Gestational period plays critical role in neuropsychological development. One of the genes that undergoes changes by prenatal stress (PNS) exposure, is the gene coding brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). Studies have reported different patterns of change following PNS in BDNF, which emphasizes the complexity of the issue. In this review, systematic search of PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and Cochrane CENTRAL databases was performed. Primary searches resulted in 2132 studies and finally 43 studies were found to meet the inclusion criteria. Transcriptional and epigenetic changes of BDNF gene in the brain were recorded. Decreased or unchanged BDNF total mRNA and BDNF mature protein, with hypermethylation of the coding exons were the most reported changes. However, stress paradigm, gender of the fetus and the day of sacrifice were found to significantly affect the results. Hippocampus and prefrontal cortex are the most vulnerable regions. They can show long lasting and persistent transcriptional and epigenetics changes of BDNF gene following PNS. Further studies evaluating the importance of these findings in humans are essential.

中文翻译：

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产前应激后脑源性神经营养因子的转录和表观遗传变化：对动物研究的系统评价。

妊娠期在神经心理学发展中起关键作用。通过产前压力（PNS）暴露而发生变化的基因之一是编码脑源性神经营养因子（BDNF）的基因。研究报告了BDNF中PNS后的不同变化模式，这强调了问题的复杂性。在这篇综述中，对PubMed，Scopus，Web of Science和Cochrane CENTRAL数据库进行了系统搜索。初步搜索导致2132项研究，最终发现43项研究符合纳入标准。记录了脑中BDNF基因的转录和表观遗传变化。BDNF总mRNA和BDNF成熟蛋白减少或未改变，编码外显子的甲基化是最报道的变化。但是，压力范式 发现胎儿的性别和处死日对结果有重大影响。海马和前额叶皮层是最脆弱的区域。它们可以显示PNS后BDNF基因的持久和持久的转录和表观遗传学变化。评估这些发现对人类的重要性的进一步研究至关重要。