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Global Histone H4 Acetylation in the Olfactory Bulb of Lactating Rats with Different Patterns of Maternal Behavior

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Abstract

In rats, variations in the levels of neuromodulatory molecules and in the expression of their receptors are observed during pregnancy and postpartum. These changes may contribute to the development and management of maternal behavior. The frequency of licking the pups is used to evaluate maternal care, having mothers with low licking (LL) and high licking (HL) frequencies. Previously, we found that HL had increased levels of transcriptional expression of the receptors for serotonin (HTR1a, HTR1b), estrogen (Erα), dopamine (D1a), and prolactin (Prlr) than LL in the olfactory bulb (OB); however, the molecular mechanisms behind this phenomenon are unknown. Since evidences pointed out that epigenetic marks, which may alter gene expression, are modulated by environmental factors such as exercise, diet, maternal care, and xenobiotic exposure, our objective was to verify the acetylation levels of histone-H4 in the OB of LL and HL rats. Maternal behavior was studied for the first 7 postpartum days. LL (n = 4) and HL (n = 5) mothers were selected according to the behavior of licking their pups. Acetylation levels of histone-H4 were determined using the Global Histone-H4 Acetylation Assay Kit and expressed as ng/mg protein (mean ± SD). Analysis revealed that HL (278.36 ± 68.95) had increased H4 acetylation levels than LL (183.24 ± 73.05; p = 0.045). The enhanced expression of the previously studied receptors in the OB could be related, at least in part, to the hyperacetylation status of histone-H4 here observed. Afterward, the modulation of histone acetylation levels could exert a pivotal role through molecular mechanisms involved in the different patterns of maternal behavior.

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Acknowledgments

We thank PROAP/UFCSPA, CAPES and FAPERGS for financial support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Ciências Básicas da Saúde, Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre, Sarmento Leite 245, Sala 308, Porto Alegre, RS, 90050-170, Brazil

    Ana Carolina de Moura & Márcia Giovenardi

  2. Programa de Pós Graduação em Biociências e Reabilitação do Centro Universitário Metodista do IPA, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

    Ivy Reichert Vital da Silva, Caroline Dani & Viviane Rostirola Elsner

  3. Curso de Fisioterapia do Centro Universitário Metodista do IPA, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

    Gustavo Reinaldo

Authors
  1. Ana Carolina de Moura
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  2. Ivy Reichert Vital da Silva
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  3. Gustavo Reinaldo
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  4. Caroline Dani
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  5. Viviane Rostirola Elsner
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  6. Márcia Giovenardi
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Correspondence to Ana Carolina de Moura.

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The authors have no financial conflicts of interest.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of CONCEA (Conselho Nacional de Controle de Experimentação Animal) and were approved by the Ethics Committee of UFCSPA (Protocol Number 788/09).

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de Moura, A.C., da Silva, I.R.V., Reinaldo, G. et al. Global Histone H4 Acetylation in the Olfactory Bulb of Lactating Rats with Different Patterns of Maternal Behavior. Cell Mol Neurobiol 36, 1209–1213 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10571-015-0306-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10571-015-0306-3

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