Abstract—The brain-derived neurotrophic factor BDNF, which regulates neurogenesis and brain plasticity, mediates the neuroprotective action of the mood stabilizer lithium, which is commonly used in psychiatry. However, it remains unclear whether lithium affects BDNF levels in neonatal brain structures that differ in the maturity levels during ontogeny. Here, we studied the acute effects of lithium chloride (LiCl) treatment on the BDNF levels and levels of the apoptosis marker active caspase-3 in the brainstem and cortex of 3-day-old rats. Lithium increased the BDNF levels in both the brainstem and cortex of rat pups 2 h after injection. In the brainstem, which is more developed at postnatal day 3 in comparison to the cortex, the lithium-induced increase in the BDNF levels was accompanied by a 2-fold decrease in the levels of active caspase-3. These results show that the neuroprotective effects of LiCl treatment in the developing mammalian brain depend on the maturity level of the neonatal brain regions that are affected by the mood stabilizer.

中文翻译：

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氯化锂对新生儿脑源性神经营养因子水平的影响

摘要-调节神经发生和大脑可塑性的脑源性神经营养因子BDNF介导精神稳定剂锂的神经保护作用，后者在精神病学中通常使用。然而，目前尚不清楚锂是否会影响新生儿大脑结构中BDNF的水平，该基因在个体发育过程中的成熟度有所不同。在这里，我们研究了氯化锂（LiCl）处理对BDNF水平和3日龄大鼠脑干和皮质中凋亡标记活性caspase-3水平的急性影响。注射2小时后，锂会增加幼鼠脑干和皮质的BDNF水平。在脑干中，该脑干在出生后第3天比皮质更发达，锂诱导的BDNF水平升高伴随着活性caspase-3水平降低2倍。