Altered Cell Survival Signaling in the Cerebral Cortex as a Long Term Effect of Neonatal Hypoglycemia

Neonatal hypoglycemia can cause drastic alterations in brain function by damaging areas like cortex, hypothalamus and cerebellum. We evaluated the extend of cell damage caused by severe neonatal hypoglycemia by TOPRO- 3 imaging which revealed that cerebral cortical cells are significantly affected by neonatal hypoglycemic shock. The evaluation of signaling molecules Creb, BDNF, Akt-1 and NFkB gene expression by Real Time PCR analysis revealed a possible explanation for this cellular damage. The expression studies showed that Creb, BDNF, Akt-1 and NFkB was decreased in hypoglycemic group suggesting that the cell survival signaling cascade in the cerebral cortex region of hypoglycemic group is highly compromised. The reduced expression of cell survival factors coupled with the significant loss of cell in the cortical region indicates that an early life stress can significantly affect the normal cell signaling cascade, thereby resulting in serious consequences.