Learning and cognitive deficits in hypoxic neonatal rats intensified by BAX mediated apoptosis: protective role of glucose, oxygen, and epinephrine.

ABSTRACTHypoxic brain injury during neonatal development can lead to neuronal damage and produce learning and cognitive impairments. TOPRO-3 staining was used to visualize cell loss and real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) analysis of BAX mRNA was used to evaluate the level of apoptosis in the cerebral cortex, cerebellum, brain stem, and striatum of hypoxic neonatal rats and hypoxic rats resuscitated with glucose, oxygen, and epinephrine. The long-term effects of neonatal hypoxic insult on cognition and behavior were studied using Morris water maze experiment on 1-month-old rats exposed to neonatal hypoxia. In hypoxic neonatal rats, a significant cell loss (p < .001) within the brain regions was observed in TOPRO-3 staining and BAX mRNA expression was significantly upregulated (p < .001). Immediate resuscitation of hypoxic neonates with glucose, alone and along with oxygen, significantly downregulated (p < .001) BAX mRNA expression. The BAX expression in epinephrine resuscitated and 100% oxygen resus...