Activity of Phosphate-Dependent Glutaminase in the Brain of Rats Exposed to Prenatal Hypoxia during Organogenesis

Abstract

We studied the effect of hypoxia (days 9-15 of pregnancy) on phosphate-dependent glutaminase activity in the brain of rat offspring aging 18 days and 1, 3, and 6 months. Activity of glutaminase significantly increased in mitochondria from the orbital, visual, and limbic cortex, hypothalamus, and midbrain of 17-day-old offspring. Activity of this enzyme in all brain regions increased at the age of 1 month, but significantly decreased in animals aging 3 and 6 months and prenatally exposed to hypoxia (during organogenesis). Changes in glutaminase activity in various structures of the brain are probably associated with activation of the glutamatergic and GABAergic systems and serve as an adaptive and compensatory reaction of the brain.