Analysis of EphA5 receptor in the developing rat brain: an in vivo study in congenital hypothyroidism model

• Published in: European journal of pediatrics 2013-08, Vol.172 (8), p.1077-1083
• Main Authors: Wu, You-jia, Xu, Mei-yu, Wang, Lei, Sun, Bao-lan, Gu, Gui-xiong
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animals; Antithyroid Agents; Brain; Brain - growth & development; Brain - metabolism; Congenital diseases; Congenital Hypothyroidism - genetics; Congenital Hypothyroidism - metabolism; Disease Models, Animal; Female; Fluorescent Antibody Technique; Gene Expression; Hypothyroidism; Hypothyroidism - chemically induced; Hypothyroidism - metabolism; Kinases; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Methimazole; Nervous system; Original Article; Pediatrics; Physiology; Proteins; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; Receptor, EphA5 - genetics; Receptor, EphA5 - metabolism; RNA, Messenger - metabolism; Thyroid gland; Thyroid Hormones - metabolism
• ISSN: 0340-6199; 1432-1076
• DOI: 10.1007/s00431-013-2008-5

The EphA5 receptor has recently been known to play an important role in the initiation of the early phase of synaptogenesis, during which irreparable harm would be done to the developing brain in the absence of sufficient thyroid hormone (TH). In the present article, we aimed to analyze the characteristics of EphA5 receptor expression in the brain of congenital hypothyroid rats. The results showed that the levels of the EphA5 receptor were downregulated by TH deficiency in the developing rat brain with remarkable spatial and temporal characteristics. In the hypothyroid rats, the mRNA and protein levels of EphA5 receptor decreased significantly in the hippocampus (27.92–53.26 %), cerebral cortex (12.52–47.16 %), and cerebellum (8.72–31.69 %) compared with those in the normal rats from postnatal day 0 (P0) to P21 ( p