Induction of Micronuclei in Hippocampal Neurons Exposed To Chronic Prenatal Restraint Stress in Male and Female Wistar Rat Pups

With a view to assess the effect of chronic maternal stress on genotoxicity in hippocampal neurons of neonatal rat brain, pregnant Wistar rats were subjected to restraint stress from embryonic day 11 till delivery. The newborn rat pups were sacrificed and hippocampal cells were isolated out and stained with Giemsa stain. Results were compared with rats of the same age and sex born to control mothers which were not stressed. The results showed that prenatal restraint stress induces genotoxicity in hippocampal neurons. Genotoxicity induced by maternal restraint stress was evident by the increased number of micronuclei in the hippocampal neurons of rats born to stressed mothers. This chromosomal damage may be due to the result of stress on the developing hippocampus, a structure of brain concerned with learning and memory. These results suggested that prolonged prenatal stress leads to DNA damage which can result in long lasting malfunction of hippocampus which extends to and is manifested in adulthood.