Characterization of Gene Expression in the Rat Brainstem After Neonatal Hypoxic-Ischemic Injury and Antioxidant Treatment

The perinatal brainstem is known to be very vulnerable to hypoxic-ischemic events which can lead to deafness, swallowing dysfunction, and defective respiratory control. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the potential neuroprotective effects of nicotine, melatonin, resveratrol, and docosahexaenoic acid on the expression of a panel of genes in the brainstem following hypoxic-ischemic damage. Quantitative PCR was used to examine gene expression 3 and 12 h after the damage, and immunohistochemistry was employed to evaluate neurons, astrocytes, and synaptic vesicles 24 h post insult. We found that the expression of some immediate-early genes, as well as that of inflammatory genes TNF-alpha, COX2, and caspase 3, was upregulated in response to the insult. Twenty-four hours after the damage, the percentage of NeuN and synaptophysin immunolabeled cells was found to be reduced while GFAP expression was upregulated. No differences were observed in ROS gene expression following treatments.