Antenatal taurine reduces cerebral cell apoptosis in fetal rats with intrauterine growth restriction*

From pregnancy to parturition, Sprague-Dawley rats were daily administered a low protein diet to establish a model of intrauterine growth restriction. From the 12th day of pregnancy, 300 mg/kg rine was daily added to food until spontaneous delivery occurred. Brain tissues from normal neo-natal rats at 6 hours after delivery, neonatal rats with intrauterine growth restriction, and neonatal rats with intrauterine growth restriction undergoing taurine supplement were obtained for further experiments. The terminal deoxyribonucleotidyl transferase (TdT)-mediated biotin-16-dUTP nick-end labeling assay revealed that the number of apoptotic cel s in the brain tissue of neonatal rats with intrauterine growth restriction significantly increased. Taurine supplement in pregnant rats reduced cel apoptosis in brain tissue from neonatal rats with intrauterine growth restriction. nohistochemical staining revealed that taurine supplement increased glial cel line-derived neuro-trophic factor expression and decreased caspase-3 expression in the cerebral cortex of intrauterine growth-restricted fetal rats. These results indicate that taurine supplement reduces cel apoptosis through the glial cel line-derived neurotrophic factor-caspase-3 signaling pathway, resulting in a protective effect on the intrauterine growth-restricted fetal rat brain.