Biochemical and neurological effects of an experimental phenylketonuria-like condition in infant rats during the first 2 weeks after birth
1981
Lo, Grace S. | Liang, Shwu-Ching | Raha, Sanghamitra R. | Hunter, Joan B. | Longenecker, John B.
Extract: An experimental phenylketonuria (PKU)-like rat model developed in this laboratory should be useful to determine the mechanism of brain damage in PKU. Using this procedure the primary biochemical characteristic of PKU has been induced in rats during the first 2 wk postnatally. The effect of the PKU-like condition on brain cellular development was measured by both biochemical and histological means. Brain weights negatively correlate with phenylalanine/tyrosine ratios and are lowest in the 14-day-old experimental PKU-like rats. Levels of DNA, RNA, and protein found in brain at 6, 10, and 14 days after birth indicate the PKU-like condition adversely affects cell number but not cell size. Microscopic examination of the cerebellum confirms biochemical findings in that fewer cells are present in the proliferative zone and a greater reduction and/or delayed myelination occurs in the experimental PKU-like rats than in any of the control animals of the same age.
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