Insulin-like growth factor 1 reduces age-related disorders induced by prenatal stress in female rats

• Published in: Neurobiology of aging Vol. 27; no. 1; pp. 119 - 127
• Main Authors: Darnaudéry, Muriel, Perez-Martin, Margarita, Bélizaire, Guylaine, Maccari, Stefania, Garcia-Segura, Luis Miguel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Elsevier Inc 2006; Elsevier Science
• Subjects: Aging; Animals; Behavioral psychophysiology; Biological and medical sciences; BrdU; Cognition Disorders - drug therapy; Cognition Disorders - etiology; Cognition Disorders - physiopathology; Dentate gyrus; Estradiol; Estrogens - blood; Female; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Glucocorticoids; HPA axis; Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System - drug effects; Hypothalamo-Hypophyseal System - physiopathology; Infusions, Parenteral; Insulin-Like Growth Factor I - administration & dosage; Learning; Maze Learning - drug effects; Miscellaneous; Neural cells proliferation; Neurotrophin; Perinatal environment; Pituitary-Adrenal System - drug effects; Pituitary-Adrenal System - physiopathology; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Complications; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychology. Psychophysiology; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Stress; Stress, Physiological - complications; Water maze; Learning; Neurotrophin; Dentate gyrus; Perinatal environment; Glucocorticoids; Water maze; Aging; HPA axis; Neural cells proliferation; Estradiol; Stress; BrdU; Cell proliferation; Rat; Estrogen; 17β-Estradiol; Glucocorticoid; Prenatal; Acquisition process; Female; Age; Dentate gyms; Rodentia; Insulin like growth factor 1; Ovarian hormone; Vertebrata; Mammalia; Animal; Sex steroid hormone
• ISSN: 0197-4580; 1558-1497
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2005.01.008

Stress during the prenatal period can induce permanent abnormalities in adult life such as increased anxiety-like behavior and hyperactivity of hypothalamo-pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis system. The present study was designed to investigate whether prenatal stress could induce spatial learning impairment in aged female rats. Furthermore, since it has been recently reported that insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) attenuates spatial learning deficits in aged rats and promotes neurogenesis in the hippocampus, we assessed the impact of a chronic infusion of IGF-1 on age-related disorders. Our results show that females stressed during prenatal life exhibit learning impairments in the water maze task. Chronic IGF-1 treatment restores their spatial abilities, reduces their HPA axis dysfunction and increases plasma estradiol levels. Parallel to these effects, chronic IGF-1 up-regulates neural proliferation in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus. These findings support the hypothesis of an early programming of the vulnerability to some neurological diseases during senescence and reinforce the potential therapeutic interest of IGF-1 during brain aging.