Experiments on Wistar rats (n = 18) were performed to study changes in the expression of ionotropic glutamate receptor subunits (GluR2) in the respiratory subnuclei (ventral and lateral) of the solitary tract nucleus (STN). Observations were made during the early postnatal period (days 5, 10, and 20, 5–6 animals per group) in normal conditions and with prenatal decreases in serotonin levels due to inhibition of tryptophan hydroxylase with parachlorophenylalanine. Immunocytochemical detection of GluR2 revealed significant increases in GluR2 expression in the respiratory subnuclei of the STN in the early postnatal period (a 2-fold increase in the lateral subnucleus, 2.6-fold in the ventral). Prenatal serotonin deficiency altered GluR2 expression in the respiratory subnuclei of the STN. There was a significant delay in GluR2 expression in the early period, which increased to control levels by two weeks after birth, though GluR2 expression by juvenile age was lower (twofold) than in controls. Impairments to the glutamatergic receptor networks in the respiratory nuclei may be the basis of respiratory dysfunction.
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Khozhai, L.I. Dynamics of Changes in the Expression of the GLUR2 Subunit of the Ionotropic Glutamate Receptor in the Ventrolateral Part of the Solitary Tract Nucleus during the Early Postnatal Period in Health and Prenatal Serotonin Deficiency. Neurosci Behav Physi 48, 774–778 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11055-018-0629-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11055-018-0629-x