has been shown to exert its effects is the perturbation of activated signaling cascades. The cholinergic agonist carbachol has been shown to induce axonal outgrowth through intracellular calcium mobilization, protein kinase C (PKC) activation, and ERK1/2 phosphorylation.

This study investigated the effect of ethanol on the differentiation of rat hippocampal pyramidal neurons induced by carbachol as a possible mechanism involved in the developmental neurotoxicity of ethanol.

Ethanol inhibited carbachol-induced neurite outgrowth by inhibiting PKC and ERK1/2 activation. These effects may be, in part, responsible for some of the cognitive deficits associated with in utero alcohol exposure.


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