• Abdeslam Mouihate, Samah Kalakh, Rawan AlMutairi, and Abdelrahman Alashqar.
• Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University, Kuwait City, Kuwait, abdeslam@hsc.edu.kw.
• Med Princ Pract. 2019 Jan 1; 28 (4): 352-360.

Background/AimsPrenatal exposure to lipopolysaccharide (LPS) dampens hippocampal neurogenesis. This effect is associated with increased anxiety-like behavior in adult offspring. Furthermore, blocking serotonin transporters (SERT) promotes adult neurogenesis. Previous studies were performed largely in males. Therefore, we explored the impact of prenatal LPS on neurogenesis, SERT expression in the hippocampus, and anxiety-like behavior in female rats during prepubertal and adulthood stages.Materials And MethodsTimed pregnant rats were injected with either saline or LPS (100 µg/kg, i.p.) on gestational days 15, 17, and 19. Newly born neurons were monitored by immunohistochemistry, and anxiety-like behavior was monitored using the elevated plus maze and open-field test. SERT expression in the hippocampus was assessed by Western blot and immunofluorescence.ResultsPrenatal LPS led to reduced hippocampal neurogenesis in adult but not in prepubertal female offspring. This reduced neurogenesis was associated with enhanced hippocampal expression of SERT protein. However, there was no significant impact of prenatal LPS on anxiety-like behavior.ConclusionsPrenatal LPS-induced reduction in neurogenesis was dissociated from anxiety-like behavior in adult female rats. Furthermore, the long-lasting impact of prenatal LPS on neurogenesis in female offspring was age-dependent.© 2019 The Author(s) Published by S. Karger AG, Basel.

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